Tag Archives: Tradition

US Marines Honor Patron Saint of Artillery

The Quartermasters have Saint Martin, but Marine artillery has Saint Barbara, whom they honored in a ceremony in Afghanistan:

Marines…smiled as all in attendance lifted their cups in a toast to honor the patron saint of artillery, Saint Barbara.

According to legend, the tyrant Dioscorus, a pagan, kept his daughter Barbara secluded in a tower to shelter her from the world. In her solitude she gave herself to prayer and became a Christian. Her father, Read more

Military Brings End to Birth Control Glasses

The famous Basic Training-issued BCGs, once the brown-rimmed, awkward-looking but sturdily-built hallmark of basic trainees, are officially dead.

Military recruits who wear glasses no longer will have to endure the embarrassment of sporting BCGs — those beloved standard-issue specs, technically called S9s, which are universally known as “Birth Control Glasses” because they’re supposedly so unattractive.

Yet another “tradition” falls to progress…

Rep Randy Forbes Calls on Air Force to Put God Back in Motto

US Representative Randy Forbes (R-Va) has written a letter (PDF) signed by 35 members of the House asking the Air Force restore a unit’s motto that was changed after an atheist’s complaint.  The incident to which Rep Forbes is referring was actually first reported on ChristianFighterPilot.com, with the Religion Clause and the ADF Alliance Alert subsequently citing this site.

As noted three weeks ago, the USAF Rapid Capabilities Office responded to “needling” from former Army Captain Jason Torpy, an atheist, and changed its motto from “Doing God’s work with other people’s money” to “Doing miracles with other people’s money.”

The letter, addressed to Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz, says:

It has come to our attention that the US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) has modified the logo on its official patch to remove its reference to “God,” following a complaint from Read more

Soldier Awarded Order of Saint Martin Medal

A US Army article notes Fort Campbell soldier Staff Sgt Jonathan Welch was presented the Honorable Order of Saint Martin by Col. Michael Peterman, the commander of 101st Sustainment Brigade.

The Order of Saint Martin recognizes Quartermasters, either Active Duty, Reserves, or civilian who have made significant contributions to the Quartermaster Corps, states the US Army Quartermaster Foundation.

“I am extremely flattered to receive this award,” said Welch. “For a logistician, this is great privilege. It is also an honor to have had Col. Peterman present this award to me. ”

Interestingly, the article fails to note the history of the medal — or why it is named after Saint Martin:  Read more

US House Passes Bills on Religion at War Memorials

The US House of Representatives passed two separate bills (previously noted) related to religion at US military war memorials — a point of controversy for about the past two decades in southern California, at least. Though they’ve been inaccurately described as “promoting” religion, the first does little more than officially authorize longstanding tradition, and the second adds a Presidential statement to a war Read more

Hazing and the US Military

Jeff Yang of the Wall Street Journal, writing in the “Arts and Entertainment” section, notes “unsettling parallels” between recent implications of hazing and the 1992 Tom Cruise/Jack Nicholson A Few Good Men.

The wandering article touches on religion, race, discipline, and the recent suicides of servicemembers thought to be related to hazing, as with PVT Danny Chen in Afghanistan.

The article closes in citing the ironic participation in hazing by members of military academies — while simultaneously demanding their subordinates recite “Schofield’s Quote,” which denounces Read more

Air Force Endorses New England Patriots over Ravens

A C-5 Galaxy — the US Air Force’s largest cargo aircraft — from Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, performed a flyby of Gillette Stadium at the conclusion of the National Anthem on Sunday.  The ceremony opened the NFL Patriots-Ravens football game.

Inscribed along the bottom of the aircraft, visible from the stands, was an emblem and “Go Pats!”  The Patriots went on to win.

You never know, fighter aircraft flybys may have similar endorsements on their lower wings or fuselages…  Read more

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