Air Force Takes Action After E-Mail Sent Described Jews as 'Whiners' from TPR: The Public Record

A couple of weeks ago, military command and staff officers at Creech Air Force base in Nevada circulated an e-mail at the request of the senior base chaplain to all personnel stationed at the facility, inviting them to attend a Bible study class in which the topic for discussion characterized Jews as "whiners."

The mass e-mail, sent to personnel of various religious persuasions, is the latest in a long list of constitutional offenses committed by fundamentalist Christian chaplains stationed at U.S. military facilities around the world, many of whom have publicly displayed insensitivity and outright hostility to non-Christians serving in the military.

In this most recent example, the flyer announcing the Bible study at Creech was widely distributed to Creech Air Force base's e-mail list, which is prohibited by long-standing military regulations. The title of the study, which was scheduled to be held Wednesday, "Moses the Leader: How would you like to lead 1,000,000 whiners?" angered numerous recipients of the e-mail, who complained about the negative stereotype of Jews and the fact that religious announcements were not supposed to be circulated using e-mail accounts maintained by the federal government.

Air Force Capt. Melissa Danley, the military personnel chief at Creech, sent the initial announcement from her official government e-mail account on Jan. 16. Danley did not respond to phone calls or e-mails for comment. The 432nd Wing Commander's Office sent out another announcement about an hour later.

This is not the first time that Air Force base e-mail lists have been hijacked by both chaplains and senior Air Force officials to proselytize base personnel. It's a frequent practice at numerous military installations.

Last year, it was revealed that a presentation titled "Purpose Driven Airmen", which incorporated the teachings of megachurch leader Rick Warren and creationism as a means of suicide prevention was sent to 5,000 servicemen and women at RAF Lakenheath, the largest U.S. Air Force base in England. And the practice continues at Lakenheath, the most recent example being the Jan. 13, 2009 MASS e-mail distribution of a flyer for the Christian movie "Fireproof", sent out by the base's senior command NCO's [non-commissioned officers] at the request of a chaplain.

rest http://www.pubrecord.org/religion/649-air-force-takes-action-after-e-mail-sent-described-jews-as-whiners.html