To borrow a phrase from Fox News ‘We report You decide ‘. Many of you have read, seen or maybe heard that Trijicon has been in the news lately because of their practice of putting Scriptural references on their products, mainly the illuminated optical sighting systems for the military. As of this writing Trijicon has agreed to send removal kits for all sighting systems already purchased by the military’s of all countries they have purchased their scopes. Trijicon has also agreed to stop their practice of inscribing Scriptural references on all future products they provide. No doubt they were threatened with contract cancellations if they didn’t comply and undoubtedly this was the major factor in their decision.

What we bring now are some of the connections to this controversy that the media has failed to report on. As with most controversies there is more here than meets the eye. A foundation called the MilitaryReligious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)is the driving force behind this entire “tempest in a teacup”.

MRFF was started in 2006 by Michael L. “Mikey“ Weinstein, a man with a most interesting background. He graduated from the Air Force academy in 1977, and ended up serving 10 years as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) Officer. During these 10 years as a JAG officer, he served 3 years as a legal counsel in the Regan White House. While at the White House, he served as the Committee Management Officer during the Iran-Contra investigation. He returned to civilian left and went on to serve as the First General Council for Ross Perot. The experience gained from these various positions has given Mr. Weinstein familiarity and expertise with the military legal system.

Since its founding in 2006, MRFF has filed a number of lawsuits against the military, all of which had to do with alleged religious persecution or religious wrongdoings. Ironically, MRFF was nominated for a 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, but lost out to Obama. Some of the more “notable” legal actions that MRFF filed against the U.S. Military and particularly the Air Forcewere a case involving the squadron emblem of the 523^rd Fighter Squadron (U.S.A.F). Another case involved the placement of Biblical Quotations over the door leading into the Air and Space Basic Course classroom, again the involving the Air Force.

A second example is a suit involved aBiblical Quotations over a door into the Air and Space Basic Course classroom. The quotation is Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles; and they shall walk and not faint “ Again, MRFF viewed this quotation offensive based on “religious indoctrination” and of course the “separation of church and state.”

There were also suits involving the illegal use of official military e-mail accounts to send e-mails, simply because it contained the in the Thanksgiving greeting, “….Remember that it is not about celebrating the Pilgrims, or the football game, and all that but more about being a day to thank the Lord our God for all we have. All that is good comes from God and we need to worship, honor, and praise Him for all we have now and all He has saved us from and for all that is to come. All Glory Be To God!!” It also contained eight Old Testament quotes on the subject of gratitude to God. There was a suit on the Attempts by missionary organizations to train active-duty military personnel to evangelize their subordinates and peers. Another suit was about Military leadership openly discussing their commitment to bring religion into the military: At issue was a video produced by Christian Embassy, an organization whose mission is “to help diplomats, government leaders and military officers find real and lasting purpose through faith and encouragement.” The video, which appeared on Christian Embassy's website, carries a disclaimer that says "the views expressed by any government officials in this video are their personal views and are not intended to represent the U.S. government nor any department in which they serve."

Not being satisfied with attacking long standing traditions of the Air Force and other government organizations. MRFF turned their eyes on Trijicon and their outstanding scopes based on a “letter” MRFF received from unnamed U.S. Army soldier. (Editor’s note: Due to the length of the “letter’ we have summarize it.)

In his letter, after the usual biographical information, he states that he is a combat infantry soldier with combat experience. He says that he has “witnessed terrible religious persecution in the my (number withheld) years in the Army. Most of it comes from “angry” conservative Christians in my unit chains of command and occasionally from my fellow infantry soldiers.” The first question that one should be asked is as a member of the armed forces, why didn’t he bring this to his superiors attention in an attempt to end this “terrible religious persecution”? (Editor’s note: As Marines, we joke about the Army, but we do know that any enlisted man has not only the right, but the duty to report this “persecution” to “higher” authorities including the Chaplain of his faith.)

