USAFA Leadership Quickly Reverses Decision to Ignore Traditional Religious Accommodation for Muslim Cadets After MRFF Intervention & Media Attention

March 11, 2025

On February 24, 2025, a Muslim cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) contacted MRFF President/Founder Mikey Weinstein for assistance regarding the denial of religious accommodation by USAFA leadership.  The religious accommodation request was the result of a conflict between USAFA’s 2025 Spring CULEX (Culminating Exercise) and the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.  In their email to Mikey, this MRFF client and USAFA cadet provided extensive details explaining the situation:

Muslims are religiously obligated to fast from dawn to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan, refraining from both food and drink during daylight hours. This spiritual practice is a fundamental pillar of Islam, requiring discipline, self-restraint, and devotion. However, I have been informed that I will not be excused from the physically demanding components of the Spring CULEX, a four-day culminating training event, despite the clear conflict it poses with my ability to safely observe my religious obligations.

According to OPORD 25-005, the Spring CULEX is a comprehensive field training exercise designed to assess cadets’ ability to perform in austere environments under high-stress conditions. The event incorporates a combination of Ready Airman Training, tactical movements, prolonged physical exertion, sleep deprivation, and strenuous outdoor activities. These physically and mentally demanding components, often performed in unpredictable weather conditions, require cadets to maintain peak endurance, hydration, and nutrition to avoid injury and sustain operational effectiveness.

The conflict with Ramadan is substantial. As fasting cadets, we would be required to engage in hours of intense physical activity without food or water throughout the day, placing us at increased risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and decreased cognitive function. Furthermore, the limited rest periods during CULEX make it nearly impossible to maintain proper nutrition and hydration in the small windows between sunset and sunrise, further compounding the health risks. This creates an unfair and hazardous situation for Muslim cadets who wish to observe their religious duties while also fulfilling their training responsibilities.

What makes this situation more concerning is that our chaplain has advised the Muslim cadet community at USAFA to forgo fasting during Ramadan, as upper leadership has reportedly refused to grant any excusal from the physical portions of CULEX. This effectively forces Muslim cadets into a position where they must choose between their deeply held religious beliefs and meeting military training requirements. Given that the military has established policies on religious accommodations, this denial raises concerns about whether Muslim cadets are being treated equitably regarding their faith-based needs.

On February 25, 2025, Mikey issued a statement regarding this particular situation and the general historical environment created by USAFA leaders for USAFA’s non-Christian cadets:

Yet once again, my alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) vividly and incontrovertibly displays that its approved solution for all matters of Air Force operations, derivative of theology or otherwise, is always and foremost fundamentalist Christianity.

The ugly truth of USAFA’s long-entrenched, shameful, Christian Nationalist extremism, triumphalism, exceptionalism and domination continues to be impossible to ignore and MRFF will never stop fighting it tooth and nail whenever it rears its unconstitutionally repulsive head.

On March 3, 2025, a front-page story by Mary Shinn of the Colorado Spring’s Gazette succinctly reported on this situation and MRFF’s efforts to resolve this issue on behalf of our clients at USAFA:

Air Force Academy’s Muslim cadets denied accommodation during Ramadan

Article excerpt (emphasis added by MRFF):

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation raised concerns about the academy’s decision, with Colorado Springs advisory board member Marty France, a former Air Force brigadier general, publishing an open letter to the vice superintendent.  France pointed out in his letter that service members can request religious accommodations under military policy and a reasonable compromise is possible in this case, but it was not pursued.

“There was no negotiation, no discussion of other alternatives — just a directive to forgo your religious commitment and get over it. I don’t think anyone in Colorado Springs thinks that a similarly stark, black-and-white choice would be the only option if the conflict involved Christian cadets. I don’t,” he said.  In the past, the academy has changed some of its positions after hearing from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

On March 10, 2025, MRFF’s USAFA cadet/client emailed an update to Mikey regarding USAFA’s leadership response after MRFF’s actions and the resulting media coverage.  This MRFF client provides an excellent synopsis of their reaction along with some extremely pertinent observations of and recommendations for USAFA’s leaders:

Following the press release by the Gazette and the MRFF, the head chaplain at USAFA provided more detailed guidance on how Muslim cadets could request accommodations. The chaplain advised that Muslim cadets should address their concerns directly to their squadron commanders to be excused from any physically demanding portions of CULEX. Additionally, the Muslim chaplain arranged for transportation each evening to ensure Muslim cadets could participate in the evening meal to break their fast and pray.

