At a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) decried restrictions on military chaplains across all services and asked President Bush to pass an executive order protecting their rights. Jones claims that Christian military chaplains are being told to use general terms when they pray and to avoid mention of Jesus. Jones read from letters written by chaplains saying they were told it is against policy to publicly pray to Jesus. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) said the problem is more “widespread and not only limited to the Air Force.” The Air Force issued a set of proposed religious guidelines earlier this year after an investigation into proselytizing at the Air Force Academy.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.