Category Archives: Military Regulations

Marines Sued over Religious Bumper Sticker

A retired Marine working as a civilian at Camp Lejeune has sued the Marines for their demands that he remove bumper stickers from his vehicle in order to be allowed on base.  Jesse Nieto is represented by the Thomas More Law Center.

According to press reports, Nieto’s son died in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.  The bumper stickers were described as disparaging to the Islamic faith.

Military policies on bumper stickers are not entirely clear, though court rulings have upheld bans on those disparaging Read more

Military Jewish Lay Leader Derided

As previously noted, CAPT (USN) Neil Block is a Jewish lay leader who was personally involved in the investigation of alleged anti-Semitism in the Fort Benning community.

Now, Block himself is the target of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.  In an article written by Jason Leopold, Michael Weinstein has called for his “immediate dismissal by Fort Benning” for his comments “trivializing” the incident, which Weinstein calls an “Army hate crime”:

Mr. Block displays a truly alarming and willful reckless disregard for the truth of this tragic Army hate crime and subsequent cover-up…Mr. Block is apparently the current reigning Poster Child for Army religious predator apologists.

[In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that Leopold is a frequent advocate for the MRFF, and has received an award from them.]

The vitriol directed toward CAPT Block inspired an open letter [updated link] at Jews in Green.

Also noted at the Religion Clause.

MRFF Withdraws Lawsuit

According to a variety of press reports, Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has withdrawn its lawsuit filed on behalf of Jeremy Hall against the Department of Defense.  The decision comes after months of delays in the MRFF’s deadline (and days prior to the current one) to file a response to the military’s motion to dismiss.

Some reports have implied that the decision was based on Hall’s plan to leave the Army next year; however, since the lawsuit was announced last year Hall has widely reported that he planned to leave the Army.  The decision to abandon the case now is inconsistent with Weinstein’s frequent comments in support of it, including a recent assertion that a post-lawsuit IG visit would bolster the case.

The more likely cause Read more

Military Leaders Hesitate to Speak of Faith

According to the 25th Infantry Division Chaplain, Lt Col Tom Wheatley, senior military leaders are concerned that speaking freely about their faith–which they are explicitly permitted to do–could still negatively impact their careers.  For the Chaplain in particular, this is important because the “spiritual well-being” of their troops is one of several concerns leaders have for their subordinates.

Interestingly, the Chaplain is now working for Maj Gen Robert Caslen, now commander of the 25th Infantry Division.  The former West Point Commandant was one of several leaders investigated for “improper endorsement of a non-federal entity” at the Pentagon (as previously noted 1, 2, 3, 4).  As noted in a local paper, Caslen was given a “memorandum of concern” for his involvement, for which he “took full responsibility.”

CNN “Bumps” Military Atheist Story

It is a fairly common (though sometimes socially unacceptable) practice for internet users who post on forums to add to their own post in order to make its posting date more recent.  This has the effect of “bumping” it to the forefront, where people actually see it, even though there is nothing new to the topic.

CNN has apparently taken on the practice, as they have chosen to headline an essential repeat of their April 28th story on Jeremy Hall’s MRFF lawsuit.

One possible reason for the repeat may be in the source.  Read more

Complaints Over Military Interviews in Religious Video

The Kansas City Star, which has increasingly become an outlet for press releases from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, noted that Weinstein’s MRFF has complained of a broadcast by the Trinity Broadcasting Network that contains military content.  The 2-hour video, the “Red, White and Blue Spectacular” hosted by Christian music singer Carman, was filmed in 2003 and rebroadcast in 2005 as a military-focused independence celebration.  The video is scheduled to be rebroadcast this year.

The primary complaint was an interview with then-Major General Van Antwerp, who was also then-President of the Officers’ Christian Fellowship.  Carman was also given a tour of an Aegis cruiser and an interview with the uniformed Pentagon Chaplain.

Weinstein, who calls this a “repeat” of the “putrescent disgrace” of the Christian Embassy filming Read more

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