Faith Groups Support the Troops
It isn’t unusual to see Chaplains and troops sing the praises of non-military support groups who go out of their way to help support the religious faiths of those deployed to war: Read more
Tag Archives: west point
DADT Non-Event: West Point Hosts Homosexual Wedding
The repeal of DADT in the US military was such a non-event that these non-events keep making the news:
Two graduates of West Point are set to become the first men to marry each other at the storied military academy. Larry Choate III, class of 2009, will marry Daniel Lennox, class of 2007, on Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy’s Cadet Chapel.
Homosexual women previously did so, though the “first” event wasn’t as newsworthy as the second.
United Church of Christ Chaplain Cynthia Lindenmeyer, a 1990 West Read more
Weinstein Praises General’s “Metamorphosis”
As previously noted, Michael Weinstein had suddenly softened his tone on LtGen Robert Caslen when he found out Caslen was slated to lead the US Military Academy at West Point.
During Gen Caslen’s involvement in the Christian Embassy controversy in 2006, Weinstein said those involved in the scandal were equivalent to al Qaida, Iraqi militant Muqtada al Sadr, and deserved to be court-martialed. Two years later, Weinstein essentially accused Gen Caslen of fomenting insurrection at the hands of a Christian army, and said the Army was promoting “fundamentalist Christianity” by promoting Gen Caslen.
Weinstein’s self-serving “about face” has already been discussed. What is interesting this time is Weinstein’s continuation of the faux praise for the General’s “metamorphosis” — while he cites absolutely no reason for or characteristic of LtGen Caslen’s alleged ‘reversal.’
After first reminding people the MRFF once accused General Caslen of “sedition” — a criminal accusation for which he does not apologize — Weinstein then says: Read more
Military Academies Have Highest Paid Graduates
As reported at CNN, PayScale.com claims that the US Naval Academy and US Military Academy have the 2nd and 7th highest paid graduates, respectively. They also had the highest starting salaries.
The highest starting salaries were claimed by graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy and West Point at $77,100 and $74,000, respectively. But those figures were typically for jobs taken after grads served five years of required military service post-graduation, said Bardaro. Also boosting pay: Military academies typically feature strong engineering programs, and grads can gain crucial work experience during their service years, she said.
Given that those salaries are greater than an O-1’s pay, the premise appears to be based on salaries after the mandatory 5-year military service commitment.
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Commander: Troops Ordered Not to Have Opinion on DADT
According to an ongoing story covered at FoxNews, Utah Air National Guard TSgt Layne Wilson was reprimanded after writing a letter to a West Point chaplain regarding a post-DADT chapel ceremony, which presumably occurred last December. The text of his letter does not appear to be completely available, but it said in part
Our base chapels are a place of worship and this is a mockery to God and our military core values. I have proudly served 27 years and this is a slap in the face to us who have put our lives on the line for this country. I hope sir that you will take appropriate action so this does not happen again.
Apparently, West Point complained to the Utah Air National Guard, and Wilson’s supervisor gave him a Letter of Reprimand because he
“failed to render the proper respect to a commissioned officer.”
Given that only part of the story is public, it is difficult to fully discuss. On the other hand, another part of the conversation is public and may stand on its own. As noted in a memo from LtCol Kevin Tobias, 130th Engineering Installation Squadron commander, following this incident [emphasis added]:
“We talked about his feelings about DADT and Read more
Service Academies Rank on Forbes Top Colleges List
The US military academies ranked high on the Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges:
Ranked at No. 7, the U.S. Military Academy beat out all the other service academies — as well as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology…
The U.S. Naval Academy was ranked No. 28, followed closely by the U.S. Air Force Academy at No. 31. Forbes slotted the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at No. 94 and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at No. 165.
As noted in prior years, the academies routinely rank near the top of Princeton, Forbes, and US News annual lists of top universities (except when it comes to rankings for ‘best party school’).
Update: As reflected in official Air Force news releases.
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Navy Chief Chaplain Delivers Nightly Prayer
The Chief of Navy Chaplains, Chaplain (RAdm) Mark L. Tidd, recently visited the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. With regard to the current environment, he made a point of saying chaplains can help in the fight against sexual assault.
Tidd’s training and conversations with Nimitz’ chaplains and leaders included sexual assault prevention and awareness guidance. According to Tidd, a chaplain’s confidential counseling can play a crucial part in the lives of sexual assault victims.
“A chaplain can confidentially help a victim determine how to proceed [and decide] whether to make a restricted report or an unrestricted report that can lead to an opportunity to bring people to justice,” said Tidd.
The article makes a side comment that would likely register with few:
Tidd also conducted the ship’s evening prayer Read more
Military Leaders Call for Moral Courage, Leadership
In the face of the “sexual assault” scandal in the US military, Department of Defense leaders fanned out across graduation ceremonies to call on new and graduating officers to live out moral courage. From Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, speaking to the graduating class of 2013 at West Point [ellipses original]:
When you are faced with difficult decisions, you will always know that the right thing to do…is the right thing to do. Do it. Listen to yourself and be guided by what you believe is right.
Standing against the crowd and choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong, as the Cadet Prayer prescribes, can be very lonely and frightening at times. And it requires immense moral courage.
It is an interesting position to assert that every officer knows the right thing to do — meaning many in the current controversies have been knowingly choosing to do the “wrong thing.” Of course, the “moral courage” to which Secretary Hagel refers presupposes a knowledge of right and wrong; normally, that is defined outside of “listening to yourself,” unless one includes a moral and religious upbringing in one’s character.
Secretary Hagel is Read more