I am so confused... I thought these wild and crazy guys were East Europeans in the US
But apparently the real wild and crazy guys are in the USAF as they visit Eastern Europe. MG Carey was not just an USAF a-hole, but the guy in charge of multiple nuclear-armed bomber wings. And he gets drunk and obnoxious on the way to and in Russia while on US government business.
I am sure this is just one bad apple and says nothing about the barrel from which he came, right?
Showing posts with label USAFA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USAFA. Show all posts
Friday, December 20, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
Karl Marx and the US Air Force Academy
"History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." This is a famous Marx quote but could apply quite well to the US Air Force Academy. I have posted far more often about the USAFA than the other military academies.
A sample from google
Why is that? Is the USAFA more flawed, more worthy of scorn and criticism than the others? Probably, but to be honest, it is probably because I visited USAFA more recently than Annapolis and have never been to West Point.
When I visited the USAFA in the early Aughts, it was part of an academic outreach program all three military academies had (have?) where they brought in undergrads from around the country to have discussions about some key topic and also brought in some random academics to moderate some of the discussions. What struck me most strongly was that I felt like I was at a religious university, as the environment seemed to be quite ... Evangelical. I had flashbacks to my time in Lubbock, where I felt like an outsider since I did not follow a particular brand of Christianity. The symbols (especially the extravagant chapel) and the discourse all made it apparent that this one public, academic institution had been pretty much taken over by those with a sectarian view of the institution's role in the U.S. Which disturbed me utterly.
Of all the Amendments to the Constitution, the first is the most important, I think, as it creates boundaries that restrict how much the government can be captured by some groups to be used against others. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press are basic fundamental requirements for democracy. But so is keeping religion out of the government. As a scholar of ethnic politics, I understand only too well how dangerous it is for religious groups to impose their views on the rest of their society. When we have a military educational institution doing pretty much that to its students, then we have trouble, big trouble.
I guess I have a heap of schadenfreude about USAFA troubles. An institution that tends to use "Jesus as crazy glue"? The Academy is largely captured by those who seem to be holier than thou yet is this corrupt? That tends to demonstrate the wisdom of our founders--that religion is not a guarantee for higher morality. Indeed, those who try to extend domination of one religion are far more corrupt and problematic.
So, what is the latest news out of the academy that has gotten my ire and fire? To combat its sexual assault problems and other challenges, the USAFA academy apparently persuaded (coerced?) students to become informants and thus violate the code of conduct that I once mocked. Read the story--it is appalling. What is perhaps the worst part about it? How the leadership of the institution and of the US Air Force run away from responsibility? Well, perhaps it makes sense since Sergeant Schultz was in the Luftwaffe, right? So, "I know nothing, I hear nothing" is probably a universal Air Force mantra? The institution is not even responding to a Senator's inquiries, but I guess we should be used to the institution ignoring its overseers (see point three).
Perhaps we should follow Robert Farley's advice and just get rid of the entire service? Sure, that seems extreme, but given how broken the USAFA is and that the USAFA is the building block for the entire officer corps of the US Air Force, it suggests (as the Chief of Staff's denial indicates) that the service is rotten to the core. If we cannot disband the Air Force, we might want to consider getting rid of the USAF Academy and selling off its assets to the local religious organizations. I cannot think of a worse place in the US to train the next generation of leaders of the US Air Force than the US Air Force Academy.
A sample from google
Why is that? Is the USAFA more flawed, more worthy of scorn and criticism than the others? Probably, but to be honest, it is probably because I visited USAFA more recently than Annapolis and have never been to West Point.
When I visited the USAFA in the early Aughts, it was part of an academic outreach program all three military academies had (have?) where they brought in undergrads from around the country to have discussions about some key topic and also brought in some random academics to moderate some of the discussions. What struck me most strongly was that I felt like I was at a religious university, as the environment seemed to be quite ... Evangelical. I had flashbacks to my time in Lubbock, where I felt like an outsider since I did not follow a particular brand of Christianity. The symbols (especially the extravagant chapel) and the discourse all made it apparent that this one public, academic institution had been pretty much taken over by those with a sectarian view of the institution's role in the U.S. Which disturbed me utterly.
Of all the Amendments to the Constitution, the first is the most important, I think, as it creates boundaries that restrict how much the government can be captured by some groups to be used against others. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press are basic fundamental requirements for democracy. But so is keeping religion out of the government. As a scholar of ethnic politics, I understand only too well how dangerous it is for religious groups to impose their views on the rest of their society. When we have a military educational institution doing pretty much that to its students, then we have trouble, big trouble.
I guess I have a heap of schadenfreude about USAFA troubles. An institution that tends to use "Jesus as crazy glue"? The Academy is largely captured by those who seem to be holier than thou yet is this corrupt? That tends to demonstrate the wisdom of our founders--that religion is not a guarantee for higher morality. Indeed, those who try to extend domination of one religion are far more corrupt and problematic.
