“... such flagrant religious prejudice demonstrated by a senior cadet in conjunction with a general disregard for Jewish religious observances indicates institutional concerns that we strongly feel must be examined.”

Unquestioningly due to MRFF’s dogged efforts in publicizing and getting media coverage of the Air Force Academy’s disgraceful scheduling of its Commandant’s Challenge, the most important training day of the semester, on the Jewish high holy day of Yom Kippur, three United States senators have now taken up the issue, writing to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall seeking answers for this slap in the face to the Academy’s Jewish cadets.

(D-MD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) wrote U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall (USAFA) following news reports that the United States Air Force Academy scheduled one of its most important training days of the year, the Commandant’s Challenge, on Yom Kippur.”

In their letter, the senators quote from an email sent to MRFF by the parent of one Jewish cadet who was not only forced to choose between her religion and this key training day, but was told by a senior cadet in her chain of command that the problem was her “being Jewish,” and that she should “make an effort to try Christianity,” describing Christianity as “just enlightened Judaism.”

This very welcome action by Senators Blumenthal, Cardin, and Van Hollen would not have happened without the media attention that MRFF brought to this latest Christian-supremacist outrage committed by the Air Force Academy.

Left to right: Senators Richard Blumenthal, Ben Cardin, and Chris Van Hollen

10/24/22 — Mikey Weinstein Statement on Letter From Three U.S. Senators to

By: MRFF President and Founder Mikey Weinstein

In their letter to the Air Force Secretary, these three United States Senators ask very good questions. But none of them would be as important as asking the following question; During a USAFA Cadet’s four years of taxpayer-funded education at the Air Force Academy, exactly how much time is spent providing direct education on Air Force instruction 1–1, section 2.12?

The relevant language of that instruction is “Leaders at all levels ... must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief,“ and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation was extremely instrumental in getting that regulation passed a decade ago. That regulation is not “advisory” but is indeed “directive,“ therefore the violation of it can be prosecuted as a felony under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 

MRFF presumes that the honest answer by the Air Force Academy to this seminal question would be absolutely “ZERO“!  

By: Pam Zubeck

Updated October 24th, 2022 (From 10/6/22)