Tuesday Evening, May 31, 2022 |
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COMPLAINTS POUR IN TO MRFF AFTER
AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF QUOTES
BIBLE VERSE IN MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE
ON CBS SUNDAY MORNING
In a recorded Memorial Day video aired on CBS Sunday Morning,
the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.,
in violation of Air Force Instruction 1-1, which clearly states that "Leaders at all levels ... must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief," quoted one of the military Christian nationalists' very favorite Bible verses, saying:
"For each of our service members who raise their right hand, and taking the oath of office or oath of enlistment, can take solace in their selfless service and reflect on the Bible verse:
'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?
Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!''”
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Gen. Brown's Bible verse quote is at 1:30 into the video. |
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MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein
reacts to Gen. Brown's infusion of religion into
his Memorial Day message in a new video:
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MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein's
Email to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown
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From: Michael L Weinstein <mikeyw4444@icloud.com>
Subject: Your CBS Sunday Morning Statement
Date: May 31, 2022 at 9:00:57 AM MDT
To: charles.q.brown3.mil@mail.mil
Cc: frank.kendall.civ@mail.mil, mark.a.milley.mil@mail.mil, kathleen.h.hicks.civ@mail.mil
Hello, Gen Brown……….I just wanted to pass along a little constructive criticism…..about your Memorial Day statement on CBS Sunday Morning…..MRFF received 3 phone calls and one e-mail (see below) from MRFF clients who were upset about your sectarian quotes from the Book of Isaiah…..the rest of your statement was quite fine, in our view…but why did you have to quote from the so-called Old Testament with a phrase so often used by fundamentalist Christian nationalists?…..yes, yes, we saw that a Muslim gravestone was also shown in the video…but there IS the matter of AFI 1-1, Section 2.12…eh, General??!!
AFI 1-1, Section 2.12 (emphasis added):
2.12. Balance of Free Exercise of Religion and Establishment Clause. Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for their own free exercise of religion, including individual expressions of religious beliefs, and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. They must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief.
……rather than using quotes which actually can detrimentally divide USAF members, why not choose to utilize words which collectively unite them instead?…there are many such quotes you could have employed in this regard …..for instance: “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” ~Winston Churchill
From: MRFF Client’s name withheld
Subject: USAF Chief of Staff Quotes Bible in Uniform on TV This Morning
Date: May 29, 2022 at 9:55:21 AM MDT
Mikey,
Thanks for all you do.
This morning, USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown appeared in uniform on CBS Sunday Morning to talk about Memorial Day. During the segment, he quoted bible verse Isaiah 6:8 ""Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"". He mentioned that it was from the bible.
I'm not sure if this is an illegal endorsement of religion but it sure felt like it. Is this worth looking into? As a USAF veteran, it rubs me the wrong way.
Regards,
(USAF member’s name and title and rank withheld)
……Mikey Weinstein…..Founder and President, Military Religious Freedom Foundation 505-250-7727
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Statement on Gen. Charles Q. Brown's message from
MRFF Advisory Board Member Marty France,
Brigadier General, USAF (Retired)
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My take on the CSAF's recorded Memorial Day comments for the CBS Morning Show:
As an Atheist who spent 40-plus years hiding in uniform, I spent much too much time and effort trying to obscure my perspective while immersed in a cis-Christian environment characterized by quasi-mandatory Christian prayer and belief practice on the job and at official events. Too often, I would enter a commander's office and see overt signs of their Christian faith, such as a bible on the desk or a cross on the wall or some framed, pithy statement of personal priorities that always started with Faith or God. My wife was invited to thinly-veiled spouses' social gatherings that morphed into bible study sessions. Superiors asked if I'd found a "church home" when I arrived at a new assignment. I was even asked (inappropriately) on numerous occasions about my beliefs and found myself quibbling or awkwardly changing the subject to avoid confrontation. It wasn't until the last weeks in my last assignment, with retirement approved, that my wife and I made a public, overt statement by taking our seats at a large-scale official event (USAF Academy graduation while seated on the stadium floor in the active senior professors' section) when, following the national anthem, we were asked to "remember standing while Chaplain [Whomever] delivers the invocation."
We endured one commander (Brigadier General) who tasked a fellow officer to "Conduct a COIN (counterinsurgency) investigation" on any active supporters of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation within our organization (I was one). We endured our son (also an Atheist) being hazed during his freshman year at the USAF Academy for not participating in religious activities during his basic training, too. Bases and organizations offered retreats and free special programs sponsored by the chaplain's office to support resiliency and family harmony and marital bliss--but always from a religious/Christian perspective. Many of these offered time off of regular duty hours, too. Not a Christian? You're on your own.
There was a seemingly unending number of senior officers thanking God for their promotion, or giving credit for their career success to the "lord and savior." These same senior officers attended duty day events like the National Prayer Breakfast, in uniform, and looked out approvingly at all of their subordinates that also attended. They held "Holiday Parties" (again with quasi-mandatory attendance) at which they always managed to sneak in a prayer or mention of the "birth of our savior."
It just didn't stop.
But, it did make me think. It made me think and understand how difficult it must've been to be the only Black fighter pilot in a squadron--with no Black officers in your chain-of-command above you. The same for being the first woman or Hispanic or (later) LGBTQ member of a unit with no role models above you just to give you the HOPE that you, too, can succeed. It built within me a great deal of empathy for those that can't see themselves and their futures in familiar faces above them.
That's why General Brown's biblical citation on Memorial Day (Isaiah 6:8) hit me as just more of the status quo--albeit from a source from whom I expected better. He's broken one glass ceiling while caulking shut another. I suppose that I can't ever expect a senior leader to publicly proclaim that they are an Atheist--that would just be career suicide. Though, I'm okay with silence or just unbiased omission, per AFI1-1's guidance, in other words, no preference. But, it seems, we're not there yet. The fastest growing religious group in our nation (and, therefore, presumably in our military) are the "Nones" and Atheists like me and mine. But those "Nones" still must lurk in the shadows, like many others had to do in the past, because our Air Force isn't willing to live by its declared values and instructions and let us at least HOPE that we'll have an equal chance, too, if not at least one overt role model.
Marty France
Brigadier General, USAF (Retired)
MRFF Advisory Board Member
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"Thank you MRFF Team"
From: U.S. Army officer’s name withheld
Subject: Thank you MRFF Team
Date: May 31, 2022 at 2:46:15 PM MDT
To: Mikey Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org>, mikeyw4444@gmail.com
Good afternoon Mr. Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF Advocacy Team,
I pray that you are doing fine. By way of re-introduction, I am a Muslim Active Duty Officer in the United States Army and originally from West Africa. I am infinitely thankful and grateful for your assistance in regards to the religious/racial/national origin discrimination and oppression that I was facing. Only the Almighty God can reward you and the MRFF civil rights advocacy team for the assistance and help that you provided.
I was fighting for my career and have exhausted every possible avenue for relief. As soon as your team and you jumped into this uphill battle, justice prevailed! You and your advocacy team worked expeditiously and went above and beyond to resolve my situation. I couldn't have asked for more.
I pray that your organization grows so you can help more and more soldiers that are suffering from different kind of discrimination within our United States military.
Thank you so much for all that you’ve done for me. I only hope I can return the favor sometime in the future. Keep up the good work!
-US Army Officer
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