USAFA Responds and MRFF Allies Refute

Friday, January 21, 2011
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for your concerns regarding the 10th Air Base Wing’s invite to retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Clebe McClary to be the guest speaker for the 2011 National Prayer Luncheon on Feb. 10. I’d like to take a moment to give you the ‘ground truth’ on some of the issues surrounding this event to ensure you have the entire picture.

Each February, the President, Members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other invited guests, customarily attend the Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. This gathering is a national tradition that dates back to the Eisenhower Administration. Its observance on military installations and in communities across the nation is an extension of this event. The event’s purpose has consistently been: “to bring together the leadership of the United States in recognition of the spiritual values upon which our Nation is founded.”

USAFA’s Prayer Luncheon is a completely voluntary event; invites were only sent to permanent party members and staff (not cadets). There is absolutely no pressure for anyone to attend.

This year’s program is very inclusive of many different beliefs. There will be readings by an Islamic Airman, a Jewish Airman, an African-American Christian Airman, a Jewish chaplain (rabbi), a Buddhist sensei and a Catholic chaplain (priest). By design, this expresses some of the rich religious diversity that makes up America’s Air Force and your United States Air Force Academy.

We asked Lt McClary to speak because he is a highly-decorated Vietnam combat veteran (Silver Star and Bronze Star) and nationally recognized motivational speaker. He presents a tremendously inspirational message as he describes the loss of an eye and arm in combat, and how he overcame tough odds to succeed in his endeavors. His message is one of facing challenges and overcoming adversity and he has the credibility to support that message.

USAFA’s luncheon is not funded by taxpayer dollars. Expenses are covered , in part, by the Chapel Tithes and Offerings Fund (to include Lt McClary’s lodging, travel expenses, or honorarium). Those wishing to attend pay $7 for their meals.

And again, I appreciate your concerns and thoughts. I hope this helps you better understand the history of the National Prayer Luncheon and its importance to your US Air Force Academy , dozens of other military installations, and countless citizens across our nation.

David K. Cannon
Director of Communication
U. S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

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Mr. Cannon,

I’d like to take a moment to give you the “ground truth” on the issues surrounding this event to ensure that you have the entire picture. Our “ground truth” comes from service members who have actually heard Lt. McClary speak at previous events, both at USAFA and at other military installations.

But first, Mr. Cannon, I’d like to address the distractions and straw men in your email.

You really need not explain the history of the National Prayer Breakfast to a group of religious freedom advocates. You see, Mr. Cannon, we are all quite familiar with the history of this “tradition,” as the Prayer Breakfast movement was started by “The Family,” the secretive Christian organization exposed by New York Times bestselling author Jeff Sharlet in his book, The Family. In fact, over the past few years, I have frequently assisted Mr. Sharlet with research on this group, both during its slew of scandals and for his new book, C Street, which has a fascinating section on the military that I think you might find quite enlightening.

Given The Family’s connection to the Prayer Breakfast movement, I found it extremely ironic that you actually quote a Family website in your altogether unnecessary and irrelevant history of Prayer Breakfasts. You were probably not even aware that this is what you were quoting, so allow me to fill you in. The head of Leadership Development Seminars, the organization whose website you quote, is Doug Burleigh, a key member of the Family and the brother-in-law of Family leader Doug Coe. Does this make the history on this website wrong? No. On the contrary, the history from Leadership Development Seminars is absolutely correct. It is you, Mr. Cannon, who cherry-picked a quote from this website to suit your purposes.

You quote the Prayer Breakfast movement’s purpose “to bring together the leadership of the United States in recognition of the spiritual values upon which our Nation is founded,” but conveniently ignore all the other quotes on the same page that make it clear that this is a Christian movement, such as: “The idea of these prayer breakfast groups, which were non-denominational, was to bring together civic and business leaders informally to share a meal, study the Bible, develop relationships of trust & support, and to promote the principles of Jesus.” And, what does it say right at the top of this webpage that you quoted from? “A place where state and community leaders can come together with emerging leaders around the person of Jesus.” Did you miss this clearly stated mission, Mr. Cannon? Or did you just think that no one who received your email would check to see what you were quoting?

