Jesus Wouldn't Have Approved October 13, 2009 From: e-mail address withheld Mr. Mikey Weinstein and MRFF, My name is (name withheld) and I am a former member of the US Air Force Academy class of 20(USAFA class year withheld). As a child in a predominantly military family, I dreamt of service to my country and the honor that comes with valiant patriotism. From my first flight in Grandpa's private airplane, I knew I would be a pilot. When my kindergarten teacher asked the class what we wanted to be when we grew up the class was filled with future lawyers, doctors, a few presidents and a pilot. The encouragement I received offered that good grades and a good attitude will make my dream a reality. And while many of my kindergarten classmates were abandoning their childhood dreams in favor of more moderate careers, I refused to recognize the significance of the obstacles I had set before me. While I was overwhelmingly thrilled to receive an appointment to the US Air Force Academy, I almost expected it...I had done my part. I worked hard, received high merit in school, lead the pack in all of my extra curriculars and kept my focus on the prize. While I was raised in a typical Catholic home (we attended mass on Easter and Christmas, feeling guilty that we didn't attend more often) and with a strong set of values, my life would be set upon a significantly altered route by the religious pressure forced upon me as an Air Force Academy Cadet. From the first day as a Basic Cadet the approved priorities were drilled into memory..."God, Mother, Country". That is and will be the rack and stack of feelings I am allowed to possess and those are the priorities I will respect and obey. But as a naive Basic, I had no idea how seriously the Academy's leadership took that maxim. It is widely understood throughout the Long Blue Line of Air Force Academy graduates that fundamentalist Christian proselytizing is just a part of the military culture and environment. But a blind eye by the powers that be is turned to the effects these words have on the malleable cadets who's sole duty is to be molded with characteristics of the Air Force's elite officer core. The Academy prides itself in its teachings of tolerance and moral value; yet holds its own in contempt when alternative views stray from the traditional Christian image. Again laying the foundation of religions compliance, Basic Cadets are "highly encouraged" to attend chapel service offerings. "Highly encourage" is a euphemism for a direct order that lacks the political correctness to be directly ordered. But I attended chapel. I wanted to stay in good favor with the training staff...and definitely didn't want to have anything to do with the "heathen flight" of non-churchgoers. You see, if you weren't attending chapel services, you were still at the mercy of the cadet cadre, which is the last place a Basic Cadet wants to find himself. I had a fairly ordinary cadet life. I paid little notice to the Academy's ever-present religious overtones. But my two significant mistakes brought the wrath of acceptable fundamentalist Christianity morality into view. My first error in judgment left me marked as a nonconformer and would haunt the remainder of my cadet career and my life thus far. At the culmination of my sophomore year, I drank in the dormitories. Being caught drinking in the dorms is not an unfamiliar event for many college students, but when my Air Officer Commanding, Major William Jensen lectured me the following morning, he expressed in no uncertain terms, that "Jesus wouldn't have approved of what you did last night." He continued to site allegorical references to highlight the heinous nature of the violation I had committed. There was constant implied pressures to attend Christian religious services, especially with one's commander. It served to demonstrate that you were a person of character and value. It was understood that if you showed your leadership that you were a "good Christian" in your private life, that you would be rewarded with the highest military positions while on duty. I failed to go to church regularly, and with the judgement of my commander looming like a dark cloud over my cadet career, the pressures of the Academy began to rot away the idealistic foundation of my dream of flight. My second error was fathering the love of my life, my beautiful little girl with the woman I had been seeing for 5 years, and to whom I had been engaged for nearly 6 months. The Academy has a strictly understood rule that Cadets cannot have children. When my fiance and I found out we were pregnant, I should have been enjoying the happiest moments of my life, conversely I was faced with a set of life altering decisions. Do I turn myself in and throw away and education, livelihood for my family and the dreams I have worked toward my entire life? Do I keep the most joyous event of my life a secret and hide my daughter from the Academy in hopes of securing a future for my family? Or do I pursue measures to ensure I do not have a dependant child? Adoption, abandonment and abortion could have put an end to my Academy worries. But my moral compass keeps my daughter in my life. With graduation and my commissioning ceremony only hours away, with my parents, grandparents and brother on hand to celebrate my graduation and commissioning, I was removed from the iconic "Graduation Parade" that celebrates the transition from Cadet to Officer. I was abruptly taken to the Judge Advocate Office and shown a copy of my daughter's birth certificate. At that point, USAFA Commandant of Cadets Brigadier General Johnny Weida, with the counsel of his new Executive Officer, my former Air Officer Commanding, Major Jensen, recommended my immediate disenrollment. My hopes for flight school were gone and the commission as an Air Force Officer had been dashed, but surely with finals behind me I would be able to retain the degree in Mechanical Engineering for which I had worked into the wee morning hours. While academics and military ventures tend to operate independently at USAFA, religion found a common thread through