MRFF Assists U.S. Army Chaplain in Spurring Full Review of Meal Stipend Policy at Ft. Cavazos, Dept. of the Army, and Dept. of Defense

February 21, 2024

MRFF President/Founder Mikey Weinstein was contacted via email on February 9, 2024, by a U.S. Army Chaplain seeking assistance on behalf of many active duty soldiers within his unit of approximately 4,600 soldiers serving at Ft. Cavazos.  This Chaplain and MRFF client sought help in resolving around 30 denied requests for single (unmarried) soldiers to reclaim their BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistence) due to religious dietary restrictions.  This Chaplain sought out Mikey’s help based upon the routine denial of these requests at Ft. Cavasos, in spite of the Chaplain’s successful experience with over one hundred BAS reclamation requests at other military installation.  Additional details of the BAS reclamation process and bureaucratic environment for these requests were provided in this Chaplain’s email to Mikey:

From: (MRFF Client/Active Duty Army Chaplain’s E-mail address withheld)
Date: February 9, 2024 at 10:44:34 AM MST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Separate Rations for Religious Reasons Denied at Fort Cavazos, TX

I am an Army Chaplain stationed at Fort Cavazos, TX since (date withheld). I have been a chaplain for (number of years withheld) years on Active Duty and prior to that I was a (MOS withheld) in the Army (Army component name withheld) for (number of years withheld) years. As a member of (Christian denomination withheld), I am familiar with how low-density faith groups are treated. Over my (number of years withheld) year career I have faced some religious persecution both intentional and unintentional. I believe that is what has made me sensitive to the needs of low-density faith group military service members, because the little I have experienced has hurt and frustrated me, and I want to help others that experience it worse than I have.

When I transitioned to chaplain, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation was a topic covered in a couple of our classes. In every instance, the instructors depicted the Military Religious Freedom Foundation as a boogie man to be feared as they could potentially end your career if you attracted their attention. A few years ago, I made the choice to research Mr. Mikey Weinstein and found out what his motivation was and why he is passionate about this. After reading his biography, some quotes attributed to him, and reviewing recent actions of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation; I changed my opinion of both him and the Foundation. I personally came to the conclusion that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is not anti-religion, but focused on protecting the Title 10 rights of military service members. To include myself.

Thank you for taking my call today. I reached out because over the past three weeks I have had three different people recommend that I request your help. One has been a previous client of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. I am asking for your help because I have hit a wall of bureaucracy that I cannot figure out how to penetrate or get around. In my Army organization of 4,600 service members, we have had approximately 30 requests to reclaim their Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) on religious grounds. The faith backgrounds of these individuals vary. We have had Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian request to reclaim their BAS due to the fact that the Dining Facility on the military installation cannot provide them meals in accordance with their faith tradition. Military Dining Facilities are not outfitted to provide Kosher, HALAL, or appropriate vegetarian meals. They can only provide generic meal options designed for the majority of service members. 

This is not an issue for married service members, as their BAS is not automatically deducted; however, for single service members living in the barracks they have no option and it is deducted automatically. It is an unfair burden that single service members bear. Army Regulation 600-20 “Command Policy” does provide a process for Army Soldiers to request to stop the automatic deduction on religious grounds. The first section of Appendix P outlines that a Soldier can request from their direct commander, often a company grade officer, to reclaim the deduction. Once approved, it is sent to the Instillation Finance Office to be processed and often by the following month the deduction stops.

I have assisted with over one hundred of these throughout my career as a chaplain. It has only been since arriving at Fort Cavazos that I have run into a Finance Office that is unwilling to process the request. When pressed on why they are denying the request, they produce an obscure reference with Army Regulation 637-1 “Army Compensation and Entitlements Policy” that you would never find through a Google search. The reason I know you cannot find it through a Google search is because I spent over an hour trying to find it. I had to reach out to one of the Soldiers that was denied to find the reference. It states in regards to reclaiming Basic Allowance for Subsistence that “Department of Defense (DoD) policy does not allow for an exception to the essential station messing (ESM) policy for Soldiers who have special diets or religious beliefs.” Somehow an obscure quote from a Finance regulation is overriding a commander’s authority to provide adequate funds for their Soldiers to eat in accordance with the faith tradition.

