Your actions in requesting the “God bless the military ….” sign on the Hawaii Marine Base are an affront to the millions of men and women who have served in the military. The President says God Bless America. If you don’t like it, leave the country! But stop harassing the rest of us. You are wasting money and infringing on the rights of God loving Americans.
(name withheld)
Hi (name withheld),
Your first sentence seems to be incomplete. At a minimum, it’s confusing, leaving me just a bit unclear as to what you understood to be the point of our contact. We did not request the sign, as you seem to suggest. I have no idea what we’d do with it. I suppose we could turn it over to one of the members of the clergy of various faiths who number among our clients and supporters, but we’d really rather not have to deal with it.
If you’re unclear about our contact with those in command, it’s really very simple. Because the U.S. Constitution supports freedom of religion and belief, it requires that the government, in all its parts, avoid the appearance of promoting one religion or belief system over another. That being so, the base commander, or whoever was responsible for the message on the sign in the first place, was in error in placing it where it appeared to be a greeting from the U.S. military.
What we did, after being approached by a number of Marines (who happen by the way, to be Christians) who were concerned about the sign, was to contact the appropriate person and ask that the sign either be placed on the chapel grounds, where it properly belongs, or removed completely.
I hope that clarifies things for you. Nothing we said or did was “an affront to the millions of men and women who have served in the military.” We are among those who have served and are serving; we act on behalf of all of them and in support of our Constitution.
So please do not presume to speak on behalf of “God loving Americans” as if it’s a club you arrogate to yourself the right to represent.
Mike Farrell
(MRFF Board of Advisors)
Dear (name withheld),
We have First Amendment rights just like you do. We’re not going anywhere. Welcome to America!
That sign is also an affront to those men and women who are currently serving on that base that are non-Christians and Christians that know the laws of our land.
We are not harassing anybody because our actions are based on the Constitution, Supreme Court rulings and the Unified Code of Military Justice.
We are not an atheist organization nor are we anti-Christian. Mikey is Jewish (and prays to the same Father we do 3 times a day) and 75% of the Board, Advisory Board, volunteers and supporters of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) are Christians. We outnumber Mikey. In fact, 96% of our 41,600+ soldier clients are Christians. So, we fight for the rights of Christians more than any other religion.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) does NOT act on its own but at the request of our soldiers’ and their complaints of the blatant disregard and trampling of the Constitution and the Military Code of Justice; blurring the lines between the separation of church and state. Every complaint is vetted by Mikey who was a JAG lawyer at the Air Force Academy for 10 years; worked in the West Wing under Ronald Reagan; and held positions in private practice.
If you have a problem with us demanding the movement of the sign to the chapel, then take it up with the soldiers. We have liaisons on almost every military base in the world – which then passes on our incoming email and their responses to all of our soldiers and supporters in their respective areas – and make sure we include your name.
I’m also sure the following honorable and distinguished military personnel on our Board and Advisory Board (who are also included with our email blats) will be please with you kicking them out of America:
Board Member – Major William E. Barker
Board Member – Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV
Advisory Board Member – Lawrence Wilkerson – Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff (2002-05).
Advisory Board Members (Past and present military personnel):
Edie Disler– PhD, Lt Col (Ret), is a 25 year veteran of the Air Force who served as an ICBM crewmember, an Executive Support Officer to the Secretary of Defense, a conventional arms control inspector, a speechwriter, and USAFA faculty professor.
Robert S. Dotson–Retired brigadier general.
Robert T. Herres– A Naval Academy graduate with a 36 year career in the United States Air Force, he also served a three-year assignment as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first to hold that position. (December 1, 1932 – July 24, 2008)
Kristen Leslie – An Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Yale Divinity School and consultant to the United States Air Force Academy on religious matters.
Eagle Man, Ed McGaa – Is an enrolled Oglala Sioux tribal member, OST 15287. After serving in Korea, he earned an undergraduate degree from St. Johns University, MN. He then later rejoined the Marine Corps to become a fighter pilot.
Rev. MeLinda Morton – An ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She is a former Chaplain in the United States Air Force, most recently serving at the United States Air Force Academy.
George Reed – A faculty member in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego. Before joining the faculty in 2007 he served for 27 years as a military police officer including six as the Director of Command and Leadership Studies at the U.S. Army War College.
AA “Tony” Verrengia – A retired Air Force Brigadier General, He was a Master Navigator that served in air transport operations positions for many years.
John Whiteside – He is one of only a few military aviators to possess both Senior Command Air Force wings and aircraft carrier qualified Naval Aviator wings, in addition to having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in combat during Operation Desert Storm.
Lawrence Wilkerson – Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. His last position in government was as Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff (2002-05).
We rely on these honorable and distinguished military personnel for their expertise concerning religion in the military. I’m sure they’re thrilled right now with your words from a person who knows absolutely NOTHING about the inner workings of Mikey and the MRFF.
ANYTHING pertaining to religion in the military is supposed to be in the hands of the Chaplains on chapel grounds, not in the hands of the Commander of a base.
Pastor Joan
MRFF Advisory Board Member
