Outrageous Claims at the Air Force Academy

Has anyone seen the latest outrageous claims at the Air Force Academy? 

Capt Morton the AFA Chaplain who threw her lot in with Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS), is now crying foul because she is being "removed" from her perch at the center of the investigation.

T.R. Reid of the WaPo is spinning the story this way (here is an excerpt...emphasis added):

An Air Force chaplain who complained that evangelical Christians were trying to "subvert the system" by winning converts among cadets at the Air Force Academy was removed from administrative duties last week, just as the Pentagon began an in-depth study of alleged religious intolerance among cadets and commanders at the school.

"They fired me," said Capt. MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran minister who was removed as executive officer of the chaplain unit on May 4. "They said I should be angry about these outside groups who reported on the strident evangelicalism at the academy. The problem is, I agreed with those reports." ...

...After several "reasonably tense" days among the academy chaplains, Morton said, she received an e-mail on May 4 from Whittington. It said a new executive officer would be named, effective immediately.

[Lt Col Laurent] Fox, the academy spokesman, said this change was made because Whittington is retiring from the Air Force in June and Morton is due for a transfer in July to Okinawa. But Morton said the normal procedure would be to keep her in the number two post until she departs, so that she could help the unit's new commanding officer settle in.

Pam Zubrick of The Gazette adds a little more detail.  Here is another excerpt (emphasis added):

An Air Force Academy chaplain said she was dismissed from an executive position after pointing out religious intolerance issues and contending that evangelical Christians have too much control at the school.

Capt. Melinda Morton, a Lutheran minister, also accused academy officials of lying about faith bias issues, which arose more than a year ago but only recently have grabbed the national spotlight.

In an interview with The Gazette, Morton said Thursday that she went public because working within the academy wasn’t effective and she wanted to preserve her integrity...

...Morton said in December that she was told she would remain at the academy through summer 2006. In March, she got orders to ship out to Okinawa in July. Then, last week, she was removed as executive officer.

Now, she’s not sure what her future holds.

Academy spokesman Johnny Whitaker said Morton’s removal was planned and announced at a staff meeting in April as a transition to a new chief chaplain in June.

He also disputed her recent orders to Okinawa had anything to do with her advocacy of pluralism.

“Air Force policy is we can move you anytime after two years,” he said. “The needs of the Air Force drives that.”

Zubrick provides more details about the good captain (emphasis added):

BIOGRAPHY

Capt. Melinda Morton, Lutheran minister Age: 48 Native of Missouri Joined the Air Force in 1982, served as a missile launch officer and orbital analyst Air Force Reserve chaplain, 2001 Active-duty chaplain, Dec. 9, 2002, assigned to the Air Force Academy

First, I am not surprised the MSM/DNC is spinning things this way.  However, there are other questions from the articles:

1.  Why did the captain leave service as a missile launch officer?  Was her tour up, didn't like missile launch duty, or was the captain's Personal Reliability Program (PRP) status yanked?  In other words, did the captain become a conscientious objector (which would adversely affect PRP) and join the chaplaincy?  Was the chaplaincy the only place the captain could serve?  Or did the captain always want to be chaplain?  I don't know...it just seems like a logical question based on what the article presents.

2.  Why is reassignment to Okinawa being spun as a bad assignment?  Is Okinawa a dumping ground?  I doubt it.  If it is, don't tell the troops stationed there.

3.  Has the captain ever been stationed overseas longer than 120 days?  Hmmm...as a missile launch officer, then a reservist, then a 14-year assignment to the Air Force Academy...I doubt it.  Did the captain think she would never be reassigned from the Academy?  Are chaplains given tenure at the Academy or something?

3.  Is anyone sure what their future holds?  Poor captain...yet, why should the captain be any different than the rest of us?  Will I make general someday?  There are no guarantees.

4.  Since when is the executive officer in an Air Force unit considered the "number two" post?  This isn't the Navy...an executive officer in an Air Force unit is nothing more than a glorified administrative assistant (i.e., secretary). 

[NOTE:  Personal comment:  There are several types of Air Force executive officers. The first type are the "golden boys and girls" who can't risk screwing up in a real job because it might tube their career (they get to "learn how to be generals" instead).  Another type are the "strap hangers" who keep screwing up in a real job that an executive officer job is a safe place to park their butts...the other types are "yes" men or "window dressing" and I won't go into further details...all can answer the phones, update MS Outlook, and get coffee for the boss.  If you are an executive officer reading this post and are offended...tough...you can blame the generals who explained this to me during my many mentoring sessions.]

