Air Force General Craig Olson attacked over faith, ‘should be court martialed’
A two-star general has come under fire from an outside anti–religious-liberty group for speaking openly of his faith.
Major General Craig Olson of Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts spoke at a National Day of Prayer Task Force event and openly shared how his faith has helped him in his life and career. In response, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has called for his court-martial.
“Major General Olson’s speech is protected by the Constitution, federal statute, and Air Force regulations,” said Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews, USA Retired, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is up to its typical, hysterical antics in calling for his court-martial. The Air Force should simply ignore his threats.”
In a letter to the Air Force, Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of MRFF, called Olson’s 23-minute speech “unforgivable crimes and transgressions.” Weinstein demanded an investigation and court-martial of this officer.
“Activists with an axe to grind against religion can’t pick and choose whose constitutional freedoms are protected,” said Crews. “A few weeks ago, Mr. Weinstein stood with Humanist and Unitarian sailors at the Recruit Training Center to protect their religious liberty. It’s contradictory to turn around now and seek criminal charges against a Christian Air Force officer for exercising the very same freedom.”
Posted on the group’s website, the letter states: “This demand letter is sent to you on behalf of countless members of the United States Air Force who are utterly disgusted and shocked by the brazenly illicit and wholly unconstitutional, fundamentalist Christian proselytizing recently perpetrated, on international television (‘GOD TV’), and streaming all over the Internet and in full military uniform, by USAF Major General Craig S. Olson on Thursday, May 7, 2015 during a VERY public speech for a private Christian organization (The ‘National Day of Prayer Task Force’: NDPTF) headed up by Focus on the Family founder, Dr James Dobson’s, wife Shirley Dobson.”
The group wants Maj Gen Olson investigated and punished “to the full extent of the law” and is calling for the service members who helped Olson to be investigated.
During Olson’s 23-minute talk, Maj Gen Olson spoke of “flying complex aircraft; doing complex nuclear missions — I have no ability to do that. God enabled me to do that…He put me in charge of failing programs worth billions of dollars,’ Olson said. ‘I have no ability to do that, no training to do that. God did that.”