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The Air Force will now allow airmen to omit ‘so help me God’ from enlistment oaths
The Washington Post ^ | September 17, 2014 | Abby Ohlheiser

Posted on 09/17/2014 10:41:07 PM PDT by right-wing agnostic

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To: right-wing agnostic
Whose Constitution?

Morality in the Army and Navy

Congress was apprehensive about the moral condition of the American army and navy and took steps to see that Christian morality prevailed in both organizations. In the Articles of War, seen below, governing the conduct of the Continental Army (adopted, June 30, 1775; revised, September 20, 1776), Congress devoted three of the four articles in the first section to the religious nurture of the troops. Article 2 "earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers to attend divine services." Punishment was prescribed for those who behaved "indecently or irreverently" in churches, including courts-martial, fines and imprisonments. Chaplains who deserted their troops were to be court-martialed.

Morality in the Navy

Congress particularly feared the navy as a source of moral corruption and demanded that skippers of American ships make their men behave. The first article in Rules and Regulations of the Navy (below), adopted on November 28, 1775, ordered all commanders "to be very vigilant . . . to discountenance and suppress all dissolute, immoral and disorderly practices." The second article required those same commanders "to take care, that divine services be performed twice a day on board, and a sermon preached on Sundays." Article 3 prescribed punishments for swearers and blasphemers: officers were to be fined and common sailors were to be forced "to wear a wooden collar or some other shameful badge of distinction."


21 posted on 09/18/2014 5:21:02 AM PDT by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: right-wing agnostic
Thanks to Debra Lee Jones. From Dec 2013.

WASHINGTON – Deborah Lee James will be installed as the new Air Force Secretary next Tuesday, following a Senate confirmation vote Friday.

Although Ms. James was not a controversial nominee — winning approval on a 79-6 vote Friday — her confirmation has been held up for months.


22 posted on 09/18/2014 5:54:36 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (Guns are like parachutes. If you need one and don't have one, you'll probably never need one again.)
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To: right-wing agnostic

I entered the U.S, Air Force in January, 1964. Among the things I was issued was a pocket-sized Bible. It was not forced on me, and I was never forced to attend church. The military did nothing to force religion on any of us.

The Bibles were of our personal preference, I.e. “Protestant, Catholic”, etc.

This whacked out notion that the military forced religion on anyone is as absurd as it is untrue.


23 posted on 09/18/2014 6:09:41 AM PDT by FrankR (They will become our ultimate masters the day we surrender the 2nd Amendment.)
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To: headstamp 2

lol


24 posted on 09/18/2014 6:20:10 AM PDT by headstamp 2
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To: pepsionice

“The Pentagon legal staff really didn’t do anything except ask what Air Force idiot made the change, and how they’d come to that rational decision,”

Nobody forces the “lost” to join the greatest military on earth. They do it of their own accord. If the “Chair force” has become the ‘shrinking violet’ of the armed forces, who’s next, to follow their unGodly example?

It’s no wonder the world laughs at us.


25 posted on 09/18/2014 8:45:03 AM PDT by ourworldawry
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To: American in Israel

It doesn’t work for me nor my friends of Israel.

If someone wants to deny God that’s their personal problem.


26 posted on 09/18/2014 9:54:58 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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