MRFF Action Leads to Reprimand/Removal of Commander Pressuring Subordinates to Attend “Purity Ball”

Published On: October 27, 2020|Categories: News|0 Comments|

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October 22, 2020

A local military installation MRFF representative was contacted recently by an active duty military family after their Commanding Officer began placing non-stop pressure on the father and eldest daughter to attend a ‘Purity Ball’ at the Commander’s hardline off-installation Christian church.

purity ball is a formal dance event typically practiced by some conservative Christian groups in the United States. The events are attended by fathers and their teenage daughters in order to promote virginity until marriage. In 1998, the first purity ball was organized by Randy and Lisa Wilson in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Although the chastity pledges differ between organizations, the purity balls held by the creator of the concept, Pastor Randy Wilson, follow a symbolic ritual.  One widely used pledge for fathers reads: “I, (daughter’s name)’s father, choose before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity. I will be pure in my own life as a man, husband, and father. I will be a man of integrity and accountability as I lead, guide, and pray over my daughter and my family as the high priest in my home.

(source:  Wikipedia)

MRFF’s client described the situation in detail in an email:

This event was being put on by the commander’s hardline Christian church (off installation) and was supposed to “celebrate” our daughter’s virginity and have her make a pledge to remain sexually abstinent until her “wedding night”.  I just cannot tell you how distraught and appalled we were to have the commander pester and “encourage’ us nonstop to have my husband and our daughter attend and participate. I cried my eyes out as did our daughter. This caused much anxiety and lost sleep for my husband myself and our daughter. I mean that guy is THE commander after all.  As if we needed more there was also enough of an issue about how the commander’s church would have handled social distancing in light of COVID at this event as that church (and my husband’s commander) is very very outspoken pro-Trump and anti-COVID protection measures.

The local MRFF representative got this client family in direct contact with MRFF President/Founder Mikey Weinstein regarding this matter.  After requesting Mikey’s direct intervention, MRFF’s client email described what happened next:

Mr. Weinstein got the contact information for my husband’s commander’s boss and we gave Mr. Weinstein the green light to try to fix this.  Two days later my husband was advised by our unit’s (military title withheld) that my husband’s commander was being fired and given a written reprimand for his advocation of attending his church’s  “purity ball” and his constant vocal support for Trump at official unit meetings and field exercises.. Turns out he was also using his command position during duty hours to pressure other (military branch withheld) families under his command besides ours to attend this “purity ball” and to vote for Trump.

Our whole family just cannot thank the whole MRFF enough for swooping in and saving the day for us and the other families here at (military installation withheld)!

MRFF has had to deal with this type of situation several times in the past.  Mikey noted that while this abusive Commander’s superior officer supported this formal reprimand and firing; that officer’s superiors would not agree to have the offending commander court-martialed because they felt it would make them all “look bad.”

 


 

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