Tag Archives: Air Force

Foreign Policy reports: President Donald Trump is peeved with Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson over her handling of his directive to stand up a separate Space Force in the U.S. military, and he’s considering ousting her after the midterm elections, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Foreign Policy. Wilson, a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico, recently angered …

The Associated Press reports: One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, “I absolutely just loved altering my mind.” Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America’s arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD …

Stars & Stripes reports: The Air Force has affirmed the religious rights of a colonel who claimed he was wrongly disciplined for refusing to sign a certificate of appreciation for the same-sex spouse of one of his airmen last year. The Air Force said that Col. Leland Bohannon “had the right to exercise his sincerely held religious beliefs and did …

NBC News reports: A FedEx delivery arrived at Helen Grace James’ door on Wednesday. It was a message from the U.S. Air Force. She called two of her closest friends to come be with her before she opened it, and they arrived 20 minutes later. Once she opened it, she received the good news: The military had upgraded her discharge …

The Air Force Times reports: Airman Second Class Helen Grace James wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father and her great-grandfather and serve in her country’s military. But her service was cut short after she was investigated, interrogated and then given an “undesirable” discharge from the Air Force because she was a lesbian, the Washington Post reported. Now, …

The Air Force Times reports: An Air Force colonel who refused to sign a certificate of appreciation for the same-sex spouse of a retiring master sergeant in his command claims he was wrongly disciplined for holding to his religious beliefs. Following the May incident, the master sergeant filed an Equal Opportunity complaint alleging that Col. Leland Bohannon, then-commander of the …

Hate groups are furious over the nomination of openly lesbian Col. Kristin Goodwin to be commandant of the US Air Force Academy. The Foundation for Moral Law, the hate group founded by deposed Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, has written an open letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The letter was written by Moore’s wife, Kayla, the group’s …

This seems like the right story to follow up a Star Wars post. CNN reports: The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, said it’s on track to demonstrate a working laser weapon on a fighter jet by 2020. “It really is a national tipping point,” said Kelly Hammett, chief engineer for the AFRL’s directed energy directorate. “We see the …

Via USA Today: The Air Force announced policy changes Thursday that will make it more difficult to discharge transgender troops, a move that mirrors one made in March by the Army and puts the Pentagon a step closer to allowing transgender people to serve openly. Troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who identify as transgender are generally discharged from serving, …

From the Colorado Springs Gazette: The Air Force Academy class of 2015 is the first to come through four years at the academy with the open acceptance of gays and lesbians in the ranks. Tricia Heller, a 1987 graduate, and Tara Sweeney, a ’95 grad, attended the ceremony to support Lydia Hill of Boston. Heller and Sweeney helped found Spectrum, …

Pat Robertson is denouncing the Air Force for caving to “one little Jewish radical” and dropping its “so help me God” oath requirement. That Jewish radical, Mikey Weinstein, responds at Friendly Atheist: “Pat Robertson is to human dignity and sanity and integrity and character what dog shit is to a fine French restaurant on the menu.” Snork!

After an atheist airman complained that he was denied reenlistment because he refused to say the “so help me God” portion of the oath, the Air Force has dropped that requirement. Following a review of the policy by the Department of Defense General Counsel, the Air Force will now permit airmen to omit the phrase, should they so choose. That …

“This is an absolutely foundational, non-negotiable, bed-rock American principle: there is a Creator – with a capital ‘C’ (you could look it up) – and he and he alone is the source of the very rights the military exists to protect and defend. An individual who does not understand and believe this has no right to serve in the U.S. …

Via the Air Force Times: An atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada has until November to change his mind and swear a reenlistment oath to God, the Air Force said. The unnamed airman was denied reenlistment Aug. 25 for refusing to take an oath that concludes with the phrase “so help me God,” the American Humanist Association …

Via the Christianist site OneNewsNow: A coalition of Christian organizations has posted a billboard supporting the religious freedom of Christian cadets. The Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition sponsored the billboard near one of the entrances to the [Air Force] Academy which asks Air Force cadets “Are you free to say so help me God? They did,” against a background of …

Tony Perkins writes via press release: At the U.S. Air Force Academy, jets aren’t the only thing taking off. So is a campus-wide rebellion against the forces of political correctness. Frustrated by the school’s decision to scrub a Bible verse from one of the dorm whiteboards, cadets decided to take matters into their own hands. In a show of defiance, …

The Air Force Times reports: The Air Force Academy on Friday announced that it will now be optional for cadets to recite “so help me God” at the end of its honor oath. The academy made the change in response to a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state in the …

Posted today to the website of the Air Force: In order to be granted administrative absence, the Airman must be located more than 100 miles from a U.S. state, the District of Columbia or other jurisdictions that allows the couple to marry. According to the policy, if two service members are part of a couple and desire to get married, …

For about a month all of Teabagistan has been up in arms about an Air Force sergeant who claims that his lesbian commander relieved him of duty because he “didn’t agree with her position on gay marriage.” Today retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin, who now works for the Family Research Council, sent out an update via press release: Today, I …