No religious beliefs on duty, Air Force says

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — As 1,400 new cadets were welcomed at the Air Force Academy on Thursday, the chief of staff of the Air Force was reminding commanders that promoting their religious faiths is against regulations.

The academy has been under pressure to end religious intolerance following complaints from Jewish and Christian cadets that they were harassed by evangelical Christians. An investigation by a task force found no overt discrimination but some cases of insensitivity.

In a letter to all commands this week, Gen. John Jumper warned against expressing personal religious beliefs while on duty. The academy made the letter available Thursday.

"At our Air Force Academy, we have experienced issues with expressions of religious beliefs and with perceptions that one set of beliefs is favored over others," Jumper wrote. "The expression of personal preferences to subordinates, especially in a professional setting or at mandatory events, is inappropriate."

Jumper specifically called on academy chaplains to ensure religious tolerance. Academy critics have said some chaplains have pushed their evangelical faith, in one case allegedly telling born again cadets to tell fellow cadets that they would burn in hell if they didn't join their faith.

"There is nothing he has written that shouldn't have been intuitively obvious to any military professional in the Air Force, either at the entry level of airman basic or second lieutenant," said Mikey Weinstein, an academy graduate and outspoken critic of religious intolerance there. He said Air Force bases around the nation, even in the Bible Belt, have managed to avoid these problems.

Cadets and parents interviewed as they arrived said they believed the academy was resolving the problem and they were not concerned.

"I think it has been blown out of proportion," said Randy Huffman of Goshen, Ind., who was with his son, Jarod.

"I'm just glad to be at the academy," Jarod said.

Lt. Gen. John Rosa, academy superintendent, said the problem has been identified and measures are being taken to resolve it. "I expect the fall survey (of cadets) will show improvement," Rosa said. The academy first learned of the problem in a survey of cadets in 2003.