USAF Fighter Pilot’s View re: Ch. of Staff Religious Neutrality Memo Being Blocked

Mikey,

Having known you for many years and closely followed and supported the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), I am keenly aware of the battle you are fighting with respect to religious intolerance and command abuse in the military. With equal interest and support, I have followed the latest fight centered on the USAF Chief of Staff’s memorandum regarding religious neutrality in the military. At the release of the memo and the ensuing weeks involving the posting of the memo on a Colorado Springs billboard, I was TDY (temporarily assigned) to (military installation withheld) AFB for training. In mid October, 2011, I returned to my home unit at (military installation withheld) and was eager to read my numerous emails and find the disseminated copy of the memo. Though I had already read the entirety of the memo through internet postings, I wanted to see what my USAF chain of command had added to the official release of the USAF Chief of Staff’s message – whether positive or negative. However, I found neither; the memo was not distributed to my squadron. Having asked around the squadron, nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. While uncertain which echelon of my chain had neglected to pass the message to their subordinates, I did not want to confront commanders directly. After a few days of asking around the squadron, I asked the Group Commander’s Executive Officer, another (USAF officer’s rank withheld) who I deal with regularly. I figured if the memo had made it to the Group level, then surely he would know about it. Again, I got the same response – he didn’t know what I was talking about or that it existed at all. My Wing leadership is geographically separated at (military installation withheld), but I happened to have a trusted friend at the Wing Staff as well. I received the same response from him, he’s never seen or heard of such a memo from the CSAF.

Though I thought my squadron commander or the group commander may have had their disagreements with the memo and chosen not to pass the message along, I was quite surprised that the memo had not even travelled to the Wing Staff level. Of course it maybe have gone that far but stopped and gone no further. Regardless, thousands of airmen in my Wing have never seen or even realize the existence of such a message from the highest echelon of the USAF. I distinctly remember receiving messages throughout my USAF career from the highest levels about all sorts of changes to AF policy, mission statements, and culture. The USAF Chief of Staff’s recent memo about religious neutrality is clearly addressed to all airmen at all levels and must be understood as part of the intended culture of the AF. I am equally angry and disheartened to know that because certain members of my leadership do not agree with this message, they have chosen to take it upon themselves to block a directive from the USAF Chief of Staff.

I know that this is just another page in the volumes of complaints that you at MRFF receive on a regular basis. Hopefully this letter can help to further your efforts in fighting the suffocating and oppressive members of our military’s leadership that continue to disregard the simple fact that serving in the military is a secular act. I was so very happy to see the USAF Chief of Staff make a definitive and official statement on the subject of religious neutrality, but the message just isn’t getting out! I am out of personal contacts at higher levels of my chain of command. Please help me to find where the train came off the tracks so the memo can be distributed properly. I am at your service if there’s anything else I can do. Thanks as always!

Keep Fighting!

(USAF Fighter Pilot’s name, rank, military unit and military installation withheld)