The US Air Force Academy Board is “happy” with the results of the USAFA climate survey (PDF), despite a lackluster 15% response rate from the cadet wing
As noted last year when the survey was being conducted, a new agency performed a new survey, which essentially eliminates any ability to track trends from prior years. There were some interesting questions and responses, however: Read more
Update: Terry Jones has indicated his response to General Dempsey was to ask, “How long do we appease Islam? How far do we back down?” He also said he is considering not showing the film, as the public reaction has demonstrated that Islam is “not a religion of peace. It is a very dangerous religion.”
By now, most are probably aware of the murders of American embassy officials and the anti-Islam movie (as well as possible al Qaeda links) that is associated with it.
The Pentagon announced that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, called Pastor Terry Jones (of Koran-burning infamy), who had supported the film, to “express his concerns:”
“In the brief call, Gen Dempsey expressed his concerns over the nature of the film, the tensions it will inflame and the violence it will cause. He asked Mr. Jones to consider withdrawing his support for the film,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said.
Apparently, General Dempsey told Jones the film was “pornographic,” which is causing Jones to re-evaluate his support for it — meaning he apparently endorsed a film he hasn’t seen.
Meanwhile, US military leadership has received scathing criticism for its decision to engage an American civilian over an issue of American liberties: Read more
Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) have introduced the “Military Religious Freedom Act” (PDF) which would impact the issue of homosexual marriage and chaplains within the US military:
Specifically, the bill would (1) prevent military chaplains from being forced to perform a marriage ceremony if the chaplain objects for reasons of conscience and (2) prohibit marriage or marriage-like ceremonies at military facilities that are not a union between one man and one woman.
This is the Senate version of the House companion act that was referred to committee in January of this year.
Critics will rightly point out Read more
A USA Today article (reprinted at Stars and Stripes) takes an interesting look at the US military’s war “front” on social media. The topic is obviously how it deals with the enemy who attempts to use social media to its advantage; the application to the military’s “domestic” issues, however, is intriguing [emphasis added]:
Websites associated with militant groups typically take responsibility for attacks whether or not they had anything to do with them.
But most of the information they provide is either exaggerated or false…
“Insurgents have always wanted to make themselves look like winners,” [RAND analyst Christopher] Paul said. “The Internet Read more
Are Michael Weinstein’s predictions of a fundamentalist Christian coup in America coming to fruition?
Newly-promoted Chaplain (MajGen) Howard Stendahl was recently appointed Chief of Air Force Chaplains, making him the senior ranking chaplain in the US Air Force. His promotion was one of the first major acts for the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen Mark Welsh: Read more
Col Gregory Gross, the judge presiding over the murder trial of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan for the Fort Hood massacre, followed through on his threat and issued an order that Hasan must shave — or he will be shaved.
Gross…issued his order Thursday after a hearing to determine whether a federal religious freedom law applied to Hasan’s case. Soldiers may be granted permission to grow beards for religious reasons, and six soldiers have been allowed to do so: a rabbi, two Muslim doctors and three Sikhs, according to Army records.
Hasan said he is violating regulations not out of disrespect, but of religious requirement:
Hasan told the judge last week that he grew a beard because his Muslim faith requires it, not as a show of disrespect. Gross ruled Thursday that the defense didn’t prove Hasan is growing a beard for sincere religious reasons.
While the whole concept might sound a bit odd to outsiders, forced Read more
The Air Force Times recently admitted to letting the “news” slip by without reporting it. After checking the White House “We the People” petition website (to view the White House beer recipe), an astute reporter noticed that the White House had responded to a petition to pull Rush Limbaugh off AFN, the worldwide DoD radio and TV broadcast system. That is, the White House responded in July. From the AFTimes:
[The petition] threshold for a reply was 25,000 people — a level reached in April — but the reply wasn’t posted until July and got scant Read more
While Clint Eastwood may have stolen the show at the Republican National Convention, the party did publish its Republican Platform for 2012, which is fairly blunt in its statement on religious freedom in the US military. It specifically addresses the benefits of faith-based institutions to the military, religious freedom for chaplains and military members, and bans on Bibles and religious symbology on military facilities.
While the Democrat Platform doesn’t specifically mention religious freedom in the military, it does celebrate the repeal of DADT and the call to end DOMA, both of which affect military policies.