Christian Prayer Enforced at Air Assault Graduation

Update 6/25: An Army spokesperson has reported the mandatory prayer participation policy has been overturned and there is no requirement to bow heads or be heard to say Amen, though official prayer will continue.

MAAF has obtained a video showing enforced Christian prayer at Air Assault training at Ft Campbell. Trainees are directed to bow their head to graduation prayer and to give a response that sounds like “Amen”. The video below shows a prayer that is explicitly Christian with a quote from Isaiah in an official Air Assault graduation ceremony. This prayer goes far beyond something simply ceremonial, non-denominational, and optional. This is Christian-specific, mandatory, and requires participation, and hopefully Christians will stand up against such bad leadership as readily as non-Christians.

Several local MAAF members have spoken up to complain about this practice. They see it as easy enough to ignore or laugh off as an artificial, soulless, and desperate imposition of religion on a military event. But many also hold their commanders to a higher standard. Soldiers expect commanders to respect and include everyone equally and not to use their rank and command to impose Christianity on subordinates. In the face of God-and-Country, anti-atheist politics from Congress down to unit military events, it’s important to call out commanders who go overboard with promoting their personal beliefs.

“You’re going to bow your head during the prayer and when the chaplain says ‘Amen’, you’ll say either ‘Amen’ or ‘hey man’.” – leader directive to trainees as quoted to MAAF by a recent graduate. Don’t be afraid to demand your right to opt out of prayer. There is a strong local MAAF community – MASH Ft Campbell – that operates without any chaplain or unit support. But atheists and humanists are welcome to be in contact to seek assistance, support, and community, especially when commanders are marginalizing nontheists.

Video from Air Assault Graduation June 23, 2015

Think that’s bad? See a whole Marine unit enlisted to carry a cross up a hill to be emplaced on Camp Pendleton.

Air Assault is an important school, all but required at the 101st Air Assault Division at Ft Campbell. With graduation prayer, Christians are given special privilege and those who are not Christian are expected to appear as if they are participating in the prayer. This is second-class citizenship for non-Christians and has no place in the military of a free country. Because the school is so important and just 11 days with a high attrition rate, there is little opportunity for trainees to speak up. Commanders and chaplains seem to feel free to enforce their beliefs on vulnerable trainees. Christians should feel free to pray in their free time and during worship services, but they should not be given captive audiences of military trainees upon which to enforce their beliefs.

If believers are given special privilege to pray under command direction during official events, then those who don’t wish to participate should be encouraged not to bow their head and certainly not to respond affirmatively to someone else’s prayer. Air Assault leaders offer trainees the option to say “hey man” instead of “amen”. This false accommodation gives the appearance of respect for other beliefs while, in practice, what leaders create is a larger, more consistent crowd appearing to endorse official government Christian prayer. Commanders have all the power and should protect trainees in their care, both by providing opportunities for personal and public worship, but also by preventing in any case enforce prayer, prayer activities, or the appearance of prayer, on those who have no interest.