MRFF Provides Critical Assistance to Client Facing Racist Abuse from Supervising Chaplain Major

August 17, 2026

U.S. Army captain Tatyana Jordan contacted MRFF President/Founder Mikey Weinstein in early April of 2026 regarding an blatantly racist threat from her immediate supervisor while on duty.  Cpt. Jordan is a 30year old black female and Adjutant General (AG) officer who was serving active duty working at Ft. Jackson (Columbia, SC).   Nick Mordowanec reported the details of this incident on Military.com on April 24, 2026:

According to Jordan, on Aug. 13, 2025, her supervisor, Chaplain Maj. Edward Blackledge, instructed a religious affairs noncommissioned officer (NCO) to patch a hole in the office they all shared. The NCO was suffering from an injury to his arm or hand that made the project difficult for days on end.

Due to being unable to execute the task and cut into the drywall, Jordan volunteered to do it instead and said she would still complete her TRADOC (U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command) analysis for later that same afternoon.

That was when Blackledge allegedly said the following to her: “You need to focus on getting that spreadsheet done before the meeting or I’ll need to tie you to a tree and beat you.” [emphasis added] 

“This is something I will never forget,” Jordan told Military.com. “This was not said in isolation. It was said by a senior leader, in uniform, in a professional Army environment. As a Black woman, that statement carried a weight far beyond the words themselves. It evoked a deeply painful and violent history in this country: lynching, racial terror, and the dehumanization of people who look like me.”

The next day she reported the incident to Military Police (MP) to ensure there was official documentation and to protect her safety and that of her family which includes three children, a 4-year old and a 2-year-old set of twins. She also filed an Equal Opportunity (EO) complaint, which began processing it.  Despite the statement, she said MP characterized the incident as a “bad joke.” She also called the Inspector General’s Office, but “IG wanted nothing to do with it.”

She then found out that rather than initiate an EO investigation, the 165th Brigade commander decided to initiate a 15-6—an Army fact-finding mission conducted by an appointed investigating officer (IO) to discover any misconduct or improprieties.

In an opinion piece on MS.Now released on Apr. 27, 2026, Ja’han Jones emphasized the current environmental significance and historical basis Chaplain Maj. Edward Blackledge’s remark:

The allegations raise fresh questions about the military’s treatment of Black personnel — in particular, Black women — amid bigoted attacks on diversity by Hegseth and his underlings. They also raise questions about the supposed “top-down cultural shift” Hegseth has vowed to oversee among military chaplains — essentially, spiritual guides — whom the secretary has derided for offering service members “emotional support.”

During the era of chattel slavery, enslaved Black people were often tied to trees and whipped as a form of racist torture, which their slave drivers used to bring them into submission.

After several weeks Capt. Jordan learned that the 15-6 ‘fact-finding mission’ ruled that her account of the incident was “unfounded”, a determination that the brigade commander failed to inform her of when these results were finalized.  Nick Mordowanec at Military.com reported Capt. Jordan’s reaction:

“To this day, I have not been provided a detailed explanation of how this conclusion was reached. … Had the HHC (Headquarters and Headquarters Company) commander [of the USA IRL] in the U.S. Army not called me and told me over the phone that it was unfounded, I wouldn’t have known,” Jordan said.  Jordan also said that during the investigation, she was moved to a G3 OIC (Officer in Charge) role due to the friction between her and Blackledge. She alleged that after she took on the new role, the chief of staff wrote a memorandum allowing communication between her and Blackledge in the midst of a no-contact order. “I thought that was insane,” she said. “I was genuinely afraid to sit in the same room as this man.”

Things became worse, according to Jordan, with incendiary remarks towards her due to her belief that others in her vicinity were privy to what happened between her and Blackledge, and the investigation. “It got to a point where I was like, I can’t work here anymore,” she said. “I was afraid to go back just because of aggressive words, threats. … I was not safe, and I can’t function in an environment when I’m not safe. So, I requested to be reassigned.” She got her wish and has been working reception at Fort Jackson since February.

Soon after learning of the 15-6 investigation finding, Capt. Jordan turned to Mikey and MRFF for assistance in pursuing proper resolution of this incident.  Soon after MRFF’s intervention in this matter, Capt. Jordan informed Mikey on May 5, 2026 that after being denied a 1-week leave request to “let things cool down” after the Military.com reporting that:

She was advised to come to her immediate supervisor’s office and in walked the Commanding General for all of Fort Jackson, Major General Daryl O. Hood.  MG Hood told our client that he respected her courage in coming forward and that he would be reopening the Army’s investigation immediately! He also told her that he would like Mikey and MRFF to coordinate directly with his Staff Judge Advocate in this regard.

Mikey issued the following statement:

We salute the incredible courage and intrepidity of Capt. Tatyana Jordan. She’s a true American hero in every way. Besides being an army officer and a wife and a mother of three, her courage stands out like a brilliant North Star.

After a three-month review of the Army’s reopened investigation, MRFF’s client Capt. Jordan emailed Mikey/MRFF on August 14, 2026 with news of a successful resolution to this matter:

From: CPT Tatyana Jordan
Subject: Justice Is Served!
Date: August 14, 2026 at 9:15:05 AM MDT
To: Mikey Weinstein <[email protected]>

“Today, I can finally say that justice was served.

“After a long and difficult year, I was informed that the investigation into the incident I reported was substantiated for counterproductive leadership and that appropriate action was taken against the individual involved.

“There were many moments throughout this process when I questioned whether speaking up would make a difference. I experienced firsthand how exhausting and isolating it can feel to challenge something that you know is wrong, particularly while serving in an institution that means so much to you. But I also learned how important it is to keep advocating for yourself, even when the process becomes difficult.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to Mikey Weinstein and the entire Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) for standing beside me throughout this fight. You listened to me when I needed to be heard. You believed that what happened deserved attention. Most importantly, you were willing to advocate for me when I felt like I was fighting an incredibly difficult battle.”

I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to Fort Jackson and the Commanding General, Major General Hood, for taking this matter seriously, ensuring a thorough review, and ultimately upholding the standards of accountability and professionalism that our Army requires. Your willingness to address this issue and see it through resolution mattered deeply and it is not overlooked. 

Your support meant more than simply helping me navigate a complaint. It reminded me that service members do not have to remain silent when something is wrong.

To any service member who finds themselves in a situation where they feel intimidated, mistreated, retaliated against, or afraid that their voice will not matter: please reach out for help. Organizations like MRFF exist for a reason. You do not have to know exactly what to do next and you do not have to navigate these situations alone. Speaking up can be frightening. The process can be long. There may be moments when you wonder whether continuing is worth it.

Keep going!!!

Accountability matters. Leadership matters. And every service member deserves to serve in an environment where dignity, professionalism, and respect are more than just words on paper or in the oaths and values that we recite. 

On August 14, 2026, one year and one day after the incident that started this journey, I finally received confirmation that my concerns were substantiated.
That date will always mean something to me.

To Mikey and everyone at MRFF: thank you for answering when I reached out, for amplifying my voice, and for standing with me until accountability was achieved.

CPT Tatyana Jordan

On August 17, 2026, Nick Mordowanec reported on Military.com:

“The investigation is complete, appropriate action was taken, and we consider this matter closed,” Christopher Surridge, a U.S. Army spokesperson, told Military.com.