FEATURED INBOX POST – Religious Content in DoD Official Email

Dear Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Mikey Weinstein,

I am writing because I need your help regarding official email that I received from the Department of Defense that contained religious content.  I am the Principal of a small business that provides consulting services.  I am registered on the GSA vendor sites as a SBA Certified Small Business.  The Air Force is soliciting me to respond to various requests for proposal because I registered my qualifications with the General Services Administration.

I received the attached solicitation to respond to a Request for Proposal for AFRL/RD-RV efforts.  Please note the Christian Evangelical Biblical citation in the bottom of the email.  I am not of the Christian faith.  I find it incredibly offensive to be on the receiving end of Christian Evangelism from my government.  I hesitate to add that since this message was send to all federally-registered contractors using NAICS Code 541690, it potentially went to tens-of-thousands of contractors.

The citation is by no means benign to a non-Christian.  When I looked it up, I was appalled!  The citation itself was obviously selected by the sender to suggest that Christian God has determined already if my proposals to the US Air Force will be accepted. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This non-Christian gets the message clearly, I have no future as a subcontractor to the Air Force.  I think its transparent to simple reading of plain language.

I have eagerly awaited solicitations for Federal work because of the time consuming, expensive, and detailed process that it took me to become a Federally-accepted vendor.  I got really happy about this solicitation from an Air Force Base in New Mexico, my home office, right until I got to that Biblical citation.  I have run across this before.  That’s the flag put up to let me know I’m not going to get the work unless I belong to the Christian Club. They might as well have put “No Irish” on it.

It’s clear to me from everything I read online and in the papers that the US Air Force is a Christian organization and abundantly so in their message, training and now, business solicitations.  It’s also clear to me that upper management at the Air Force thinks violating the Constitution and law in matters of religion is trivial. I already know that nothing will happen other than maybe a stern warning. But Mission Accomplished, I got the message; this non-Christian won’t look to the Air Force for work anymore.  It saddens me greatly to know that despite all the efforts of the MRFF, our Courts, and some members of Congress and Military,  that’s its business as usual at the Warrior’s for Christian God factory, the US Air Force.

I need MRFFs help with my particular case.  I could make some noise, but it doesn’t usually work out so well for religious minorities to complain about Christian tyranny in the US.  I’ll help you in any way I can, but for now its probably best for me and my business to remain anonymous to the public and the military.  I am willing to drop my anonymity should it become necessary in the future as you seek remedy’s to this blatant wrong doing by the Small Business Procurement staff for the AFRL/RD-RV at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Respectfully yours,

(name, address, title, phone numbers all withheld)