my troubles and manifested yet an even greater injustice. A pastor at a local fundamentalist Christian church (where both Gen Weida and Maj Jensen congregate) Lt. Col Anderson, also served as a professor at the Academy and my Military Strategic Studies (MSS 400) instructor. With Final Exams approaching, I conferred with Lt. Col Anderson requesting an extension for the final essay. I had been scheduled for surgery for an injury to my elbow and hand, suffered during a training accident. I impressed upon Lt. Col Anderson that my typing would be hindered by the injury and that I would be heavily mediated, post-operation. While Lt. Col Anderson indicated that he would think about it, I never received a response. While my class standing was a robust 87%, I was unbelievably awarded only 12 points out of a possible 100 on the final essay bringing my final grade to 1.5% lower than passing. When I confronted my professor regarding the enormous departure from my standard scores, he stated, "I've heard you have more important things to worry about than your grade in my class." I was in a state of shock! How did he know that I had issues that threatened commissioning? Had he heard from his often professed, close personal friend, General Weida or Weida's new Exec. Officer, my former Air Officer Commanding Major Jensen, about my potential disenrollment? Why was my personal and private misfortune a topic of discussion in casual circles? Why were my Constitutional rights to privacy so quickly dismissed? There is no reason that a professor should allow himself to be swayed by nonacademic events. I have had numerous peers and professors review the submittal and all agree that the essay is easily deserving of no less than a passing grade. Given the quality of the paper I had submitted, I have to question Lt. Col Anderson's mindset while performing his review of my work. In an attempt to raise the issues concerning my situation to an appropriate level, I filed a complaint with the Inspector Generals office, to which they took little to no action. I received an e-mail to my personal account indicating that no action would be taken to examine the improprieties associated with my dismissal. In order to repay the Academy for the services it had rendered me, I was sent to the same base I would have received pilot training to serve in an enlisted capacity. I got to see former roommates, classmates and friends attain their goals from my office window. I had the fortunate distinction of saluting Officers that I used to outrank as a Cadet. I may never know what sort of Officer I would have made, but I served an outstanding enlisted tour. I maxed out each of my Performance Reports, served as a mentor to my peers and was awarded distinguished honors at when attending training courses. The highlights of my enlisted career came as I was awarded the U.S. Air Force's prestigious John Levitow Award for excellence in leadership (Airman Levitow had posthumously been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor) and the Joint Meritorious Service Medal for my efforts (including my direct support of special forces combat operations) while deployed to Southern Afghanistan. But today, I am left to ponder what sort of influence and impact I could have made if I were to have served in the capacity for which I was trained. My most perplexing discovery came as I attempted to enroll my daughter in the Air Force's dependant health care system. I was denied coverage because the U.S. Air Force DID NOT RECOGNIZE MY DAUGHTER AS A DEPENDANT! Since my daughter was born out of wedlock, she was not recognized by the U.S. Air Force. I was informed that in order to have her recognized as a dependant, I would have had to have parentage determined by a court of law. Throughout my enlisted career I was denied healthcare, additional housing allowances, child-care and many other entitlements. I am still at a loss as to how the Air Force Academy could almost instantly recognize my daughter as a dependant and pass judgement against me so quickly, denying a commission, a degree and the future for which I had worked, yet the U.S. Air Force would not recognize my daughter as a dependant and denied me entitlements of that wed parents receive without question. Since my untimely departure from the Air Force Academy, I have aggressively and continuously pursued for years a re-evaluation of my commissionability and my educational pursuit. I have sent letters to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Air Force Personnel Center, the Air Force Board of Military Appeals and the Academy's Staff Judge Advocate. When I did receive responses, my petitions were dismissed with barely an acknowledgment of my request. Most recently, I sent a letter to the current USAFA Superintendent, Lt. Gen Michael Gould requesting a re-evaluation of my dismissal and award me the degree that I earned. The response I received was sadly less than encouraging, the result of a cursory review of my Cadet Information File (CIF) which was written by the same individuals who contributed to my dismissal. I had failed to conform to the moral expectations of my Commanders which led to the end of my dreams. The prevalence of a fundamentalist Christian moral standard clouds the decision making ability of those in power. The blatant and unrestrained abuse of such power is a detriment to the US Air Force Academy and the Air Force at large. Thank you for your time and consideration, Mr. Weinstein. Without the round-the-clock help of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, those of us who wish to stand and fight this plague would have no place at all to turn. I hope you can help me, but even if you cannot, please continue to fight for the Constitutional rights of all of the rest of our brave service members NOT to have to suffer my fate; ie. to be forced by their military superiors, directly or indirectly, to bend their knees to only ONE religious view; fundamentalist Christianity. (name withheld) SUPPORT MRFF The wall separating church and state
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