References to Biblical Passages on US Guns in Iraq and Afghanistan

Literally, the guns of Jesus. It turns out that the gun sight supplier, Trijicon, has encoded references to the New Testament on US Military sights being used in Iraq and Afghanistan. To the civilians in these countries, this undermines the credibility of the US's statement: the US is not at war with Islam, and never will be. The rifles with these sights are being referred to by some soldiers as "Jesus Rifles".

This has created a lot of controversy. Some Christians are proud of this, others are, I'm sure, offended. Soldiers in these countries are forbidden to proselytize, and this seems to undermine that. The order is actually referred to as "Order #1". The US Military's Religious Freedom Foundation is outraged saying that many of the soldiers are disgusted, and that it allows the enemies our soldiers are fighting to claim that this is a "crusade" of sorts against Islam.

Well, yes, this annoys me, and I think most people would be offended. This, to me, seems like an undermining of the separation of church and state. I am proud to say, however, that I am not a crazy conspiracy theorist that thinks this is evidence for an actual "crusade". I think it likely that the government's plea of ignorance is true. Whether or not I agree with current wars abroad, this undermines them. In Iraq and Afghanistan this information will probably be used as propaganda for the US's opponent's cause. I hope that the Biblical references on these scopes will be removed soon.

After Fort Hood, Soldiers Still Willing to Deploy

Only 2 weeks after the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, 8 of the mental specialists wounded by Hasan are now ready and willing to deploy. 14 other Mental Health Reservists have volunteered to fill the vacancies. Recently, the U.S. Army decided to deploy more psychologists to help soldiers cope mentally with all the severe war conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I applaud this kind of resilience from these soldiers. It truly shows how dedicated some of the troops are to our country. These are the actions that make me grateful for the soldiers fighting for us. Hopefully, shootings like the one at Fort Hood never happen again as these soldiers are the last people to deserve that sort of hostility.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-11-19-replacements-fort-hood_N.htm

Soldier mom refuses deployment to care for her son

Alexis Hutchinson, an army cook and a single mother, refused deployment to Afghanistan in order to care for her son. Originally, she had planned to leave her son in the care of her mother, Angelique Hughes, but her mother could not do it after being overwhelmed with taking care of other relatives and her own personal issues. As a result, Hutchinson could not get on her flight to Afghanistan, and stayed home to take care of her son. After authorities found out, Hutchinson was imprisoned for a while, and her child was put in foster care. Shortly after, Hutchinson was released and united with her son again. Officials are now investigating the case, but no charges have been filed yet. While the army requires all single parents to have a plan for dependent children upon deployment, Hutchinson originally planned to have her mother take care of her son before things fell through. Her mother tried telling her daughter's commanders they needed more time to find someone else to take care of the child, but her deployment schedule never changed.

This is quite a dilemma for Hutchinson, torn between her family and her job. What do you think is more important in this situation, serving one's country? or caring for one's family? Should charges be filed? Is it justifiable? I feel like family is more important because her child is an infant, and I believe that as a mother, she must do her best to make sure her son is taken care of, regardless of the consequences. However, we must remember that she still has a duty as a soldier to follow orders and protect the country.
(link to the story embedded in the title)

A Sad day for for the Armed Forces

Today I was shocked to discover that 12 soldiers were killed in dual shootings at the Fort Hood army base in Texas. One shooter was killed while two other suspects were recently caught. For a more detailed depiction of what occurred, I embedded a link in my title.
When I hear news like this, I shiver. I may be against war but the soldiers who fight for this country should never be targeted by hate crimes like this if this even is a hate crime at all. The shooter's motives were not revealed but whatever they are I am certain that they were not just causes.
What should be done to prevent further shootings like this? Was this a political statement? Was it more personal? What do you think of this travesty?