Tag Archives: USAFA

Weinstein Attacks USAFA Cadet for Class-wide Religious Email

The Colorado Springs Independent‘s Pam Zubeck — a veritable PR arm of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF — has a post stating a US Air Force Academy fourth class cadet (freshman) sent an inappropriate religious email to his classmates.  She said the cadet

has been “counseled” for sending an e-mail to the entire freshman class urging them to pray and citing specific Scriptures. [formatting original]

She then includes the content of the 500-word email, which had been sent only two days prior.  The email does, shockingly, “urge people to pray” and does, indeed, cite “specific Scriptures.”  What Zubeck fails to mention is the email is a forward of a daily devotional by Gloria Copeland, distributed on the same day the cadet forwarded it:  Read more

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

Ross Perot to Keynote USAFA Character Symposium

The 2012 National Character and Leadership Symposium at the US Air Force Academy will be held from 22 to 24 February.  Ross Perot will be the keynote speaker.

Other speakers will come from a variety of backgrounds and careers, including a Medal of Honor recipient and

  • Retired Brigadier General Dick Abel, former President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and former Executive Director of the Military Ministry of Read more

Weinstein Opposes Islamophobes, Supports Religiophobes

Michael Weinstein recently wrote a scathing letter demanding retired LtGen William “Jerry” Boykin be prohibited from speaking to the US Military Academy (West Point) National Prayer Breakfast on February 8th.  The reason:  Boykin is, in Weinstein’s words, “rabidly Islamophobic.”  (That’s the same word he used to describe Franklin Graham in 2010, when he was invited to a similar event.)

Simultaneously, Michael Weinstein has defended and is helping advertise Rock Beyond Belief — which last week received a significant amount of negative attention for inviting what he would seemingly describe as a “rabidly religiophobic” music group to perform.  In fact, the “rabidly Christophobic” Michael Weinstein is scheduled to be one of the event’s speakers.  Weinstein should probably look up the meaning of “phobia.”

Of course, it makes no sense for a person to use the “defense of religious Read more

Military Atheists Demand West Point Disinvite General Boykin

In an interesting bit of timing, several groups have decried the decision by West Point to invite retired LtGen William Boykin, author of Never Surrender, to their National Prayer Breakfast on February 8th.  The self-described “progressive” VoteVets.org wrote to West Point Superintendent LtGen David Huntoon saying

You may not be aware of Lieutenant General Boykin’s history of extremist and hateful comments towards Islam…

These remarks are incompatible with the Army values, and a person who is incompatible with Army values should not address the cadets of the United States Military Academy.

Where have we heard similar cries before?  Ah, yes: The claim Franklin Graham was an “Islamophobe” and therefore an inappropriate speaker at a similar event at the Pentagon.  The critics won that one, and Graham’s invitation was rescinded based on his prior speech, not on what he might have said if he had been allowed to attend.  Tony Perkins was “disinvited” for his public comments that were wholly unrelated to his event, as well.  Likewise, Michael Weinstein demanded 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

Liberty Protected: The Non-Persecution of Military Atheists

When the US Air Force Academy “Falcon Circle” chapel facility went through its various controversies over the past year, one group was oddly silent:  atheists.  There were no loud cries from atheists over the US military’s waste of money to create yet another religious facility, nor were there any over the fact military atheists can’t even use the facility.

Like many US military bases, USAFA restricts the use of chapel facilities to religious gatherings:

All services held at the Cadet Chapel must be religious in nature and be conducted by a clergyperson or led by a lay-leader approved by the Cadet Wing Chaplain or designee.

Thus, unless an atheist group can sincerely say it is “religious in nature,” it can’t use the Falcon Circle as a barbecue pit this summer, while every religious Read more

Injured ROTC Cadet sets Sights on Pilot Training

Matt Pirrello, an ROTC cadet at Ohio University, lost his right leg mid-thigh in a parachuting accident at the US Air Force Academy 18 months ago.

He still wants to be a pilot, but he understands the hurdles in his way.

“If you’re in the Air Force when you’re hurt, it’s a matter of retention,” he said. “If you’re not in the Air Force, it’s a matter of whether they will accept you despite your injuries.”

Others have flown with prosthetic legs Read more

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