5.  What did the captain expect would happen?  If religious intolerance is so pervasive at the Academy, why would the investigation team need to speak to her?  It seems she wants to control the outcome of the investigation...obviously biased.

I am sure there is more to the story...the questions above are just some of the things the MSM/DNC leaves out of the story.

In the mean time...expect to hear more about how the poor chaplain is being mistreated <sarcasm> (mean ole Academy zealots) </sarcasm> ...

Comments

[SteveLa]

Wow…

1. Why did the captain leave service as a missile launch officer? Was her tour up, didn't like missile launch duty, or was the captain's Personal Reliability Program (PRP) status yanked?...

What a crappy snarky comment about the Captain’s PRP.

How about the AF missile force was being drawn down, Ellsworth and other places where shutting down a whole bunch of missiles and the AF simply did not need as many of the pocket rocket brigade as the once did? Oh, does not fit your stereotype of this officer being a kook…sorry.

Religious freedom in this country means to me; the freedom to either practice a religion or not practice a religion with impunity. I sure as heck don’t want anyone in my chain of command while on duty asking me if I have been “Saved” or telling me I will “burn in Hell” if I don’t believe as they do, it’s none of your darn business while on duty. You want to come by my quarters after hours, knock on my door and that sort of crap, maybe I will offer you a beer and we can chat or not, it’s up to me and what I feel like, and it had better have nothing to OPR/APR.

[Air Force Voices]

I think we are on the same page when it comes to religious freedom. You won't find me knocking on doors proselytizing or any of that jazz. I think the folks who do are way off the reservation and shouldn't command.

However, the "crappy snarky" comment about the PRP was a simple question...several people here at ACSC (many in the nuke business) were asking the same question. So it makes me wonder...does the captain have a history of objecting or not? Like I said...I don't know...but a red flag is certainly waving in this instance.

Finally, I'll take you up on that beer. In the old days we had the club where people could share many points of view over a cold one (or six). Too bad this tradition is no longer politically acceptable.

Looks like worshipping on base is becoming the next target.

[cranky]

Staying out of the executive officer debate except to say that I worked for two great ones and replaced temporarily a really bad one (you know they're bad when an O-3 gets replaced by an E-6).

Here's a question: how is it that this captain, who has served both active and reserve, is still a captain after 23 years of commissioned service? If the conditions under which she serves have become so personally onerous and in conflict with her beliefs on religious freedom she should resign her commission.

[bob]

You all have jumped to so many conclusions without the facts that it amazes me you would bother to post on this topic.

I am acquainted with Chaplain Morton and know that she had a distinguished career before she left the Air Force. She took several years off to study theology, was ordained a Lutheran minister and did additonal graduate work in systematic theology. She picked up with the Air Force again when she was accepted into the USAF chaplaincy.

Chaplain Morton was doing her job exactly as she is directed in her training. In fact, she appears to be the only one doing it. The number one job of a military chaplain (I know. I was one) is to uphold and protect the 1st Amendment rights of the soldier, the airman or the marine, regardless of religious expression or lack of it. When another's religious ideology interferes with someone else's freedom of conscience or if it impacts negatively on their well being or career, that is to be challenged. In fact, the military must provide a place for even the Wiccans if they request it, and it is the chaplain's job to defend and advocate for that right.

So Capt. Morton is right. God bless her.

[bob]

You all have jumped to so many conclusions without the facts that it amazes me you would bother to post on this topic.

I am acquainted with Chaplain Morton and know that she had a distinguished career before she left the Air Force. She took several years off to study theology, was ordained a Lutheran minister and did additonal graduate work in systematic theology. She picked up with the Air Force again when she was accepted into the USAF chaplaincy.

Chaplain Morton was doing her job exactly as she is directed in her training. In fact, she appears to be the only one doing it. The number one job of a military chaplain (I know. I was one) is to uphold and protect the 1st Amendment rights of the soldier, the airman or the marine, regardless of religious expression or lack of it. When another's religious ideology interferes with someone else's freedom of conscience or if it impacts negatively on their well being or career, that is to be challenged. In fact, the military must provide a place for even the Wiccans if they request it, and it is the chaplain's job to defend and advocate for that right.

So Capt. Morton is right. God bless her.

[NorCalVet]

Your ad hominem attacks against Morton are puerile and, by definition, fail to address her very serious allegations regarding religious bigotry at the AFA.

I bled for this country. I'm an athiest. Was my sacrifice any less valid than a Christian Vet's?

Please act like an adult and address the substance of the problem here, the religious intolerance at the Academy. Attacking a whistleblower on a personal level just makes you look foolish, vindictive and petty. It fuels the fire of the anti-military extremists out there.