He continues in his “letter” writing that he is quite familiar with the Trijicon ACOG gun sights and had used them on his first 2 deployments where he “saw and experienced no incidents regarding the New Testament bible quotes that are written on the metal casing of the gunsights.” Now, the question arises, as stated by the company, “The Company’s practice of putting Bible references on the sites began nearly 30 years ago by Trijicon's founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon's president, has continued the practice,”  ( http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583566,00.html ) and if this soldier has used the scope for 2 deployments, why hadn’t he seen this before?

He also says in the “letter”, “Many soldiers know of them and are very confused as to why they are there and what it is supposed to mean. Everyone is worried that if they were captured in combat that the enemy would use the bible quotes against them in captivity or some other form of propaganda.” Excuse us for being skeptical, but any soldier who has a question, is fully free to ask someone, whether it’s their immediate NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) or someone higher up on the chain of command. As the old saying goes, “The only stupid question is the one not asked.” As far as propaganda, since when does the enemy need a reason, our own press already do that for them?

This unnamed soldier continued in his letter with a number of “charges” and even mentions the possibility of retaliation if he or others brought this to the attention of higher authorities. Again, we find this hard to believe within a military unit. Even his statements about, “… senior NCO was apparently also the head person of a conservative, crazy Christian group called the “Christian Military Fellowship” and made a big deal about the importance of joining to everyone”, seems to be way out of place including the senior NCO’s anti-Semitic quotes, seems to contrived, “p*ssy ‘Jewzzi’ (combination of the word ‘Jew’ and Israeli made weapon ‘Uzi’). NO senior NCO worth his salt would make such comments in the presence of “…. many Afghans, both civilian and military, on base within earshot of what was being yelled at us and I can only wonder in shock what they must have thought.” If this was true, then why this lone soldier, the only one contacting the MRFF? Why didn’t someone who overheard these comments report the incident to an officer? Or to the press for that matter?

According to Mr. Weinstein, after receiving this alleged letter, he contacted the Associated Press (AP). Of course, the “lame stream” AP ran the story and needless to say it became a minor “firestorm”. It is worth noting, that this “firestorm” can be somewhat suspect on why the “lame stream” Media was so quick to cover this story when Trijicon was still using Scriptural References, but as soon as Trijicon acquiesced and said they would no longer use the references, the “lame stream” media dropped the story. Although, this particular story has quietly gone into the background, MMRF seems to be on their own crusade and against religious freedom in our military. Eventually, if not already, most people will forget about this and other assaults on Christianity in our military and particularly MRFF’s role in this assault. They may be hoping that their role will never come to light. They are hoping that they can remain in the shadows and continue their assaults. After some researching, we feel we can put MRFF in with the other “Shadow Menaces” that are threatening the American way of life and religious freedom (For more information on the “Shadow Menaces” please see Old Marine’s blogs here on 912 and http://ascream.blogtownhall.com/. One just needs to look at MRFF’s Board of Directors which is headed by Kristen Leslie (an assistant professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Yale Divinity School), and David Antoon (a former U.S. Air Force commander who vocally opposes the “extreme Evangelical coercive overtones influencing the Academy.” Other notable members of the MRFF Advisory Board are former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson; Smita Singh, Director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Global Development Program, this foundation awards grant money to many different organizations, including International Planned Parenthood (also associated with George Soros), Human Rights Watch (directly funded by George Soros) and the Tides Center (another of George Soros funded organizations). For those of you who watch Glenn Beck you will remember that Glenn has featured the Tides Center on more than one occasion and it’s association with the Obama White House. Then there is Richard T. Schlosberg III, the immediate past President and CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the former Ambassador JosephWilson. Are you starting to see a pattern forming here? Sounds like the same game plan the A.C.L.U. uses when they intimidate small towns and businesses about any number of issues dealing with Christian displays or rules. MRFF has a concerted and purposeful agenda to stifle anything to do with Christianity in our military.