Then there’s your straw man that the Academy’s Prayer Luncheon is for permanent party and staff members, and not for cadets. We know this, Mr. Cannon. The complaints received by MRFF over your selection of Lt. McClary to speak at this event have been from permanent party and staff members. Nowhere have we claimed otherwise. But, let me ask you a question here. Do you think this makes a difference? Do permanent party and staff members at the Academy have any less rights regarding religious coercion than cadets?

And, that brings me to my next point. Coersion. You claim in your email that “There is absolutely no pressure for anyone to attend.” Really? I urge you to take a few minutes to read what one of the permanent party officers who was “invited” to this event wrote on behalf of himself and about a dozen of his fellow officers.

“I saw in the news that the Academy is trying to downplay this whole mess which the MRFF brought to the public by saying that it’s ‘voluntary’ to go to it and that this USMC Lt. is a just ‘motivational speaker’ and that ‘nobody will be taking names.’ LIES! My USAFA boss and even his boss left it very clear that if we didn’t go to this ‘patriotic Christian’ event we’d be ‘letting him down.’ Seriously, ‘patriotic Christian’ event? That says it all. Believe me please MRFF when I say that the names of the absent will very certainly be remembered. Am I going? In a word, hell yes. I have kids and need my job. I have been afraid to say anything to them for a very long time now. I’ve gotten good at hiding my hatred of it all. I’m used to it now. The feeling I have of being down for not standing up to the ‘energetic Christians’ here is not as bad now as the feeling I would have of having my Air Force career derailed by a bad performance eval. You do not need to tell me what that makes me. I know what that makes me and I’m not proud of it. Thank you MRFF for fighting for those of us who have lost the will to fight. And in doing so lost a lot of our own dignity.”

Yes, Mr. Cannon, officers like the one who wrote the above will “voluntarily” attend the Prayer Luncheon, and will feel sick about doing so. Quite a morale booster, huh?

Moving on to your next straw man, that this luncheon is not funded by taxpayer dollars, nobody has even raised this issue, and, frankly, it makes no difference who’s paying for this event. This is about the impropriety of bringing a speaker to the Academy who likes to think that a “complete” Marine is one who thinks that U.S.M.C stands for “U.S. Marine for Christ,” and is well known to make statements at military events telling his audience that to be a “real” Christian, one must be a “born again” Christian. Lt. McClary’s views exclude not only members of non-Christian religions, but also the many Christians who do not subscribe to this fundamentalist and highly sectarian view of Christianity. While Lt. McClary’s “inspirational” message might inspire those of his own religious ilk, it is a slap in the face to all members of the military who see their mission as defending our country and the Constitution, and not as being part of “the Lord’s Army,” as Lt. McClary says he is. No amount of lip service to other religions by so graciously allowing them a few minutes at the beginning of the event to read prayers from their religious traditions can counter the clear message of fundamentalist Christian supremacy imparted by the Academy in making Lt. McClary the keynote speaker.

Sure, you can say that the event is inclusive because you’ve got your token Muslim, Jew, and Buddhist to read a few words, but do you really think that anyone sees this as equal recognition of all religions when these non-Christian readings are followed by a speaker whose military prayer breakfast and luncheon speeches include statements like: “There are two kinds of fools in this world. A fool for Christ and a fool for others. What kind of fool are you?” Do you not think that McClary’s message will be taken by your Muslim, Jew, and Buddhist readers as being called “fools.”

Now, back to that “ground truth.” Many of the service members who have contacted MRFF in opposition to allowing Lt. McClary to speak at the Academy’s Prayer Luncheon, and others who have written comments on articles about the issue, are current and former service members who have previously heard this man speak at other military events, and know from first-hand experience what his message is. It is a message of fundamentalist Christian supremacy. Mr. Cannon, no matter how many times you or anyone else at the Academy attempt to convince people that Lt. McClary is simply a “motivational” or “inspirational” speaker, it will not equal the number of first-hand accounts to the contrary, such as these:

“When I saw him speak, it was to a group of young officers (fresh 2Lt’s), and he was billed as a ‘motivational speaker.’ It soon became very clear that he was high on the Jesus juice.” (comment from an Air Force Academy graduate)

“I’ve heard him speak before and I know what he says and what he does to his audience. It made me sick then and will again when he speaks on Feb. 10 at the Falcon Club here at USAFA.” (email from current officer at USAFA who identifies himself as a Protestant)

In closing, I’d just like to add that your attempt to dissuade MRFF’s allies by sending your email to all of the organizations that wrote letters in support of MRFF’s demand to rescind McClary’s invitation and choose a more inclusive speaker, but neglecting to copy MRFF on that email, has been duly noted. As you can see by the cc’s on this email, my response has been sent to all of these same organizations. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from them soon.

