Class ’76 – 35th Reunion Update

Mikey,

I have been looking forward to my 35th Class Reunion at the Air Force Academy and the chance to catch up with my old squadron mates and regale in the “Spirit of ’76!” Graduating from the Air Force Academy in the year of our nation’s bicentennial celebration, gave me a laser-like focus on the importance and brilliance of our American freedoms. I don’t have to tell you that chief among those, and listed first in the Constitution, is the insurance that Congress will make no law respecting the establishment of religion. In the 35 years since I graduated from USAFA I have watched in silent terror as the evangelical dominionist Christians have infiltrated the highest positions of leadership in our Nation’s military. What seemed at first like a harmless faction, has at long last blanketed Air Force leadership. My classmates Jack Catton and Mike Gould are prime examples. Please pardon the cliche, but I have long maintained that allowing Mike Gould to be the Superintendant of the Air Force Academy was like asking the fox to guard the henhouse.

Having said that, I am sorry to say I was not surprised yet I was severely disappointed when I read the following email reminding my class of the approaching reunion. Perhaps you can imagine the feelings of disenfranchisement as I read the following reminder about our upcoming reunion festivities in Colorado Springs. Everything was fine until I reached the final bullet about the cadet-ministries get-together. It is wrong on so many levels. It suggests that my entire class endorses these decidedly evangelical dominionist Christian ministries, and it jams their brand of religion down every other 76er’s throat, whether they like it or not. Our Class of ’76 Academy reunion has been hijacked! Our Air Force has been hijacked!

To add insult to injury, over the last year Class of 1976 Academy Association of Graduates correspondence has replaced our class motto “Spirit of ’76!” with “The Spirit Lives!” Instead of celebrating the founding of our country and our association with it’s biccentennial, we have insidiously changed our class motto and ethos to one of praising the “Spirit.” While I have deeply held religious convictions of my own, being a part of the Class of 1976, was by design not affiliated with an indorsed religion. The cavalier cadet-Christian-ministries announcement at the end of this email is so brazen that it makes me literally sick to my stomach with grief. I speak for others that don’t dare speak because they depend on making a living in a defense-industrial complex that is swimming with evangelical dominionist senior leaders, in and out of uniform. I can’t think of anything less American or antithetical to what it meant to be a member of the Class of 1976, than living under the tyranny of a government endorsed religion. This was never supposed to happen in this country. So on behalf of classmates that have shared the same feelings I have expressed in this email I am turning to you Mikey and the MRFF to fight the fight we are unable to fight.

Spirit of ’76!
(USAF Academy Class of 1976 Graduate’s name and location withheld)

Class of 1976
35th Reunion Update

Fellow 76er’s,
We are just a few weeks away from our 35th Reunion. A few items for your information:
Register for Events: If you plan to attend any of the events during our reunion, and have not yet registered, please go to the AOG website and register. We need to have an accurate head counts for the events. Click on the Class Reunions to the right of the page and go to the link for the Class of 1976. After August 22 there will be a late registration fee.
Hotel Registration: There are still rooms available at the Marriott if you have not already booked yours.
Dress code for events: Most of our reunion events are very casual but a few require a bit more. Thursday evening Ice Breaker at the Carlton House – open collar with jacket (sport coat). Friday evening dinner at the Marriott – open collar with jacket (sport coat) OR your registration football jersey
Saturday morning tailgate: The tailgate will start at 1130 (2 hours prior to kickoff). Strongly suggest you plan to arrive close to tailgate start time in order to be able to park close to the tailgate area. PLEASE NOTE: This is not the AOG tailgate, which is open to all. Check your reunion registration packet for specific location.
Cadet Ministries Get-together: A cadet ministries (BSU, Campus Crusade, Bauman’s Study, OCF, Navigators, etc.) get-together is being planned for Saturday morning before the class tailgate party. If you are interested, e-mail Stan Rader for information and to RSVP.

See you in a few weeks!
THE SPIRIT LIVES!