The awkward situation at your base

Published On: October 17, 2015|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Dear Col. Killeen —

I’m sorry to hear about the public-relations pickle you find yourself in.  As a veteran, I’d like to help you keep it from exploding into a full-blown PR debacle.

I recall when I put on the US military uniform many years ago that I, as you, swore “ … to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …”  It surely appears that we’re looking at such a situation now.

As a commissioned US military officer, and particularly holding the command position you currently do, your word conveys the full authority of the US government.  You couldn’t keep that out of the equation if you wanted to.  To keep a sign which contains a specific religious reference located in a public place, away from your base’s chapel, sends the casual observer the message that you (and by extension, the US government) support one approach to religion over others.  In our multi-cultural society, that’s a risky move not guaranteed to win universal support, and more likely a reason for career truncation.

I strongly suggest that you arrange to move the sign to the base chapel grounds, where it most likely offers the best context, and minimizes the possibility of very public misunderstanding.

Very truly yours,

(name withheld)

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