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Our son, Logan, received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy today!

The US military has built a stone circle in its Air Force academy to give pagans, druids and witches somewhere to practice their religion. The Colorado base has spent around £50,000 building the Stonehenge-like structure to allow witches to cast spells, and pagans to form "circles of power" by night. It is situated on top of a wooded hill and includes a fire pit. The academy says it is for cadets who practice 'Earth based' religions including druids, witches and North American faiths. Despite the expenses it is believed only three out of the 4,300 cadets have openly admitted that...

Air Force Academy Adapts To Pagans, Druids, Witches and Wiccans Officials say an $80,000 Stonehenge-like worship center underscores a commitment to embrace all religions. (Pic in URL) Cadets gather for the dedication ceremony of the Air Force Academy's Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle worship center this spring. The center serves cadets whose religions fall under the broad category of “Earth-based.” (Jerilee Bennett, (Colorado Springs) Gazette / May 3, 2011) By Jenny Deam November 26, 2011 Reporting from Colorado Springs, Colo.— In the still of a cold November evening, a small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the...

Reporting from Colorado Springs, Colo.— In the still of a cold November evening, a small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the coming winter solstice. But these are not just any pagans, and this is not just any setting. They are future officers of the United States Air Force practicing their faith in the basement of the Air Force Academy's cadet chapel. Their ranks are slim. According to the academy's enrollment records, only three of 4,300 cadets identified themselves as pagans, followers of an ancient religion that generally does not worship a single god and considers...

Air Force Academy Creates ‘Worship Space’ for 'Earth-Centered Community’ Friday, June 17, 2011 By Patrick Ryan (CNSNews.com) - The United States Air Force Academy has created a “worship space” on campus for the “Earth-Centered Community,” which, according to the Air Force, includes among other denominations the Wiccans, Druids, Heathens and Pagans. Col. Robert Bruno, chaplain at the Air Force Academy, told CNSNews.com that the academy created the space in response to a request from a few service members and cadets who belong to the Earth-Centered Community. “In the Summer of 2009, a small group of Earth Centered Airmen and cadets...

Five Air Force Academy instructors and an advocacy group have filed a court complaint to stop a February prayer luncheon because of its outspoken evangelical speaker. The complaint, filed in conjunction with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation on Monday, contends that the academy is violating the separation of church as state as guaranteed by the First Amendment. In the complaint, the plaintiffs lament that the luncheon purports to be an inclusive, interfaith effort to emphasize “the spiritual values upon which our nation is founded,” but then fouls that effort with its speaker choice. They criticize the keynote speaker, Lt. Clebe...

Marine 1st Lt. Clebe McClary Next, they'll be trying to snuff out officers who are too straight, or too white... (Gazette) A religious rights group is calling for the removal of the Air Force Academy’s top officer after a flap over a speaker planned for a February prayer luncheon at the school.The Military Religious Freedom Foundation says the academy’s choice of retired Marine 1st Lt. Clebe McClary shows that superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould remains tilted toward evangelical Christianity and tolerates an environment where proselytizing is accepted.Lt. Gen. Mike Gould“We’re done,” said academy graduate Mikey Weinstein, the foundation’s founder and...

News: Face of Defense: B-52 Tail-gunner Recalls MiG Downing Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs Courtesy Story By Air Force Staff Sgt. Don Branum U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - If the landmarks here could speak, the B-52 Stratofortress bomber sitting near the academy's north gate would have quite a Vietnam War story to tell. The crew of the "Diamond Lil," a B-52D, tail number 55-083, took off from Utapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield on Christmas Eve in 1972. The crew's mission was to bomb the North Vietnamese railroad yards at Thai Nguyen as part of Operation Linebacker...

