Lt. Gen. Roger Brady talks on
June 22 about his investigation
in to the religious climate at the
Air Force Academy.

a "cumbersome pass procedure"
o to attend religious services and
w suggested it was accompanied by
` pressure from cadet leadership to
make "the right choice" and
choose participation in academy
activities over religious events.
Dining facilities were deemed
inadequate for kosher dietary
needs by the Jewish cadets. One
cadet, who kept kosher, was
given a refrigerator in his room
because the dining hall was insuffi-
cient.
Faculty members acknowledged that
some of the academy's leadership is
"extraordinarily aggressive" in their
expressions of faith and hinted at a cli-
mate in which religious people pro-
mote and hire other devout people.
The Jewish cadets said they believed
Lt. Gen. John Rosa, the academy's
superintendent, was making a sincere
effort to improve the school. Rosa is
expected to leave soon to become pres-
ident of the Citadel.
Israel and other Democratic law-
makers have tried to seek reforms
through congressional action, but have
faced strong opposition from
Republicans.
Last week, Rep. John Hostettler, R-
ind., said Democrats were "denigrat-
ing and demonizing Christians" for
seeking an amendment on the issue.
Hostettler later withdrew his remarks.
Capt. MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran
chaplain at the academy, resigned from
the military the day before the report
was issued. Morton's attorney told the
New York Times that she believed it
would be difficult to continue at the
school because of her outspokenness
against the right-wing religious atmos-
phere on campus. ❑

.p?

League called the report encouraging,
particularly the recommendations for
reform.
"If implemented effectively, such
programs could provide a model for
the entire U.S. military," ADL said in
a statement.
Few of the reported incidents direct-
ly involved Jews. The academy's foot-
ball coach reportedly placed a "Team
Jesus" banner in the locker room last
year, and advertisements for the movie
The Passion of the Christ were circulat-
ed around campus.
Cadets also complained about the
term "Heathen Flight," used as slang
to describe the march back to dorms
with other cadets who did not attend
worship services.
The Jewish cadets, who were inter-
viewed separately from Christians and
other religious minorities, expressed
overall positive views on the academy,
but acknowledged problems with
other cadets, faculty, some leadership
officials and several coaches.
They complained of prayers before
mandatory events and an e-mail, sent
by Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida, the
school's commandant of cadets, pro-
moting National Prayer Day in 2003.
A separate report concluded Weida's
message "did not violate any public
standard."
They also detailed what was deemed

American people," Combs said. "This
must change."
Jews and Christians have fundamen-
tal differences about what belongs on
the two stone tablets of the Ten
Commandments, and most public dis-
plays follow the Protestant tradition.
The Jewish version of the Ten
Commandments is made up of 13
sentences; Christian variations include
17 sentences.
In the Jewish version, the first line is
"I the Lord am your God who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, the house

of bondage." That second phrase refer-
ring to Egypt does not appear in the
Christian text, and some Jews see its
omission as a rejection of Jewish tenets
— or, at least, an implicit endorsement
of a particular religious tradition.
But the court did not discuss the
content of the displays at length. Their
focus rested more on the context and
purpose of erecting a display of the
Ten Commandments. ❑

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6/30
2005

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