Servicemen and women are often viewed as “ultimate” Americans. Their patriotism drives them not only to perform a citizen’s basic duties, but to take on the additional responsibility of physically putting themselves between the rights and freedoms of Americans and those who would alter or restrict those freedoms. It’s logical to assume that such champions would themselves be beneficiaries of the things they defend but, when it comes to religious freedom in the military, this isn’t always the case.
In the past few years, the armed forces have been subjected to a deluge of shocking offenses against America’s first freedom. It was revealed last year that intelligence reports produced by the Department of Defense during the Bush Administration featured quotes from the Bible on their cover pages. Bibles have been shipped to deployed troops for distribution in Afghanistan. There have been reports of translators and interpreters being asked by military personnel to write “Jesus killed Mohammed” in Arabic on American tanks, resulting in vicious attacks on the convoys to which those tanks were assigned. Trijicon, a government contractor, was discovered to have inscribed Bible verses on the telescopic sights of firearms used by troops on active duty, without the knowledge of the American government or the soldiers using them. Shockwaves continue to reverberate nationwide in the aftermath of the religiously-motivated shooting at Fort Hood last fall.