Separation Of Church And State

Air Force Academy Admits Prejudice

As a commander, I know I have problems in my cadet wing,” Lt. Gen. John Rosa said at a meeting of the Anti-Defamation League’s executive committee. “I have issues in my staff, and I have issues in my faculty – and that’s my whole organization.”

Among the General’s problems are a deputy who has been “emphasizing” his religious views, a head Chaplain who thinks those views are the only proper views, and hundreds of college-age people following along. These are people who “believe” Lieutenant General William “my G-d is bigger than yours” Boykin is an example to be followed [in spite of his multiple failures].

There is already a tacit policy of allowing bullying in military academies. Some fool felt that humiliation and abuse builds character, and anything that is done for more than a year is considered an honored tradition. For whatever reason clannish groups tend to practice some form of the omerta code, and view revealing the bad/criminal conduct of any member of the group is a heinous crime. This is reinforced by a desire to belong to a group that is inherent in humans and emphasized by the military.

If you look at what happened to the helicopter crew that reported the My Lai massacre, the Army sergeant who blew the whistle on Abu Ghraib, and the reaction of some to the identification of Deep Throat, you can see the reaction by too many is that the whistleblowers are somehow worse than those who committed the crimes they reported.

General Rosa is still dealing with the sexual assault problems, and now religious discrimination. I don’t find this at all unusual given the actions of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Richard Myers. When the person at the top is a political flack, those below him/her will see that as the path to promotion. Under George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld the only people advancing are those that slavishly agree. Disagreeing with the current administration leads to unemployment and personal attacks.

The way things are going even if we start up the draft, we won’t have officers capable of leading the troops. Yet another Bush disaster to add to the growing list.