... [T]he Naval Academy, where I have been a professor for 23 years, has lost its way. The same is true of the other service academies. They are a net loss to the taxpayers who finance them, as well as a huge disappointment to their students, who come expecting reality to match reputation. They need to be fixed or abolished. The service academies are holdovers from the 19th century, when they were virtually the only avenue for producing an officer corps for the nation’s military and when such top-down institutions were taken for granted. But the world has changed, which...

The retired lieutenant general is credited with helping to organize and supply the breakout that inspired 'The Great Escape.' Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. A.P. Clark, a World War II veteran who played a key role in the elaborate breakout from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp that inspired the movie "The Great Escape," has died. He was 96. Clark, a former superintendent of the Air Force Academy, died March 8 in Colorado Springs, Colo., the military academy announced. The cause was not given. Albert Patton Clark was born in 1913 at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, where his father was an...

A large wooden cross was placed at an Air Force Academy worship area for pagans and other Earth-centered religions, prompting an investigation by academy officials, though some caution that it’s hardly “destructive behavior.” Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said an Air Force Academy staffer spotted the cross — erected with railroad ties — lying against a rock at a worship area for pagan groups at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Jan. 17.

Witches, Druids and pagans rejoice! The Air Force Academy in Colorado is about to recognize its first Wiccan prayer circle, a Stonehenge on the Rockies that will serve as an outdoor place of worship for the academy's neo-pagans. Wiccan cadets and officers on the Colorado Springs base have been convening for over a decade, but the school will officially dedicate a newly built circle of stones on about March 10, putting the outdoor sanctuary on an equal footing with the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist chapels on the base. "When I first arrived here, Earth-centered cadets didn't have anywhere to...

The Air Force Academy, stung several years ago by accusations of Christian bias, has built a new outdoor worship area for pagans and other practitioners of Earth-based religions. But its opening, heralded as a sign of a more tolerant religious climate at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., was marred by the discovery two weeks ago of a large wooden cross placed there. "We've been making great progress at the Air Force Academy. This is clearly a setback," said Mikey Weinstein, a 1977 graduate of the academy. He is founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and has often tangled...

Witches, Druids and pagans rejoice! The Air Force Academy in Colorado is about to recognize its first Wiccan prayer circle, a Stonehenge on the Rockies that will serve as an outdoor place of worship for the academy's neo-pagans.

Earth Religions Get Worship Area At AF Academy By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer DENVER – The Air Force Academy has set aside an outdoor worship area for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids and other Earth-centered believers, school officials said Monday. A double circle of stones atop a hill on the campus near Colorado Springs has been designated for the group, which previously met indoors. "Being with nature and connecting with it is kind of the whole point," said Tech. Sgt. Brandon Longcrier, who sponsors the group and describes himself as a Pagan. "It will dramatically improve that atmosphere, the mindset and...

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force Academy chapel will add a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions during a dedication ceremony, which is tentatively scheduled to be held at the circle March 10. The circle, located atop the hill overlooking the Cadet Chapel and Visitor Center, will be the latest addition to a collection of worship areas that includes Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist sacred spaces.

Link only - Respect healthy for different faiths

Welcome to the 21st century of aerial combat. Cockpits have become cubicles and airborne robots controlled by airmen half a world away are doing the fighting. It's a future the Air Force Academy is preparing cadets for, even if a lot of them long for the good old days of supersonic aerobatics. "You talk to a kid who has seen 'Top Gun' 25 times and tell them they're going to fly an unmanned aircraft, they are not going to be happy," said Lt. Col. Dean Bushey, who is leading a class of 12 cadets into the Air Force's new robotic...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The number of cadets with confirmed cases of the swine flu at the Air Force Academy has increased to 67. The academy said Monday that a total of 121 incoming freshmen with flu-like symptoms are being kept in dorms, away from other cadets.

(video) Joe Biden's teleprompter falls over in the wind while addressing the Academy graduates, and he makes a very funny joke about Obama's reliance on the 'prompter. This will make the BEST OF JOE reel for sure!

