August 23, 2009 - I was raised a Methodist, my grandparents were pillars of the Baptist Church, my best friends were Lutheran and Catholic, and my Boy Scout Troop met in the local Presbyterian Church. I graduated from a Jesuit university and after almost three decades of uniformed service in the armed forces of America, I recently closed out my military career as a faculty member at the U.S. Army War College. Upon retirement in the grade of Colonel I had the good fortune to join the faculty at a Catholic university. I provide this information so you will know that I am no enemy of the faithful. On the contrary, I have the deepest respect for religion in general. I am also deeply committed to the profession of arms that has been my life's work.

I support the Military Religious Freedom Foundation because of an oath that I took almost thirty years ago-to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That very Constitution's first amendment established that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It was Thomas Jefferson who suggested that the intent of that clause was to establish a wall between the church and the state. On the issue of religion, government was to remain silent as a protection for minority faiths. The way to guarantee religious freedom for all was to ensure that the government advanced no single faith group.

As one who cares deeply for the profession of arms imagine my concern when I see military officers wear their religion on their sleeve and engage in public actions in the name of faith that are at the very least insensitive to other faith groups, and at the worst establish a clear and dangerous divide in their units along religious lines. Such divisions are anathema to the social and task cohesion that is essential to an effective military in a democratic society.These troubling actions also fortify the allegations of "Crusader mandates" by our militant Islamic enemies and embolden their opposition. As a matter of professional ethos the religious persuasion of a military leader should be irrelevant to his or her subordinates and vice versa.

Where is a soldier to turn when their commander holds an official function such as a unit change of command in a chapel with biblical references more appropriate to a worship service than a military formation? Who do they contact when their supervisor insists on holding bible study in their office during duty hours or when their chaplain prays at unit events in a way that is not inclusive of all faith groups? To date the institutions that one would normally expect to respond to these transgressions, such as the Inspector General and military Equal Opportunity offices have an inconsistent track record in addressing such issues. I am especially troubled when I see allegations that officials in such institutions are unresponsive or even complicit.

I have observed Christian proselytizing in uniform, heard derogatory statements about other religions by senior officers, and seen military offices in government buildings that prominently display religious symbols and artifacts. I am dismayed to see ostensibly nondenominational events like prayer breakfasts and spouses clubs hijacked by sectarian religious groups that consider Christian witnessing and proselytizing as fundamental tenets of their faith. Such troubling events seem to be on the rise, and yet the chain of command too often fails to act or, in the most egregious cases, is actually part of the problem.

When those in the minority find the courage to point out transgressions or express their discomfort they are often ostracized, subjected to hostility, or worse. Some groups react to perfectly reasonable requests for restraint with indignation as if they were the ones under attack. In extreme cases fundamentalist Christians attribute the motives of those who call for relief to satanic inspiration.

For too long United States soldiers, sailors, airmen, coastguardsmen, and marines have suffered mightily in silence without a place where they can get the support and the voice to address this problem. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is necessary to help guarantee that the United States Military remains an institution where the religious of every faith as well as the non-religious can serve with pride. Thank you for your tireless work.

Military Religious Freedom Foundation