As published in the

Pasadena Star-News - June 8, 2005

San Gabriel Valley Tribune - June 8, 2005

Whittier Daily News - June 8, 2005

Tax dollars shouldn't promote anyone's religion

by

Gerald Plessner

Americans expect their military services and academies to be exemplars of good citizenship. That is why so many of us were outraged by disclosures of sexual harassment and student rape at the Air Force Academy in 2003. When the cavalier treatment of complaining female cadets was disclosed, Americans demanded change. And rightly so.

When top academy officers were disciplined and transferred we were assured that competent professionals who understood command responsibility would be put in charge of one of our top tax-supported public educational institutions.

But it would not be long before new additional lapses of leadership, judgment and fairness would again tarnish the Air Force Academy.

According to Rob Boston writing in Religion in Public Life, a Jewish cadet came forward in early 2005 with assertions that fundamentalist Christianity pervaded the academy. His allegations included being repeatedly called a "f-ing" Jew while in intramural sports and being blamed for killing Jesus. When his complaints were turned aside, the cadet still spoke up.

But he was not the only non-fundamentalist Christian to complain about academy religious intolerance. Non-believers have also been harassed. Cadets were pressured to attend Christian services and an academy chaplain gave a speech to cadets urging them to warn fellow cadets that those not "born again will burn in the fires of hell."

According to CNN.com, cadets are frequently pressured to attend chapel and take religious instruction. In at least one case, a teacher ordered students to pray before beginning their final examination. Non-Christian cadets were pressured to see the film "The Passion of the Christ" and when one cadet complained to an officer, he was told that he (the officer) was a Christian and considered it his duty to "bring him back" to Christianity.

In June 2003, Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida, the number-two officer at the academy and a born-again Christian, while in his position as their commander, told cadets that their first responsibility was to their God. (A student filed a complaint against the general noting that as a member of the military one swears allegiance to the Constitution first and then to God.) Under Weida's command, officer commission ceremonies are held at off-campus churches and mandatory academy events are often held on Jewish holidays.

Then there is the case of football coach Fisher DeBerry who put up a large locker room banner which read, "I am a Christian first and last . . . I am a member of Team Jesus Christ." DeBerry was told to remove the banner, but his role at the academy has not changed. His intolerant example continues to influence our future military leaders.

The Air Force is in a tight spot over this issue. Many members of Congress and the public are distressed by the culture at the academy, but a great number of key Air Force officers probably sympathize with Weida and DeBerry.

Despite the pressure, the Air Force is working to regain respect for its commitment to gender and religious tolerance. But they could have been more forceful. They could also return from Okinawa exile Capt. MeLinda Morton, an academy chaplain who was fired for criticizing the power of academy evangelicals.

In an Associated Press report on the Air Force's response to this problem, Tom Minnery, vice president for public policy at Focus on the Family, an Evangelical Christian group headquartered near the academy in Colorado Springs said, "I hope that our congressional delegation in Colorado begins to speak up and defend the military, which apparently is unable to defend itself against this frontal attack by the hard-core secular left."

It is difficult to understand how a government-owned educational institution that condones religious intolerance can be exempt from criticism from Americans on both the left and right. So I called Mr. Minnery at Focus on the Family and I asked him about that quote and his views on religious advocacy and intolerance at the academy.

Q. Is it appropriate for an Air Force General to proselytize cadets for Christianity?

A. "Very appropriate. I don't know the meaning of that word (proselytize) but I do believe it is proper for people to 'witness to their faith'".

Q. What in American law supports your position?

A. "The sixth article 6 of the Military Code of Conduct which says, 'I will trust in my God.'"

My friend Ernie Frankel is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel who is Jewish. He served in World War II and Korea. Here is what he says about this issue:

"It is not permissible behavior for any superior officer to proselytize anyone, let alone a subordinate. It is not, in my experience, acceptable for an officer to take a public position even on a political party. You know I'm a rip-roaring Democrat, but I surely never discussed politics with other senior officers or with subordinates in all the years I was in the service. The position was always that we signed an oath to protect and defend The Constitution of the United States. (period!)"

The Associate Press reported last week that Air Force Academy superintendent Lt. General John Rosa told a meeting of the Anti-Defamation League that, "As a commander, I know I have problems in my . . . whole organization . . . it's probably going to take six years to fix it."

We wish him well.

But where do people like Tom Minnery and presumably his boss James Dobson, get the idea that our government should use our tax dollars to promote their's or anyone else's religion? It baffles me!

About the author: Gerald Plessner is a Southern California businessman who writes regularly on issues of politics and culture. He would be pleased to hear from you and may be contacted at gerald@geraldplessner.com.