Tag Archives: MRFF

Former USAF Commander Predicts Exodus of Integrity, Courage

Tony Carr, a retired USAF Squadron Commander who is now a frequent public critic of the Air Force, wrote a piece on his John Q. Public blog excoriating Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh for the Air Force’s “new” attitude toward privacy. Carr quotes what he describes as the objectionable portion of Gen Welsh’s statement [emphasis added]:

We’ve captured the Air Force’s culture and standards in AFI 1-1. We all know 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on and off-duty, Airmen have signed up to live up to Air Force Standards and Core Values. Through all the different ways in which Airmen communicate and interact, respect and dignity are essential. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in person, by text, twitter, or the latest social media app, we are all personally accountable for what we say and post.

Carr objects to the implication that the Air Force will hold Airmen accountable for everything they say, even privately, with the only standard being vague Read more

ACLJ Details Support for Military Religious Freedom

The ACLJ recently posted an appeal for support that listed recent cases of military religious freedom, and they set themselves up as the foil to Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF in the process. Speaking of their support for court-martialed US Marine Monifa Sterling [emphasis added]:

Angry atheist Mikey Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) also filed a brief asking the court to reject Sterling’s appeal and ignore the violation of her religious freedom. (Remember it is Mikey Weinstein and his extremist group that has repeatedly called Christians in the military “monsters who terrorize.”)

Regarding a recent FOIA lawsuit Weinstein filed against the US Air Force Academy [italics original, emphasis added]:  Read more

Mikey Weinstein Rapidly Responds to ChristianFighterPilot.com

Update: As expected, Weinstein has expanded his attacks to other “crusader” imagery in the military, though unlike the sign below, the US Army has not responded to Weinstein’s demands.

It was a test, and Michael “Mikey” Weinstein passed with flying colors.

Yesterday’s article on Weinstein and ISIS included a gratuitous picture of a sign in front of the 8th Special Troops Battalion Warrior Training Center in Fort Shafter, Hawaii:

The context was Weinstein’s obsession with the hurt feelings of Islamic extremists — including his claim that they’re motivated to attack the United States because of Crusader imagery.

Mikey did not disappoint.

The sign was erected on a remote portion of the base “far from most of the installation’s foot or motor traffic,” and it had been on the internet for a couple of weeks.

But within just a few hours of the article going up at ChristianFighterPilot.com, Weinstein sent a “demand email” to Major General Edward Dorman claiming Read more

Generals Call on US Military to Allow Sikhs to Serve

A coalition of 27 retired General officers signed a letter (PDF) urging the US Department of Defense to allow Sikhs to serve in the US military. Currently, Sikhs must abandon the articles of their faith — including uncut hair, beards, and turbans — before they can join the military:

Although Sikhs have served honorably in the U.S. military since World War I, restrictive appearance regulations adopted in 1981 created barriers to their service. Revisions earlier this year to DOD Instruction 1300.17 make it possible for service members to request religious accommodations; however, the new guidelines presumptively exclude Sikh articles of faith, forcing Sikhs to repeatedly apply for waivers and even violate their religion while an accommodation request is pending.

One of the notable signatures on the letter is Read more

Mikey Weinstein thinks ISIS Attacks over Christianity

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has famously claimed that Islamic militants are motivated to attack because they feel they are fighting a crusading Christianity. For example, while military imagery has historically been rife with references to knighthood, Weinstein has focused particular energy on military units with things that he declares will be perceived as “crusading,” not unlike the 8th Special Troops Battalion Warrior Training Center in Fort Shafter, Hawaii:

More recently, he said ISIS received a “propaganda bonanza” when a uniformed US military officer spoke of the influence of God in his life.

Weinstein needs this narrative because his foundation is Read more

Jason Torpy, Mikey Weinstein on Chaplain Modder Victory

After a Navy commander’s attempt to discharge Chaplain Wes Modder was rebuffed by a Navy admiral, the Washington Times interviewed him on the follow-up. It also sought comment from two critics of religious freedom in the military: perpetually-offended atheist Jason Torpy, and frequent critic of military Christians, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein.

For his part, Torpy thought Modder should have gotten the boot, and he thinks the Navy’s reaction is “unclear”:

The Navy’s decision, he said, “leaves unclear whether it is acceptable for senior officers to use the Bible to justify belittling gay and women sailors.”

On the contrary, the “acceptability” of Torpy’s statement had nothing Read more

Air Force Dismisses EO Complaint from Wiccan Hindu

As noted at Military.com, the Air Force Equal Opportunity office at Joint Base Andrews dismissed the EO complaint from contractor Deborah Schoenfeld, the self-described Hindu-interested-in-Wicca (whose complaint was previously discussed):

The office on Oct. 27 dismissed her complaint, saying she filed too late and also because the individuals she claimed discriminated against her “are not Air Force employees.”

Schoenfeld disputes the filing deadline issue, but it appears to be moot if the subjects of the complaint weren’t even in the Air Force. Schoenfeld disputes that, too, saying  Read more

Mikey Weinstein Targets Wounded Warrior Program over Religion

At the behest of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, and as reported by him, a US Air Force squadron declared that a “volunteer opportunity” to support a 10-mile running event was “not eligible for publication by government email” — only because the event was to benefit a wounded warrior program — a program run by a Christian charity.

To be clear, the announcement for the Capitol 10 Miler Run, sponsored by Centerpoint Fellowship in support of Operation Heal our Patriots, was one of many events included in the email. It mentioned nothing about religion, beliefs, or even spirituality. It was only a request for volunteers to help support the running event.

Mikey Weinstein complained only about the religious beliefs of the sponsoring organization and the Bible-based wounded warrior program it benefited. According to Weinstein, the 42nd FSS of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base responded quickly to his demand, sending out the follow-up email:  Read more

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