U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs 5/8/2009 - U.S Air Force Academy, Colo. (AFNS) -- The Tuskegee Airmen secured their place in history more than 60 years ago by doing what few people thought they could. They overcame naysayers in the U.S. Army Air Corps before they overcame the Luftwaffe in the skies over Italy and Germany. Their legendary story has inspired numerous books, a movie and thousands of U.S. Air Force Academy cadets. Born in 1925, Dr. Coggs first became interested in flying after he saw a plane fly low over his hometown of Little Rock, Ark. "As soon...

4/20/2009 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- For eight years, Academy cadets have been making wishes come true for ill youngsters. They made it happen again April 9 through Saturday when Joe Hayford, 13, became the newest Cadet for a Day through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "His eyes were huge, and he never quit smiling," said Wish volunteer Maggie Appenzeller. Accompanying Joe was his family--brother, Shane, 17, and parents, Chong Mi and Keith for the three-day event sponsored by Cadet Squadron -4. Wish volunteer Peggy Nightingale said the schedule and content are kept secret from Cadets for a Day...

Just having fun now! God Bless!

For all...love posting these for everybody to see. May God bless.

Serve your country best by serving God first, Archbishop Chaput tells USAF cadets Air Force Academy Chapel/ Archbishop Charles Chaput Colorado Springs, Colo., Mar 10, 2009 / 10:11 pm (CNA).- Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput addressed Catholic cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Monday, telling them the military profession is “honorable” and urging them to become virtuous leaders who serve their country best by serving God first.The archbishop discussed war, the nature of obedience, and the need to recognize that people matter more than things.Referring to Homer, W.B. Yeats and Robert E. Lee’s comments...

A Lt. Col. returned my call this morning from the USAF Academy. He confirmed that the hero of Flight 1549, Chesley Sullenberger III was a 1973 graduate of the Air Force Academy. They couldn't be more proud of what he did yesterday in saving a plane full of lives in New York. The colonel said that they train a great deal for these situations and the training skills he learned prepared him well for that moment. They are just as proud of what he did after the successful landing on the Hudson River. He went back into the plane twice...

Three years after a scandal at the Air Force Academy over the evangelizing of cadets by Christian staff and faculty members, students and staff at West Point and the Naval Academy are complaining that their schools, too, have pushed religion on cadets and midshipmen.

When the moment finally came to meet the most powerful man in the United States, Theodore Shiveley had just two words for him: "Chest bump." As the Richardson 22-year-old's class of Air Force Academy graduates streamed across a stage, many asked President Bush to do something unusual for them. Some stashed pens in their socks so he could sign their hats. One even called his parents and asked the president to say hello on a cellphone. Lt. Shiveley opened his arms and got the president to engage in a hearty chest bump with him. "Hey, it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance," said...

Today, President Bush delivered the Commencement Address at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. This was the 50th graduating class of the Academy. There was some rain during his speech. Following his speech, he posed and “cut up” with some of the graduates and you will love these photos. Transcript The President then traveled to Utah where he will attend two fund raisers on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

The White House says President Bush will liken the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to conditions in Germany and Japan after World War II when he speaks at the Air Force Academy graduation on Wednesday. In excerpts from his prepared remarks released today, Bush said it took time and patience to rebuild those nations, but it paid off when they became prosperous U.S. allies. "And we have reaped the benefits in generations of security and peace," Bush said in the prepared remarks. "Today we must do the same in Afghanistan and Iraq, and by helping these young democracies grow in...

Colorado Springs, Apr 11, 2008 / 04:11 am (CNA).- A seminar at the Air Force Academy that had been organized to discuss religion and war removed several movie clips from its presentation after receiving complaints that the clips were anti-Catholic, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. A Wednesday seminar on war and religion planned to show clips from “Constantine’s Sword,” a documentary based on a book by James Carroll. Among the complainants was the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Catholic League President Bill Donohue in an April 8 press release called Carroll, a columnist for the Boston Globe, an...

