A few examples of the US military’s commitment to supporting its servicemembers through their religious celebrations:
At Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, a Christmas Eve candlelight service was the “culminating event over the month of celebration.”
US Army Chief of Chaplains MajGen Donald Rutherford presided over a Christmas Eve Catholic Mass at Camp Buehring, Kuwait.
Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Norton Schwartz Read more
An experimental F-35C recently launched from the US Navy’s experimental Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). Though it was not the first fighter to do so, it may very well be the first single-engine aircraft major weapons system launched by a US Navy catapult of any kind in some time. By the time the F-35 is operational, the EMALS will likely be established on the Gerald R. Ford class of carriers, assuming no major issues in each program.
The DoD published the video on YouTube.
The Buddhist Military Sangha announced the entrance of Lt Niphon Suk into the US Army Chaplain Candidate program. It appears he may be the third US Army Buddhist chaplain; the Navy also has two or three.
Chaplain (Maj.) Paul G. Passamonti, a US military chaplain stationed in Japan, and Chaplain (Maj.) James O’Neal, stationed in Korea, have received the Catholic “Order of the Holy Sepulchre,” bestowed upon less than 1,000 priests around the world.
The Order is the successor of a military force that was Read more
US Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA) wrote a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus questioning why no US Marine has been awarded for their actions in Libya — despite the very public search and rescue of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle crew.
“It has come to my attention that no awards or recognition have been approved for Marine aviators who flew combat missions over Libya,” Hunter wrote in a recent letter to Mabus. Read more
Military leaders from all branches have begun distributing their traditional Christmas (or holiday) greetings:
As noted before, some atheists, like many political or social activists, can sometimes become so engrossed in their presumed persecution they see offense where none exists.
Military atheists, for example, took a General officer to task when she made the fairly benign statement that military service requires you to believe in things “bigger than yourself.” They derided a US military Chaplain for describing his duties as required by regulation. In both cases, statements were attributed to the officers they didn’t actually say — it was just what the atheists thought they heard — a perception apparently skewed by an assumption of persecution. Most recently, atheists brought up an old story about a Navy atheist who was “forced to permanently cover” a tattoo. CTR2 Michael Wheeler had the logo of the band Bad Religion, the “crossbuster,” tattooed on his arm where it was visible, even in uniform:
Naturally, there was much consternation and implication of persecution on the part of the atheists. In the end, a few who commented did correctly note a Read more
The US Navy is reportedly investigating accusations of “pervasive cheating” among the members of the Navy’s nuclear corps.
After the cheating ring was discovered aboard the Groton-based submarine Memphis last November, the Navy fired the commanding officer and kicked off 10 percent of the crew. Navy officials said it reflected a rare lapse in integrity, but several former submarine officers told the AP for a story in August that it is not uncommon for sailors to receive answer keys or other hints before training exams.
The issue of competence has never been in question. In fact, some have said the Read more