So, what is the latest news out of the academy that has gotten my ire and fire? To combat its sexual assault problems and other challenges, the USAFA academy apparently persuaded (coerced?) students to become informants and thus violate the code of conduct that I once mocked. Read the story--it is appalling. What is perhaps the worst part about it? How the leadership of the institution and of the US Air Force run away from responsibility? Well, perhaps it makes sense since Sergeant Schultz was in the Luftwaffe, right? So, "I know nothing, I hear nothing" is probably a universal Air Force mantra? The institution is not even responding to a Senator's inquiries, but I guess we should be used to the institution ignoring its overseers (see point three).
Perhaps we should follow Robert Farley's advice and just get rid of the entire service? Sure, that seems extreme, but given how broken the USAFA is and that the USAFA is the building block for the entire officer corps of the US Air Force, it suggests (as the Chief of Staff's denial indicates) that the service is rotten to the core. If we cannot disband the Air Force, we might want to consider getting rid of the USAF Academy and selling off its assets to the local religious organizations. I cannot think of a worse place in the US to train the next generation of leaders of the US Air Force than the US Air Force Academy.
Friday, March 15, 2013
A Good Grilling
The US military deserves a good grilling for its handling of sexual assault, and Senator Gillibrand did a nice job here:
Her two key points:
And, yes, given my previous rants about the US Air Force, I am most pleased to see it take the hit here.
Her two key points:
- what does success look like? Given the existing reality that there are tens of thousands of sexual assaults and only two hundred or so are prosecuted, it seems like the status quo is not so terrific--good order and discipline?
- if the court martial rules x and the "convening authority" says not x, then we have a contradiction, right?
And, yes, given my previous rants about the US Air Force, I am most pleased to see it take the hit here.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The Past USAFA Awful-er Than Present?
I have posted here before about my concerns about the evangelization of the US Air Force Academy. That is, cadets and others view the USAFA as an outpost of a very specific definition of Christianity rather than as a military academy aimed at teaching the next generation of US Air Force officers (training them to think!!!).
Well, one of the opponents of a sectarian USAFA is Mikey Weinstein, who was told by some folks not to attend his 35th reunion since he is a force for evil. See this letter. It is disturbing on so many levels, including the need apparently to distinguish insincere "born again evangelicals" from "spirit-filled born-again" folks. Their notion of spirit is so filled of hate and contempt that it is pretty much the antithesis of spirit as we mean it in ultimate frisbee--where friendly competition is emphasized. Nor can these folks dance with the appropriate spirit fingers unless they are holding up on only their middle fingers.
I jest, but the idea that a guy who graduated from one's school (a public institution, not a private religious college) is told to not attend his reunion because he "worships" the Constitution "as an idol in place of the Son of God." Again, this is the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY we are talking about, not a school founded by a devout Christian (that would be John F. Oberlin).
I knew that the present and recent past of the USAFA was disturbing because of the effort to establish a religious hegemony over the place, but 35th reunion problems reminds us this is a deep and long history of a challenged public institution.
I am glad that Mikey is going back and I am glad he is speaking to the Secular Students. I hope the overly religious and intolerant folks get just a bit of reflux as they watch him attend his reunion. I am not praying that they die--I am just engaging in some wishful thinking that they are uncomfortable--that their intolerance poisons themselves just a wee bit.
Well, one of the opponents of a sectarian USAFA is Mikey Weinstein, who was told by some folks not to attend his 35th reunion since he is a force for evil. See this letter. It is disturbing on so many levels, including the need apparently to distinguish insincere "born again evangelicals" from "spirit-filled born-again" folks. Their notion of spirit is so filled of hate and contempt that it is pretty much the antithesis of spirit as we mean it in ultimate frisbee--where friendly competition is emphasized. Nor can these folks dance with the appropriate spirit fingers unless they are holding up on only their middle fingers.
I jest, but the idea that a guy who graduated from one's school (a public institution, not a private religious college) is told to not attend his reunion because he "worships" the Constitution "as an idol in place of the Son of God." Again, this is the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY we are talking about, not a school founded by a devout Christian (that would be John F. Oberlin).
I knew that the present and recent past of the USAFA was disturbing because of the effort to establish a religious hegemony over the place, but 35th reunion problems reminds us this is a deep and long history of a challenged public institution.
I am glad that Mikey is going back and I am glad he is speaking to the Secular Students. I hope the overly religious and intolerant folks get just a bit of reflux as they watch him attend his reunion. I am not praying that they die--I am just engaging in some wishful thinking that they are uncomfortable--that their intolerance poisons themselves just a wee bit.
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