Why return to the Air Force Academy after Winter Break? So after our sunburns have faded and the memories of our winter break have been reduced to pictures we've pinned on our deskboards, and once again we've exchanged T-shirts and swim suits for flight suits and camouflage, there still remains the question that every cadet at U.S.Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has asked themselves at some point: Why did we come back? Why, after spending two weeks with our family would we return to one of the most demanding lifestyles in the country? After listening to our 'friends' who...

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The military is shutting down the Air Force Academy's emergency room and its hospital's inpatient services. Two nearby civilian hospitals have the capacity to take over its more than 100,000 patients, authorities said. The academy will phase out the services starting April 1, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported. Outpatient services will still be offered. The change comes as the military shifts more of its resources to cope with war casualties. The academy's health staff will be cut by more than half from 45 to 21 as part of the overall federal Base Realignment and...

Former terrorists Walid Shoebat, Kamal Saleem and Zak Anani addressed cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, during their annual political forum. They shared their experiences as terrorists and helped cadets understand the Islamic fundamentalist mind set. During the event a Jordanian college student, identified as Omar Khalifa of Metro International, approached Kamal Saleem and spoke to him in Arabic, "you are an enemy of Islam and you must die." The incident was reported to Military Police, who investigated Khalifa's threat. "The men receive threats of this nature all of time and we take each one very...

Some former terrorists were speaking at the academy to give insights on the life and thoughts of Muslim terrorists so the cadets can better understand the enemy. Well, it turns out that some real terrorists showed up. MMD: Former terrorists Walid Shoebat, Kamal Saleem and Zak Anani addressed cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, during their annual political forum. They shared their experiences as terrorists and helped cadets understand the Islamic fundamentalist mind set. During the event a Jordanian college student, identified as Omar Khalifa of Metro International, approached Kamal Saleem and spoke to him in...

Muslim group says Air Force Academy speakers use hate speech By: IVAN MORENO - Associated Press DENVER -- A Muslim advocacy group is decrying the U.S. Air Force Academy's decision to invite three former "terrorists" who the group said slam the religion with "hate-filled" rhetoric. The D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said one of the speakers, Walid Shoebat, has said that "Islam is the devil." Shoebat, along with Kamal Saleem and Zachariah Anani are scheduled to speak Wednesday at the 50th Annual Academy Assembly in Colorado Springs, where the topic of the four-day event is "Dismantling Terrorism." Maj. Brett Ashworth,...

A senior cadet at the Air Force Academy is a recipient of one of 32 Rhodes scholarships for 2008. Cadet Hila Levy of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, is first in her class at the academy. She is a biology major who has minors in Arabic, French and Spanish. She is fluent in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Hebrew. Levy has researched hemorrhagic fever in Venezuela and is the author of several papers relating to language in the military and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She will attend the University of Oxford in England and plans to obtain two master's degrees — one in global...

This song and movie was written, performed, and produced by Air Force Academy Cadets. When male and female cadets at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado "hook up" - they call it "Falcon Love." The Academy mascot is the falcon. The girl to guy ratio is about four or five to one. I know several married couples who met there, and are now on active duty. This song is a hoot - very funny, and so is the movie. It could apply to any service academy, ROTC, NCO Academy, or tech school. It was originally written for a contest...

After spending the last year fighting in Iraq, about 400 Colorado National Guard troops are home. The troops are part of the 2nd battalion, 135th aviation regiment. They were welcomed home at the Air Force Academy Sunday night.The soldiers began arriving home last week, but they've only been able to spend limited time with their families. Sunday, they officially got to go home.Sgt. 1st Class Blekis Clark is overjoyed to be back with her family."I left five children, four who are still at home. It was heart wrenching," said Clark. Sunday it was nothing but hugs for mom, who they...

