One thing the US Army post at Fort Riley has learned is that you surrender to the wishes of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein at your own peril.
Weinstein has long claimed that his primary tool was CNN and FoxNews — by simply threatening to get military commanders on the news, he could get them to bow to his wishes.
The tables have reversed, though. A quick Read more
What used to be taboo has now become widely accepted by the Defense Department.
– Airman 1st Class Kristan Campbell, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus oversees the entire US Navy. He recently lauded the Department of Defense’s diversity — by seeming to denigrate a “diverse” view held by many US Sailors and their fellow troops.
During the Pentagon’s celebration of “LGBT Pride Month,” Secretary Mabus gave a speech (video) lauding the day. After describing the now-repealed DADT as “morally wrong,” Secretary Mabus seemed to equate those who opposed DADT repeal — that is, a large portion of religious American citizens and US troops — with racists Read more
Two US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets crashed last Thursday during a “routine training mission” off the North Carolina coast. All four crewmembers ejected safely.
The Navy initially reported only that they crashed, though it was a reasonable conclusion they collided (as confirmed later by the Navy):
The fighters were based in Virginia Beach and collided about 10:40 a.m., said Navy spokesman Ensign Mark Rockwellpate. Witnesses reported seeing four parachutes floating down into the Atlantic after the incident.
As with every incident, the Navy will investigate the mishap and report on it at some point in the coming months. Read more
The US Army announced that Eric Fanning had been confirmed as the newest Secretary of the Army:
Eric Fanning was sworn in, May 18, as the 22nd secretary of the Army during a small Pentagon ceremony.
The Army’s announcement was notable because it was probably the only one in the entire news cycle that made no mention of Fanning’s homosexuality.
Every single media article on Fanning led off with the fact he is homosexual. The media focus on his sexual preference was so obvious even the Duffelblog weighed Read more
The US Navy reported that the annual “Blessing of the Fleet” ceremony was held at the Navy Memorial in Washington, DC, last week.
Chaplain of the Marine Corps and Deputy Chief of Navy Chaplains, Rear Adm. Brent W. Scott, gave the invocation and blessing to the centuries-old tradition…
The Blessing of the Fleets ritual is intended to safeguard crews and ships from the danger of the seas.
This was the 25th annual ceremony, though the tradition extends for centuries.
To date, it has apparently Read more
The US Navy has disputed reports that the USS Portland (LPD 27) will be commissioned in Portland, rather than where it is being built in Mississippi, because of Mississippi’s recently passed legislation protecting religious objections to homosexuality.
When the Navy announced the commissioning would happen in the namesake town of Portland, activists and some news outlets seized on the timing, with CBS reporting that “Navy ceremony moved over Mississippi anti-gay law objection.” The Navy disagreed: Read more
The DC District Court recently provided yet another ruling in the decades-long litigation known as In Re: Navy Chaplaincy (PDF). (See prior discussions.) The case began many years ago with the underlying allegations that the US Navy discriminated against non-liturgical chaplains and favored liturgical chaplains. The case has wound its way up and down judicial channels in the ensuing years.
The most recent decision dismisses many of the claims, much of them due to time or mootness. It is interesting, though, which claims it allowed to continue [emphasis added]: Read more
Last week the North Carolina legislature passed a fairly common sense bill (PDF) that, among other things, required municipalities and schools to designate bathrooms by gender — that is, a person’s biological gender, not the gender they may say they are. The State also specifically limited protected class status to biological gender.
As with other efforts in this vein, a smattering of companies have implied they may take their business elsewhere in response to this “bathroom bill” that would segregate boys from girls during their private endeavors. (The San Francisco mayor said the same, though why he in particular is notable is unclear.)
This law also generated an open letter on Facebook by US Navy LT(JG) Megan Joan Willingham, who describes herself as a Sailor stationed in Okinawa, Japan: Read more