The US Air Force Academy announced that Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be the commencement speaker at the 2010 USAFA graduation.
The news release notes that this is the first time the CJCS has addressed the USAFA graduation, a position more often filled by the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of the Air Force.
Retired Brig. Gen. Charles Duke Jr, an Apollo astronaut and the 10th man to walk on the moon, was invited to speak at the US Air Force Academy prayer luncheon on February 9th. He spoke on “America’s Godly Heritage,” and noted that he and his wife redirected their energy “toward God.” He is now president of the Duke Ministry for Christ.
In his remarks, General Duke also highlighted the nation’s religious heritage:
“From the beginning, we were a Godly nation. We were conceived as a religious nation with freedom of religion but not free from God,” he said.
He cited the Mayflower Compact written in the 1600s Read more
The US Air Force Academy recently awarded “UAS-RPA” wings to its first group of cadets. Cadets had already been authorized to wear glider wings if they were an Academy glider pilot or jump wings if they were parachutist qualified.
The display is the latest effort by the US Air Force to “normalize” the unmanned aerial vehicle career field and encourage its development within the Air Force culture.
The military academies reserve some of their admissions for enlisted members of the military, allowing them to go to college and become officers. This has led to a unique cadre of combat-experienced cadets at the Academies.
However, a US Army news release says that those at West Point are going unfilled, potentially because servicemembers don’t know about them. Enlisted members of any of the services are encouraged to research the programs at each of the Academies designed to place aspiring enlisted members on the path to officership through a military academy experience.
A few weeks ago the Colorado Springs Gazette published a short email excerpt from the designated pagan leader at the USAF Academy, TSgt Brandon Longcrier. In the quote, the Gazette highlighted Longcrier’s fear for his cadets in the face of what he described as a “hate crime” (the crossed shoe boards at the pagan circle).
Not much later, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, to whom the letter was addressed, published a series of letters it had received on the subject. The authors’ names were redacted, but in one the author clearly identified himself as the person who found the cross at the pagan site and took “the picture,” which is known to be Longcrier. In addition, it includes the quotes from the Gazette article attributed to him.
Longcrier’s message reiterates the “hate crime” and criticizes the Air Force Academy for its response. More interesting, however, is his attitude toward the cadets — particularly those of the Christian Read more
A local military paper documents the long-running US Air Force Academy tradition of “100s Night,” which marks 100 calendar days until the senior class (“Firsties”) graduate. While the Firsties are out at an official dinner and celebration, the freshman cadets (four degrees) transform their rooms into a variety of new creations. Some are simple, others complex; some are light-hearted, others are devilishly creative.
The article lists a variety of examples, including filling rooms with balloons (balloons filled with glitter, in one case), taking all the furniture out and setting up the room in another location (a stairwell), or filling a room with a cement pond (no word on Koi). Someone’s bed almost always ends up on the Terrazzo (the cadet common quad), and often one is placed in the middle of the cadet football field.
Military cadets are known to “count down” to major milestones, like the number of days to recognition for the fourth class cadets (even many lower class cadets know how many days they have until graduation). This is just one traditional way in which lower class cadets throw off their fetters and have fun at the expense of their upperclassmen. The Firsties? For the most part, they don’t mind. After all, they’ve only got 100 days left…
A lot of people don’t realize that some of the military academies’ displays of “spirit” aren’t entirely spontaneous or voluntary. While many enjoy going to their college’s football games, for example, the military academies are probably among the few institutions that require their student body to attend such games (and in uniform). Even the pushups that follow a touchdown in a service academy game are technically required (of the freshman class).
(When military members are essentially forced to participate in what seems to be a voluntary event, they refer to it as being “volun-told.”) Such displays are Read more
As previously noted, Military Religious Freedom Foundation creator Michael Weinstein spoke at last week’s character symposium at the USAF Academy, part of its annual National Character and Leadership Symposium. Initial indications are that his welcome was warmer this time, with press reports indicating he received standing ovations rather than the jeers of a previous visit.
According to reports, he repeated his somewhat inflammatory claims that
his foundation is at war with some fundamentalist Christians in the military who put their faith ahead of their oath to defend the Constitution.
In the past five years, during which he has been in constant litigation with the Department of Defense, Weinstein has never proven that any active duty military member has taken any actions that put anything “ahead of their oath” to the Constitution. While the loaded phrase makes him sound noble, it is a Read more