“The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has just been advised in writing by senior leadership at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRD San Diego) that a new amendment to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for “Depot Facilities Management” has been put in place as of April, 2017. This new SOP amendment will effectively and implicitly ensure that there is now a special review process for any future religious displays at MCRD San Diego. From now on, all requests for religious displays must be routed through the Office of the Commanding General’s Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) to ensure that such requests are both legal and ethical. Prior to this SOP amendment, there had been no such process in place to safeguard and assure legal and ethical mandates.
MRFF expects that all such forthcoming MCRD San Diego SJA analysis will fully comply with Constitutional mandates for church-state separation in full accord with the No Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, United States Supreme Court and related Federal construing caselaw and all germane DoD/USMC Directives, Instructions and Regulations.
MRFF commends the MCRD San Diego Commanding General, Brigadier General Bill Jurney, and his senior staff for ensuring that this new legal/ethical review process by his USMC legal staff is now in place for specific review of all future religious display requests.”
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