After four years of intense academic and physical effort, two Valley residents are celebrating their graduation from the United States Air Force Academy. Matthew Boyle and Katrina Mumaw returned from Colorado Springs earlier this month as newly minted second lieutenants in the Air Force. "It was challenging, but definitely worth it at the end," said Mumaw, a 2001 Lancaster High School graduate. Both Boyle, a 2002 Paraclete graduate, and Mumaw are enjoying their eight-week vacation before reporting to their first assignment - by far the longest time off the former cadets have had since they began at the academy four...

6/7/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Summertime for university students is normally the chance to relax and unwind after surviving grueling semesters of cramming for exams and researching term papers. Some students spend this time at home with their family; some travel to tropical vacations spots. Some students go to a war zone. Nineteen U.S. Air Force Academy juniors and seniors embarked on a summer intern program of sorts on June 5, when they arrived in Southwest Asia to begin a nearly four-week, hands-on orientation with the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at an air base supporting operations Iraqi Freedom and...

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2006 – The U.S. will triumph over murderous extremists because of the daring and ingenuity of its people and armed forces, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in his commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy today. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld delivers his commencement speech to the 2006 graduating class of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 31. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "Violent extremists are trying to terrorize and intimidate free people into submitting to their will,"...

/16/2006 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Former Air Force great Chad Hennings received one of the highest honors a college football player can earn May 16. He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame. Hennings is one of 13 players and two coaches to be selected to the hall of fame from a ballot of 77 candidates and a pool of hundreds of eligible nominees, according to Ron Johnson, chairman of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. Hennings, a 1988 graduate of the Academy, is considered one of college football’s great...

3/31/2006 - KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) -- “Service Before Self,” one of the Air Force’s core values, is on the minds of 135 U.S. Air Force Academy cadets who are working during their alternative spring break in areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The project is part of the Cadet Service Learning program which centers on community involvement. “CSL takes this core value from theoretical concepts of the classroom and a training environment,” said Maj. Eric Ecklund, of the academy’s Center for Character Development. “It allows cadets to put it to the test in real situations, meeting the needs...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Officials at a Tallahassee funeral home say a man who culminated a 35-year military career serving as superintendent of the U-S Air Force Academy has died. Officials at Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home say that Former Air Force Lieutenant General Kenneth Tallman died Monday at age 80 from complications of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. A native of Nebraska, TAllman graduated from the U-S Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1946. He then went on to become a fighter pilot, serving in Vietnam as an Air Force assistant to Army General William Westmoreland. After his military...

Cadet Captures Essence of Academy Experience Jan. 31, 2006 Joseph R. Tomczak Cadet Fourth Class, United States Air Force Academy So after our sunburns have faded and the memories of our winter break have been reduced to pictures we’ve pinned on our desk boards, and once again we’ve exchanged t-shirts and swim suits for flight suits and camouflage, there still remains the question that every cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs has asked themselves at some point: Why did we come back? Why, after spending two weeks with our family would we return to one of...

The U.S. Naval Academy has ordered a court-martial for a faculty member who made a "crude" remark in the presence of female midshipmen, even though an investigating officer recommended only administrative action. The three criminal charges against Lt. Bryan D. Black come as the Annapolis school's superintendent, Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt, has announced a "zero-tolerance" campaign to rid the campus of sexual harassment. Lt. Black says he is being unfairly prosecuted as a "poster child" for Adm. Rempt's campaign. The academy filed criminal charges days after the school's board of visitors criticized Adm. Rempt after a Defense Department sexual...

William “Bill” Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor. While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades and room inspections, or never-ending leadership classes, Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave...

A pattern of hostility to free speech - specifically the rights of Christians to pray - is on the rise in our country. We saw it in our nation’s public schools ... where prayer was officially banned. We have seen it in our workplaces. Now, our United States military seems to have “jumped on the bandwagon” ... with Air Force leadership recently releasing proposed guidelines that will restrict how Air Force chaplains can pray. If approved, these guidelines may well be implemented throughout the entire Armed Forces. This is an outrage that we cannot allow! Already, it is documented that...