{"id":45326,"date":"2014-09-17T23:20:21","date_gmt":"2014-09-18T05:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/17\/air-force-fliers-dont-have-to-claim-god-as-their-co-pilot.html"},"modified":"2014-09-18T09:51:51","modified_gmt":"2014-09-18T15:51:51","slug":"air-force-fliers-dont-have-to-claim-god-as-their-co-pilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/17\/air-force-fliers-dont-have-to-claim-god-as-their-co-pilot.html","title":{"rendered":"Air Force fliers don&#039;t have to claim God as their co-pilot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The USAF has backed down on a change implemented last fall to the oath \/ affirmation for all airmen that required them to swear, &quot;so help me God,&quot; even if they are atheists. The Air Force has been alone in applying that rule.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/ArticleDisplay\/tabid\/223\/Article\/497535\/af-to-change-instructions-for-oaths.aspx\">http:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/ArticleDisplay\/tabid\/223\/Article\/497535\/af-to-change-instructions-for-oaths.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n<p><i>&ldquo;We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,&rdquo; said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. &ldquo;We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our Airmen&#39;s rights are protected.&rdquo;<\/i><\/p>\n<p>After consultation with  the Pentagon, they&#39;ve realized that Article 6 and the First Amendment of the Constitution kind of make imposing a religious test on enlistees to be &#8230; well, a bit dubious.<\/p>\n<p>In an earlier kerfuffle back at the Air Force Academy, it was pointed out that the oath that was sworn by troops under George Washington&#39;s command at Valley Forge didn&#39;t include any language about God:<\/p>\n<p><i>&#39;I, &#8230;, do acknowledge the United States of America to be Free, Independent, and Sovereign States, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the Third, King of Great Britain; and I renounce, refute and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; and I do swear that I will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States, against the said King George the Third, his heirs and successors, and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents; and will serve the said United States in the office of &#8230; which I now hold, with fidelity, according to the best of my skill and understanding.&#39;<\/i><\/p>\n<p>(<a href=\"http:\/\/goo.gl\/agMTPV\">http:\/\/goo.gl\/agMTPV<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Glad to see the Air Force has chosen to side with those radicals of the Continental Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Previous posts on the subject:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/10\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-no-atheists-allowed-in-my-foxholes-edition.html\">https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/10\/bryan-fischer-is-a-dolt-no-atheists-allowed-in-my-foxholes-edition.html<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/05\/is-god-is-my-obligatory-co-pilot.html\">https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/05\/is-god-is-my-obligatory-co-pilot.html<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style='text-align:center'><a href='https:\/\/plus.google.com\/photos\/101083456815352083930\/albums\/6060273009733729425\/6060273023446572418'><img src='https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-nlXG3f_gKno\/VBpqNMRqXYI\/AAAAAAAC1q8\/Y37e23aCaIo\/billboard_usafa%255B1%255D.jpg?imgmax=660' \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style='text-align:center'>\n<a href='' style='width:50px;height:50px;display:inline-block;background-size:cover;background-image:url();'><\/a>\u00a0\n<\/div>\n<p><span style='font-size:small;'><a href='https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101083456815352083930\/posts\/Bn3rU5oCtRT'>View on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The USAF has backed down on a change implemented last fall to the oath \/ affirmation for all airmen that required them to swear, &quot;so help me God,&quot; even if they are atheists. The Air Force has been alone in applying that rule. http:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/ArticleDisplay\/tabid\/223\/Article\/497535\/af-to-change-instructions-for-oaths.aspx &ldquo;We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/17\/air-force-fliers-dont-have-to-claim-god-as-their-co-pilot.html\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Air Force fliers don&#039;t have to claim God as their co-pilot&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,109,349],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plusposts","category-church-state","category-military"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/billboard_usafa5B15D.jpgimgmax=660.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12675,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/02\/27\/blogs_facebook_scary_red.html","url_meta":{"origin":45326,"position":0},"title":"Blogs! Facebook! Scary! Red Alert!","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 27-Feb-08 3:41pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Air Force bans blogs. More accurately, the Air Force is blocking all sites that have the word \"blog\" in their URL.\u00a0 AFNOC has imposed bans on all sites with...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blogging &amp; Internet&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blogging &amp; Internet","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/WWII%20Talked1_jpg.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13486,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/12\/01\/the_purpose_driven_proset.html","url_meta":{"origin":45326,"position":1},"title":"The Purpose-Driven Prosetylization","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 1-Dec-08 10:39am","format":false,"excerpt":"There is little doubt that purpose is a key to mental and emotional health. People with purpose in their lives just tend to do better People without purpose, with a...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Religion&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Religion","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":134716,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/09\/16\/chaplains-gone-wild.html","url_meta":{"origin":45326,"position":2},"title":"Chaplains! gone! wild!","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 16-Sep-17 10:57am","format":false,"excerpt":"The military is a microcosm of society as a whole, even with the added layer of discipline and mission. So it shouldn't be surprising that questions of religious intolerance and excessive zeal -- and just plain bigotry -- would find their way into the armed services. It's troubling amongst the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/unnamed-9.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":134021,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/02\/a-short-term-cheaper-workaround-for-the-aging-air-force-one-fleet.html","url_meta":{"origin":45326,"position":3},"title":"A short-term cheaper workaround for the aging Air Force One fleet","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 2-Aug-17 7:29am","format":false,"excerpt":"Trump made big noises at how Boeing was ripping everyone off regarding the development with the Air Force for news planes to serve as Air Force One. At his direction, the order was canceled -- leaving what to do about the aging 747s (technically VC-25s) that have been flying since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":132167,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/12\/06\/tweetizen-trump-2016-12-06-air-force-none.html","url_meta":{"origin":45326,"position":4},"title":"Tweetizen Trump &#8211; 2016-12-06 &quot;Air Force None&quot;","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 6-Dec-16 9:00am","format":false,"excerpt":"Donald Trump has called for a cancellation of the current Air Force One program with Boeing.Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!\u00b9This is kind of interesting on a number of levels.1. Donald\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/9d6b8289f85deebbca92009c676690f85B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/9d6b8289f85deebbca92009c676690f85B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/9d6b8289f85deebbca92009c676690f85B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44929,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/05\/is-god-is-my-obligatory-co-pilot.html","url_meta":{"origin":45326,"position":5},"title":"Is God is my obligatory co-pilot?","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 5-Sep-14 2:11pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Not only is someone compelling someone to swear an oath to a deity they don't believe in both silly and counter-productive, it's also pretty clearly a violation of both Article 6 and Amendment 1 of the US Constitution. The USAF spokesperson notes, correctly, that federal law requires \"so help me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;~PlusPosts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45332,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45326\/revisions\/45332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}