While these steps were a positive development, they appeared to be more reactive than proactive. The initial concerns from the Muslim cadet community arose because, at first, no remedies or accommodations were offered. Muslim cadets were recommended not to fast, and if they decided to they would have to deal with the potential consequences on their own. Many cadets felt uncomfortable speaking up to their leaders, fearing potential repercussions. This situation was further compounded by the sense that the Muslim chaplain did not effectively advocate for our needs from the outset.

We also made it clear to the head chaplain that we felt this reactive response was insensitive to our community’s needs. Our concerns were not addressed until external pressure was applied, leading to feelings of isolation and frustration among Muslim cadets. A proactive approach, including open communication and early planning, could have alleviated much of our anxiety and uncertainty.

We hope this situation serves as a learning opportunity to ensure that all cadets feel supported and respected in their training and religious practices in the future.

Thank you for your continued support and advocacy,

Muslim Cadet, United States Air Force Academy

Mary Shinn at the Colorado Springs Gazette provided further insight into the reaction by USAFA’s leadership to MRFF’s intervention and media efforts on behalf of USAFA’s Muslim cadets:

Article excerpts (emphasis added by MRFF):

The Air Force Academy allowed Muslim cadets to forgo physical training during Ramadan, after denying an earlier request. 

[…]

“Initially, USAFA failed to provide any remedy, leaving Muslim cadets feeling forced to choose between their faith and their training. Only after external pressure did leadership reactively allow exemptions from physical training and provide transportation for evening meals—steps that should have been taken proactively. Future cadets should not have to fight the same battle,” the cadet said, in an email. 

[…]

The academy changed its position on allowing cadets to skip the physical portion of the training on March 3, a few days before the training started on March 5, after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation raised concerns about the issue. The academy did not tell The Gazette about its decision. 

The school also did not address the Muslim cadets’ requests for exemptions from physical activity in an official statement in response to Gazette questions about the change. But highlighted how the school allowed cadets to take part in religious activities during the training.  

[…]

The president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, said the academy has treated cadets as an afterthought and made them feel like “80th-class citizens” through the process. “These kids deserved better,” said Weinstein, noting as a graduate he is ashamed of the institution. 

In conclusion to this latest episode of obvious sectarian religious privilege in the long history of all too similar actions by USAFA’s leadership, MRFF’s Founder/President had the following observation that basically ‘strips the bark’ off USAFA’s ‘day late & dollar short’ leadership response:

Imagine a scenario in which a husband has tremendously disappointed and hurt his wife by completely forgetting their 10th wedding anniversary… So to “make it right“ he comes in three days after the anniversary with a “10% off” coupon at Home Depot for a new vacuum cleaner… And tells his spouse to go buy one as her present…

This analogy is tantamount to the insensitivity of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) not even CONSIDERING the impact of Ramadan on the USAFA training exercise until MRFF blew it up in the media.

Now they are going to send the Air Force Academy Commandant, a One Star Brigadier General, to the Ramadan break the fast on March 18 to “learn about Ramadan & hear about about the Muslim cadets concerns”?!?!?!… Absolutely enraging!!… Absolutely wretched!!!

It’s just SO typical of the mindset of brutal unconstitutional antidemocratic Christian Nationalism, which pervades the Air Force Academy, as it is inextricably intertwined into every molecule there.

The Air Force Academy Muslim cadets never tried to “get out of the exercise” by using their religious faith as an excuse… They just didn’t want to be viewed as an afterthought, kicked to the curb and ignored the way the academy has consistently done to any cadet that isn’t essentially straight white, Christian and Male.