This forces Soldiers to essentially pay twice for food. Once for the BAS that they cannot reclaim and the second for the money they are forced to use to purchase food to prepare for themselves. For many junior service members, that causes financial hardship at home station. In the field environment they can starve and/or suffer health conditions of malnutrition if they are unwilling to compromise on their beliefs.

Out of the almost 30 requests we have processed since I arrived, only one Soldier was willing to submit an official complaint to the Inspector General Office at Fort Cavazos. The reply back to the Soldier was that since Finance is using Army Regulation 637-1 for their reason why they would not stop the deduction there was no case and the complaint was closed as “Resolved.” That is why I contacted you today. The process as outlined by Army Regulation 600-20 and requesting support from the Inspector General has failed. Army Regulation 600-20 only provides an avenue to appeal a decision on BAS deduction through command channels, so we could appeal to the next higher commanding officer. There is nothing in the regulation to assist when a Federal Civilian at the Fort Cavazos Finance Office denies the request. That is why we appealed to the Inspector General only to have them pass on advocating for the Soldier.

We need to amplify the voice of the few that have tried to meet their spiritual and religious needs and the many that suffer in silence. I have lost count of how many Soldiers declined to even start the process when informed it would be denied. I try to be an honest broker. I informed them it would likely be denied to help manage expectations, but I asked them to go ahead and submit and then proceed to an Inspector General complaint. We cannot force change if senior leaders are aware of the issue, but not the gravity of harm being done. There are over 70,000 Soldiers assigned to Fort Cavazos. I do not have statistics for how many requests have been denied, but if it is similar in percentage to what we have experienced in my organization 1% or at least 700 Soldiers may have been impacted.

(MRFF Client/Active Duty Army Chaplain’s ID Information Withheld)

On February 12, 2024, Mikey contacted Lt. General Sean C. Bernabe (Commanding General III Corps and Fort Cavazos) via email to provide background on this extremely unfair situation affecting so many of his subordinates and demanding a remedy to this violation of religious freedoms that are clearly recognized under current U.S. Army regulations. In making this demand to Lt. General Bernabe, Mikey clearly and succinctly described the review process required under the recently approved FY2024 NDAA:

General, please be advised that this specific demand to you is made under, and fully pursuant to, the brand new law signed by President Biden at the very end of last year; Section 1049 of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Thus, sir, you now have only 10 calendar days to send MRFF’s demand to The Honorable Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army. Ms. Wormuth, in turn, has only an additional 30 calendar days to transmit her decision to BOTH you and me at MRFF after she mandatorily consults with the Army’s highest level JAGs and civilian attorneys and military chaplains at the Army Secretariat….  Thus, MRFF will expect a final decision regarding our demand on behalf of our military clients under your direct command NLT COB Saturday, March 23, 2024. 

Mikey received the following response on behalf of LTG Bernabe on February 21, 2024:

From: “Erisman, Terri J COL USARMY III CORPS (USA)”
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] MRFF Demands Army Post Commander Remedy Unfair Treatment of Soldiers with Religious Dietary Restrictions
Date: February 21, 2024 at 10:59:31 AM MST
To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>

Mr. Weinstein,

On behalf of LTG Bernabe, thank you for highlighting these concerns on behalf of our Soldiers. While current policy restricts local commanders’ ability to accommodate some Soldiers’ religious dietary needs, we have previously raised these concerns in order to allow the Department of the Army to work with the Department of Defense for a permanent policy solution to more fully address service members’ religious dietary restrictions. In the meantime, we will continue working with Soldiers to find a solution to meet their needs. [emphasis added]

If you are aware of specific Soldiers who are facing this issue and it has not been resolved by their commands, please encourage them to speak with their unit Chaplain who can assist them in the process. 

V/r,
Colonel Terri Erisman
Staff Judge Advocate
III Corps and Fort Cavazos
1001 761st Tank Battalion Avenue
Fort Cavazos, Texas 76544