The Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition has announced that they stand ready to offer assistance to any Air Force Academy cadet who faces repercussions for writing a Bible verse on a hallway whiteboard that has been designated by the Academy for both official and personal use.
Earlier this week, a Bible verse (Galatians 2:20) was removed at the Air Force Academy after a complaint by an anti-Christian group.Reports surfaced that cadets are protesting the censorship by writing Bible verses on other campus whiteboards. Last year, the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition launched a website, www.militaryfreedom.org, to support the religious liberties of America's men and women in uniform.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, Family Research Council's Executive Vice President said "This reflects that the cadets understand the Constitution and have a greater faith in the Constitution than their leaders. They are freely exercising their constitutional rights that they will be defending upon graduation."
Michael Berry, Liberty Institute's Senior Counsel and Director of Military Affairs said ""This is a blatant violation of Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1300.17 and the Constitution, "Berry observed. "But the Air Force seems to think that AFI 1-1's neutrality towards religion requirement means forbidding religious freedom. If that's true, then I suggest the Air Force officials read DODI 1300.17, which supersedes AFI 1-1 and guarantees religious freedom for all service members."