Chris Rodda
Senior Research Director
Military Religious Freedom Foundation

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Dear General Gould:

Veterans for Common Sense urges you to withdraw the invitation to Clebe McClary to speak at the U.S. Air Force Academy prayer breakfast scheduled for February 10, 2011. We also object to the inappropriate e-mail sent by your aide, David Cannon, in response to objections about McClary. We note Cannon failed to address the main issue: inviting a religious extremist and proselytizer to speak the USAFA campus violates our Constitution.

While VCS commends and respects Clebe McClary’s superb military record and his service during the Vietnam War, we are very disappointed you invited McClary due to his openly declared mission to proselytize for his narrow view of religion. McClary’s intent clearly crosses the lines of dignity, common sense, and our Constitution.

Today, our nation remains at war for more than 20 years in Southwest Asia. Publicizing and promoting improper religious proselytizing at the USAFA distracts from the university’s stated mission to “educate, train and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation” as they protect and defend our Constitution. The USAFA mission does not mention bringing religious proselytizers on campus or harming the secular reputation of our military. For that reason, VCS supports the comments made by retired U.S. Ambassador Joe Wilson, who also urges you to withdraw the invitation to McClary.

VCS believes our Constitutional rights under the First Amendment prohibit the establishment of a religion by our government and any religious test for government employment. This prohibition includes our military service members and civilian staff who are Federal employees at the USAFA. The Academy must be a place for religious tolerance and learning, not for blatant and irresponsible religious indoctrination and conversion. While your Director of Communication contends the event is not mandatory, veterans are fully aware of command intimidation and coercion to attend similar events while we were in the military.

Based on repeated prior incidents of religious intolerance as well as illegal proselytizing on the USAFA campus documented by repeated incidents and investigations, VCS urges you to rescind the invitation for McClary to speak at the USAFA. Continuing with the event shows a callous disregard by USAFA leaders for the civil liberties and Constitutional rights of our service members as well as the reputation of the USAFA and our military.

VCS asks for a reply from you, and we request a specific response to our assertion that McClary’s proselytizing of government employees on government property on government time is unconstitutional.

Sincerely,

Paul.

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense

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Dear General Gould:

The United Atheist Front, on behalf of our 61,544 members, still strongly urges you to withdraw your invitation to Clebe McClary as a speaker at the U.S. Air Force Academy prayer breakfast scheduled for February 10, 2011. Our position on this matter remains unchanged, particularly after receiving a highly inappropriate email from your aide, David Cannon. We are very much aware of the information that Mr. Cannon included in his email, but it does not change the fact that inviting a religious extremist to proselytize on the Federal USAFA campus is still in violation of our Constitution, which clearly prohibits the establishment of a religion by our government, and as much as Mr. Cannon might not want to believe it, Mr. McClary’s proselytizing at this event does, indeed, fall in violation.

While Mr. McClary’s current activities as a private-sector evangelical speaker do not tarnish his outstanding military record, as well as his service during the Vietnam War, his open declaration to proselytize his narrow view of religion does disqualify him as an appropriate speaker for this event. The fact that this event is by invitation only does not change a thing and continuing with the planned attendance of Mr. McClary as an official speaker is clear evidence of a complete disregard by USAFA leaders for the civil liberties and Constitutional rights of our service members.

Considering the situation we are dealing with in the Middle East and the continuing strained relations we have with certain foreign governments, the very last thing we need is for the Air Force Academy to shirk its legal, ethical and moral responsibility to set an example forreligious tolerance and learning. While it is never the right time for direct or indirect inflammatory rhetoric against other religions on the part of any branch of the United States Armed Services, we feel that blatantly irresponsible religious indoctrination and conversion tactics only serves to exacerbate an already problematic situation and further endanger our armed services personnel who are stationed or may be stationed in an already volatile environment.

The United Atheist Front remains in complete support of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s demand to the USAFA that they rescind the invitation to Lt. McClary to speak at this event.

Al Stefanelli
Founder & Administrator
The United Atheist Front (Since 2005)

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Dear (name withheld),

Lt. Mclary’s presentation at the USAFA will be an insult to the many faiths represented at the Academy including moderate Christianity.

