Tag Archives: Navy

Naval Academy Noon Meal Prayer at Issue. Again.

The US Naval Academy practice of conducting a noon-meal prayer is making its near-annual trek through the media.  This time, Talbot Manvel, an “adjunct instructor” at Annapolis, wrote an article in the Baltimore Sun saying the USNA puts “tradition ahead of the Constitution.”

So how is the academy defying the Constitution? It has established a religious practice: prayer at its mandatory noon meal for its midshipmen (students). They are marched into the mess hall, called to attention to listen to announcements, and then to prayer by a chaplain before sitting to eat. They are not permitted to leave, and thus they are forced to listen.

(Manvel becomes the latest Naval Academy instructor to publicly malign his employer.)  Manvel’s article is rife with error.  He cites Mellen v. Bunting, in which the 4th District Court held mealtime prayers at VMI were unConstitutional — a ruling the Supreme Court declined to review.  However, he ignores the ruling’s own qualifier:  Read more

Chaplains Call for Troop Protections over DADT

The recent controversy over the Navy’s apparent acceptance of homosexual marriages in base chapels (quickly reversed after Congressional disapproval) spurred a response by Chaplain endorsing agencies representing “over a thousand military chaplains.”  The groups wrote a letter calling for conscience protections not only for Chaplains — but also for every servicemember:

When guidance…is forthcoming from senior leadership that implies protected status for those who engage in homosexual behavior and normalizes same-sex unions in base chapels, any outside observer would conclude that both homosexuality and homosexual unions officiated as marriages in base chapels are normative.

This creates an environment that is increasingly hostile to the many chaplains — and the service members they serve — whose faith groups and personal consciences recognize homosexual behavior as immoral and unsafe and do not permit same-sex unions.

For this reason, and particularly in light of the growing confusion regarding how DADT repeal will play out — indeed, we were told that issues like same-sex weddings were not a concern because of DOMA just months ago — we strongly encourage the adoption of broad, clear, and strong protections Read more

Thunderbirds Perform on Alternative Fuel, Blue Angels Cancel

The US Air Force and Navy appear to have been in an unspoken competition over their use of “green” or synthetic alternative fuels in their fighters — each vying for “firsts.”

It appears the Air Force Thunderbirds beat the Navy Blue Angels to be the first to use it in their demonstration team:

The Thunderbirds will use alternative fuel, unprecedented for any Department of Defense aerial team, at the [airshow] here May 20 and 21, officials said.

The team will fly with Camelina-based hydrotreated renewable jet fuel as part of the nation’s overall strategy to reduce reliance on foreign energy and establish greater energy security through conservation and use of “home grown” alternative energy sources, said Terry Yonkers, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics.

On a related noted, the Blue Angels apparently had an ‘incident’ Read more

The Controversy over “Moral Injury”

The Stars and Stripes covered the “Navy and Marine Corps’ annual conference on combat and operational stress,” and indicates new “buzzwords” — “moral injury” — are causing some consternation:

One Marine commander roped into a panel discussion at the last minute bluntly took issue with the phrase: “As a Marine, I’m insulted.”

Lt. Col. James “Hall” Bain…said he thought the term implied that Marines were stressed as a result of immorality.

The Corps trains Marines to have “the skill and the will to kill,” he said. “It’s based on an ethical standard.”

In his defense, LtCol Bain seems to take issue with the terminology, not the concept.  In other places, the term “moral injury” has been used to describe the dissonance that occurs when one man kills another:  Read more

Navy Chaplain Reverses Course on Gay Marriage

Head Navy Chaplain (Rear Adm) Mark Tidd has reportedly issued a “one-line” statement suspending his prior decision allowing US Navy Chaplains to perform homosexual marriages in military chapels.

As previously noted, members of Congress had objected to the announcement, saying it was in conflict with the Defense of Marriage Act.

If nothing else, the controversy stands in contrast to those who have had a dismissive attitude toward repeal, claiming it would be a non-event and transparent in its removal.  As demonstrated by the concerns raised during training and the sensitivity of this announcement, it very evidently isn’t.

DADT Update: Marine Training, June Target, and Military Weddings

Below:

  • Camp Pendleton Marines ask the same DADT questions
  • Obama said to be aiming for repeal in June
  • Navy head of Chaplains says gay marriages permissible in military Chapels

Camp Pendleton Marines recently went through the required DADT training for the upcoming repeal of the policy most often known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  Despite some people dismissing the concerns of servicemembers Read more

Navy Officer Wants Apology for Callsign

Lt.jg Steve Crowston is the former enlisted Sailor who became an officer and then went through a fighter pilot naming, as previously discussed:

Crowston told the IG that [his commander, Commander Liam] Bruen and the unit’s then-executive officer, Cmdr. Damien Christopher, were in the unit’s ready room during an August 2009 all-officer review of squadron call signs, when Crowston was offered choices such as “Fagmeister,” “Gay Boy” and the group’s final choice, “Romo’s Bitch” — a reference to the quarterback of Crowston’s favorite football team, the Dallas Cowboys. Crowston was the squadron’s administrative/legal officer.

Crowston is demanding an apology for the experience:  Read more

1 … 43 44 45 46 47 … 57