Scout Snipers

Published On: February 10, 2012|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Dear Military Religious Freedom Foundation,

For a group that touts freedom and reconciliation it seems that you are hell bent to get your pound of flesh out of the Marine Scout Snipers. I agree completely that the use of the runes was inappropriate and poorly conceived, but a public courts-martial? I think the USMC’s response was appropriate to the gravity of the situation.

I support what you do, my father went to his grave with those numbers tattooed on his arm, but show a little forbearance over what surely is youthful stupidity.

(name withheld)


Dear (name withheld),

I want to thank you for your kind note and feedback. As a fellow Jew I
understand completely where you’re coming from. My late grandfather
fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was one of only two men from his
company who survived it; later he went on to help liberate two camps;
I have the ghastly photographs to prove it. As one can imagine, he was
never the same after the war. He was physically damaged, but what he
saw damaged him even more.

I want you to know that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation took
on this case at the request of numerous Marines who contacted us and
asked us to intervene. Tragically there has developed a pervasive
atmosphere of bigotry and hate within the U.S. Military in recent
years, and it all flows from radical Fundamentalist and Dominionist
Christians who occupy positions of power all up and down the chain of
command. The Marines who have been knowingly using the Nazi SS symbol
for years, protected by the silence of their superior officers,
received training specific to this issue in basic training – they knew
better than to use that symbol. Further this activity coincides with a
pervasive pattern of religious discrimination and intimidation,
including directed at Jewish service members. We have seen Jewish
service members beaten until they required hospitalization simply for
seeking time off to attend High Holy Days services and wearing their
kippot during meals (which they are permitted to do by military
regulations). Sadly, this issue with the Nazi lightening bolt SS
symbol is not an isolated situation, it has not happened within a
vacuum, it exists alongside the pervasive pattern of religious
intolerance, discrimination and intimidation throughout all branches
of the service and the Department of Veterans Affairs. I wish this was
just youthful stupidity – something like that can be easily forgiven;
but that is not the case here. Still, I respect you if you choose to
disagree. Just know that we are representing numerous Marine personnel
in this issue, Marines who have themselves been impacted by the
prevalence of religious discrimination and intimidation.

Thank you again for your kind note.

Best Regards,

Akiva David Miller
Veterans Coordinator
Military Religious Freedom Foundation

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