Bobby Muller’s outline of McClary describes a man completely immersed in a psychotic display of fundamental religious practice and unAmerican Christian exclusivity.

It is not MRFF that lacks credibility but those who lie without remorse as to the intentions of the prayer luncheon not as a non-denominational prayer session but a revival meeting of the most sinister and exclusive Dominionist stripe.

Irrespective of your Chaplaincy you must remember that you are a military officer who has sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Unites States of America. Given the blatant violation of constitutional provision caused by McClary’s appearance at the prayer luncheon, your oath cries out to you to join us in opposition to it.

Because of your reasonable and intelligent correspondence I have come to expect more of you.

Rick Baker
MRFF

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Mr. Cannon,

I just read your exchange with Mikey Weinstein. I am a recently retired officer, ENJJPT grad, Tanker and Fighter pilot. Mikey’s words hit home when I read them and I thought it might do some good if I shared my story with you briefly in the interest of understanding.

I was competitively selected for ENJJPT due to test scores including the “BAT” test for hand-eye coordination that was graded in the 99th percentile. I had been a “Gold Seal” flight instructor and had flown high performance aircraft in formation and simulated combat, often with combat veterans since my teen years. I had a deep drive to serve our great country.

As one of Mikey’s Academy clients also wrote, I was not happy with our overtly Christian Wing’s policy of endorsing Christianity over other religious perspectives; the right to which we protect with our service. My wing even PRODUCED video’s that called non-Christians “idiots” and “fools”. I too quietly tolerated this offensive inappropriate forced mix of one specific religion and American military service.

That changed after my unit returned from war and every ceremony and meeting included a Christian prayer. After a travel pay meeting where we were all told to stand and bow our heads “in Jesus name” a young subordinate of mine, a man whose religious perspective I still don’t know, took me aside and asked “How DARE they assume that I am a Christian?” I agreed and voiced my concerns in a legal and respectful way. Four days later, my flight commander gave my commander a memo that stated that I had failed to do my duty in many specific ways – all false. For instance, I had “failed” to do my quarterly refresher simulator while I was flying combat missions from a country where there were no simulators, the requirement had been waved, and this officer and all who later backed these lies under oath were with me at war, under the same guidelines, and had also not done their (waived) quarterly simulators.

I had passed every proficiency evaluation after becoming mission ready, 21 in all, 7 graded “excellent”. Many peers in my Wing, more than 20, were temporarily grounded for failed evaluations and unsafe flying while I was in that Wing but I alone was sent to an FEB, two in fact before I was permanently grounded and forced to retire. The first FEB was overturned because my record did not match the smears from my leadership. It succeeded however in grounding me for 14 months and ruining my reputation. I was placed back under the same leadership and, four (all four) passed evaluations later, was sent to a second FEB and permanently grounded. In this business, all it takes is for someone to make an accusation and, true or not, your career is over. I was called in to the Wing Vice Commander’s office after the second FEB, reminded of the complaint I had made about religion years prior, and told to go find a job somewhere else.

The fears of those who quietly tolerate these religious insults and the un-American favor of one religion over another at the Academy are real and, as I learned, quite justifiable.

I have been a client of Mikey’s for years. My case is ongoing though my career, even my civil flying career, has been destroyed because of Air Force religious intolerance.

Please hear me and do not allow this un-American seed of intolerance spread from our Air Force Academy to all Air Force Leadership. To have had my service to my country – intended to protect our freedom including the freedom of religion – ended by religious bigots WITHIN our ranks is intolerable and MUST be stopped at the source if American ideals are to survive.

Dave Horn
USAF Retired

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Dear Gen. Gould and Mr. Cannon:

Lieutenant Clebe McClary is an honorable man who had more than honorably served our country, the United States of America. He has every right to declare his fervent or even burning belief in the superiority of his version of Christianity over any other, not to speak of other faiths then Christian. It is unconstitutional however for him to appear sermonizing from a pulpit provided by federal money and on federal property such as the USAF Academy is. It is even more objectionable when “invites” are sent to various military and civilian personnel of the Academy with a strong verbal insistence by various officers and supervisors for attendance at such a sectarian event.

(name withheld)
EX inmate of the Lodz ghetto, Auschwitz and Dachau