THANKS MIKEY AND MRFF

Good afternoon,

I am currently a Company Grade Officer serving in the United States Air Force, and I wanted to take a moment to share with the outstanding work done by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Mr. Mikey Weinstein.

First, a little about myself. I grew up in a conservative Christian home, and when I grew up, as many do, I found that the faith of my childhood did not match my personal values and beliefs, and subsequently I left the faith. Today, when filling out a dog tag application, I was denied the right to list my current faith on my dog tag. Having heard of the MRFF before from the blogosphere, I looked them up on google and shot them an email. I went back to work, thoroughly expected the email to never be replied to, as I imagined that the foundation had much larger concerns than my issue. Imagine my shock, however, when I received an email reply back and minutes later received a call from Mr. Weinstein himself helping me with my situation. I have never in my life received such a quick call back from any organization. Mr Weinstein was quick, thorough, and respectful of my concerns, as well as maintaining complete attorney/client confidentiality. It was immensely helpful, and I was relieved to know that there was someone else out there fighting on my behalf. Initially, I had felt rejected and hopeless when my rights were violated. I figured that it was a losing battle, that it was just one of the many things you have to face as a religious minority, but after speaking with Mr. Weinstein, I have renewed hope. I know that he and the MRFF has my back, and that sends chills down those who seek to abuse our military system for their own religious gain.

I just want to let others know, particularly those who might be struggling with religious rights and freedom issues, that the MRFF really does have your back. We are all in this together, officer and enlisted, Christians, Jews, Atheists, and every other religion or no religion are an equally valued part of our fighting force, and the MRFF is the premier organization working to advance that freedom in our military today. I know from personal experience that it can be very stressful to be in the military and to be a religious minority. I realized this quickly when I left my childhood faith and was suddenly facing questions such as: will my religious identify single me out? Will I lose the support of my comrades and friends? Will I receive the same support from the chaplains and other support agencies? Will this affect my placement in the squadron? I want you to know that you are not alone, and that we are always working to make the military a better and safer place for people of all or no faiths.

If you have encountered an issue with religious freedom, especially if it is causing stress in your life, seek out help. The MRFF helps ensure that we have those same Constitutional rights that we swore to protect and defend. Please know that you are not the only person that this has happened to, that your concerns are not insignificant or silly, and that you, no matter what your religious or lack thereof beliefs are, are a valued part of our fighting force and should be treated as such.

Please know that you are not alone, and that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is here to help you.