Marines in Afghanistan

Dear Military Religious Freedom Foundation,

My name is (name withheld) I am a former marine who is very upset to see
an article from Mr Weinstein about a picture of Marines in Afgan
posing with a Scout Sniper flag and a American flag. I would like to
see Mr Weinstein write an retraction with an apology to the Marines he
has now tagged as racists. It is very obvious to see what the SS logo
in the picture stands for. This is a symbol that has been used for
years among the best shooter in the United States, IE the Marine Corps
Scout Snipers. This is the most disrespectful thing i have ever read
and it is nothing more than a slam article against people who protect
his freedom to write. I can not believe a single person can have the
audacity to ruin the good names of 10 brave Americans and then call
for a full investigation from the Sectary of defense. What has
happened to the world when people who live under the blanket of
freedom have the balls to complain about something that has no effect
on their daily lives. If he chooses not to write a retraction he may
as well write an article about a rock band made up of Jewish members
that uses the same SS logo at the end on their name. Ps that bands
name is KISS.

(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld),

Thank you for your kind e-mail and thank you for your service to this
great nation.

My name is Akiva Miller; I am the veterans coordinator for the
Military Religious Freedom Foundation and I am a decorated and
disabled U.S. Navy veteran (former NCO) who served our nation
honorably. Mikey Weinstein, the Founder and President of the Military
Religious Freedom Foundation served our national honorably in the U.S.
Air Force; as a matter of fact he is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force
Academy and served honorably as a JAG until he was called to serve as
legal counsel to President Reagan in the White House.

You speak of providing the blanket of freedom that we live under; sir,
the Marines in question were born under the blanket of freedom that
Mr. Weinstein and I provided during our service. The difference
between the Marines in question (as well as you) and us is that we
actually took our oath to defend the Constitution seriously, we
actually took the honor of the uniform seriously, and we actually took
military regulations and the UCMJ seriously. You sir, in defense of
the use of Nazi symbols, clearly have no honor. You have disgraced the
uniform sir, you are a traitor to our great nation and are a disgrace
to the Corps.

Let me remind you that during basic training the Marines in question
were specifically trained regarding hate groups and their symbols.
This was not a naive mistake. Even the argument that the symbol was
used for years is no excuse – it flies in the face of military
regulations and only serves to demonstrate that the marines’ superior
officers must be brought to account for permitting and condoning such
egregious conduct.

You accuse us at the MRFF of ruining men’s reputations, but when men
dishonor the uniform, the Corps and the nation, they are responsible
for not only ruining their own reputations, but soiling the reputation
of the United States’ Armed Forces, the U.S. Flag and the United
States of America.

Regarding your ludicrous defense of such treasonous conduct by
referencing the logo of a rock & roll band – it astounds me that one
so devoid of honor, intellect and moral courage could have ever worn
the uniform; only an imbecile would make such a worthless defense. The
military has no control or jurisdiction over the conduct of private
citizens (and your reference to them as “Jewish” makes me wonder if
you are also an Anti-Semite); however, the military has every right
and responsibility to hold its soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines
to a higher standard, to a code of honor, to military regulations and
to the UCMJ. The fact that you don’t recognize this makes me wonder
about your own alleged service and whether or not at some point you
were flushed out for misconduct or just plain ignorance.

If you want to try to claim the moral high ground by defending the use
of a Nazi symbol, a symbol of hatred and genocide, be my guest; it
only demonstrates the utter paucity of your integrity and
intelligence.

With Warmest Regards,

Akiva David Miller
Veterans Coordinator
Military Religious Freedom Foundation