Not long ago I wrote about a memorandum that had been released by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz instructing everyone under his command to maintain "government neutrality regarding religion." Curiously the one place that this September 1 memorandum needed to be distributed, but was not, was the Air Force Academy. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould only showed it to a few top staff members; release didn't occur until after lots of cadets had read about it online and started asking about it.
The Air Force Academy absolutely insists that the eventual release of the memorandum from their commanding officer had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) put the entire text on a billboard in Colorado Springs, near the academy, where all the cadets and officers would be able to see it. Yeah, it was just a coincidence. Really.
And the excuses being offered by Academy spokesman Lt. Col. John Bryan are all completely believable because Bryan himself is so trustworthy:
Lt. Col. Bryan said to the Colorado Springs Independent, "I don't know why it's such an issue. Has every cadet seen this? Probably not. Has every permanent party [faculty and staff] seen this? Probably not. That memo wasn't written for the academy."
OK, so Lt. Col. Bryan is saying that the memorandum doesn't apply to the Academy. That's his reason for it not being distributed at the Academy.
But wait! Lt. Col Bryan also told the Independent that Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould had directed the handful of officers at their staff meeting weeks earlier to distribute the memorandum to all staff and cadets, saying that at this staff meeting Lt. Gen. Gould "passed out some copies of the CSAF memo and discussed its message with those senior USAFA commanders and directors -- directing them to ensure this message got out to permanent party, staff and cadets, here."
Huh? If the memorandum wasn't meant to apply to the Academy, as Lt. Col Bryan claims, then why would the Academy Superintendent have allegedly directed it to be distributed to everyone at the Academy, as Lt. Col Bryan also claims?
So, which is it? Was the memorandum only intended for Vandenberg Air Force Base, the base where the "Jesus Loves Nukes" nuclear missile training was exposed, as Lt. Col. Bryan also told the Independent, or did it also apply to the Air Force Academy.
Source: Talk2Action
So... the memorandum which instructed everyone to maintain "government neutrality regarding religion" didn't apply to the Academy, even though the Academy has had repeated problems with exactly that issue. But Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould also told his staff to distribute the memorandum. Even though it didn't apply to the Academy. Right.
But then the staff didn't distribute it, violating a direct order from their commanding officer. We're supposed to believe that, even though there is no word that anyone will face any disciplinary action whatsoever for committing what is in principle a very serious violation of military regulations. It's a violation that has become not just very public, but a real embarrassment, reflecting very badly on the top staff of one of America's military academies.
After getting a bit of whiplash trying to follow this convoluted "logic," I have to wonder if Lt. Col. John Bryan is an abysmally poor spokesman, or if he is actually quite good and is just doing the best that anyone would manage given the horrible circumstances being imposed upon him by his commanding officer.
Sadly, the situation for the cadets sounds like it's going downhill fast. MRFF has received a number of letters from cadets about what's been going on with this memorandum:
For the record, I am a Christian (Protestant/Baptist) and occasionally attend worship services here at the Air Force Academy or elsewhere downtown. I only found out about Gen Schwartz's memo because I saw and heard an officer and 3 other cadets saying some very bad things about you and General Schwartz's memo, Mr. Weinstein, in the Fairchild Hall academic building at the end of last week. I was really shocked by the messed up things they said about you and the MRFF in particular, very personal and hateful. ...
This weekend I "informally asked" so as not to arouse suspicion, my cadet chain of command if I could verbally brief my (USAF Academy cadet's Wing/Group/Squadron designation withheld) about the Chief of Staff's memo. I also asked, in lieu of briefing my (USAF Academy cadet's Wing/Group/Squadron designation withheld), if I could post General Schwartz's memo on the bulletin and message boards etc. located in my (USAF Academy cadet's Wing/Group/Squadron designation withheld).
I was told the following words exactly; "Don't go there. Who's side are you on"? Not knowing how to respond, and being shocked, I just said nothing. But the damage has been done and my eyes are now open to the religious bigotry of Christian bullies here at the Air Force Academy. I did not fully see it before. But I definitely do now. So do many of us. ...
Did you catch that -- cadets are now being told to "choose sides." What are the sides? Well, one side is obviously Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, military regulations, military law, and the American Constitution. And the other side... well, it appears to be Dominionist Christianity. So cadets in the Air Force are being forced to choose between obeying the leadership of the Air Force and protecting the Constitution they swore an oath to, or being loyal to a secretive religious group that is opposed to the chain of command, the Constitution, and American law.
How is that not evidence of insurrection? How can Air Force leaders not see this sort of thing and conclude that there needs to be a deep, thorough house cleaning at every level of the Air Force Academy -- and possibly other Air Force institutions, given the extent to which this insurrectionist religious movement may have infiltrated the military?
Oh, and don't forget that in addition to being opposed to the Constitution and American law, the Christian Dominionists are also raging anti-Semites:
Mr. Weinstein, my cadet roommate (cadet name and rank withheld) told me last night that one of his friends and classmates was in a class yesterday afternoon in Fairchild when another cadet in the class by the name of (cadet name and rank withheld) was telling people in the class that the only reason that Military Religious Foundation put up the billboard was to attack Christianity at the Academy. Another cadet challenged that statement and the cadet who said it responded by saying that you only put the billboard up because "It's a Jewish thing, a money thing. He's just crucifying Christ again for the same 20 pieces of silver."
I'm sorry to pass this on. I am not Jewish. I am Catholic and face the same pressure to convert to being a "complete Christian" all the time. All I can say is that none of us knew anything about General Schwartz's letter until sometime on Wednesday morning which is the day after you put the sign up in the Springs. ...What the leadership has done with General Schwartz's letter is real messed up. We see the lies. They hate you guys here. But many of us don't.
It's wonderful that some cadets are seeing through the lies and recognizing the hate and bigotry for what it really is. However, they also need to recognize that this is about a lot more than just anti-Semitism, religious bullying, or faith-based bigotry. No, it's about the nature of American society and government. The Christians involved in this are not merely jerks on some personal level, they are actively working to subvert the freedoms and liberties we enjoy -- they don't believe in those liberties because they follow a Bible which condemns them.
If you're in the military, you've taken an oath to the Constitution and are committed to following all legal orders from commanding officers. So if you're in the military and see people expecting you to choose between the Constitution on the one side and religion on the other, then you have a duty to document it all in detail, find out as much as you can, and report it all to people who can do something about it. If you don't, you become part of the problem because you are aiding and abetting the pursuit of serious crimes.
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