From: Michael L Weinstein <mikeyw4444@icloud.com>
Subject: U.S. Constitutional Violation at Marine Corps University
Date: February 17, 2022 at 3:58:32 PM MST
To: walker.field@usmc.mil, walker.field@usmcu.edu
Cc: paul.melchior@usmc.mil, paul.melchior@usmcu.edu, kathleen.h.hicks.civ@mail.mil, david.h.berger.mil@mail.mil, michael.m.gilday.mil@mail.mil, carlos.deltoro.civ@us.navy.mil, Lewis LtCol John M <john.lewis@usmc.mil>, Brady GySgt Thomas Allen <thomas.a.brady@usmc.mil>, brent.scott@navy.mil, Information Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org>
Dear Brigadier General Walker M. Field,
Sir, firstly, I’d like to thank you for your outstanding and selfless service to our country.
My name is Mikey Weinstein and I head up a large civil rights advocacy organization called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). MRFF presently represents over 77,000 Active Duty, Reserve and Guard sailors, soldiers, Marines, coastguardsmen, airmen and veterans, as well as cadets and midshipmen at the several U.S. military academies, OCS/OTS and ROTC. Our main MRFF Mission is to protect the Constitutionally guaranteed separation of Church and State in the United States Armed Forces. About 95% of our MRFF clients happen to be practitioners of the various Christian faith traditions. Of course, we also represent many service members who follow a literal galaxy of other faiths as well as those who identify as Agnostic, Atheist, Humanist, and Secularist.
For more information on MRFF, please see this link, sir:
https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/
MRFF has received some very troubling complaints just today from members of the Marine Corps University (MCU) community under your direct command regarding an e-mail sent indiscriminately to all personnel by Chaplain (CDR) Bowen Woodruff promoting a Christian Bible study. MRFF is currently representing 12 MCU personnel on this matter, of whom 7 identify as practicing Christians. The others are from minority faiths or non-faith belief systems, including Jewish, Islamic, Native American and Non-theist faith traditions.
Chaplain (CDR) Woodruff’s e-mail, as you can see below, not only promotes to ALL MCU personnel the fact that he is holding a Bible study, but details what the subject of the Bible study will be.
From: Woodruff, Harold <harold.woodruff@usmcu.edu>
Date: Thu, Feb 17, 2022 at 11:12 AM
Subject: Announcing MCU Bible Study and Fellowship
To: MCU Chaplain All Hands <MCU_chaplain_all_hands@usmcu.edu>
Greetings Marine Corps University community. Beginning February 24th, I will be leading a weekly Bible Study and fellowship in the Blackjack Room from 1200-1240. Feel free to bring your lunch!
We will start with the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Paul raises several important issues with the Corinthian Church that are relevant to us today. All are welcome!
What: Weekly Bible Study
When: Thursdays, beginning 24 Feb., 1200-1240
Where: Blackjack Room (Breckinridge Hall, Rm. 224)
Hope to see you there.
Blessings,
Chaps
--
Chaplain Bowen Woodruff, CDR, USN
Marine Corps University, Command Chaplain
In short, Brigadier General Field, Chaplain (CDR) Woodruff has clearly overstepped the Rules of Engagement, re: his official duties, by attempting to proselytize the ENTIRE Marine Corps University community with his sectarian Christian-only e-mail.
We at MRFF have faced the exact same situation many, many times before. See two recent examples at these links:
https://militaryreligiousfreedom.org/press-releases/2020/1_31_Lead_Like_Jesus.pdf
https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2020/08/mrff-assists-clients-in-quickly-ending-blatantly-sectarian-religious-proselytizing-to-soccent-personnel/
Chaplains have every right to communicate with their fellow armed forces members via e-mail, but, if they wish to blanket EVERYONE in their respective units, they must keep their communications secular. If Chaplain (CDR) Woodruff wishes to send out e-mails which are targeting a Christian-only Marine Corps University audience, that is also quite fine, as long as he is sending such sectarian, Christian-ONLY messages to those Marine Corps University personnel who have either asked to be so included on them or are otherwise part of his regular Chaplain-serving constituency such as those he has established a close pastoral relationship with or those who might regularly attend his services etc.
Unfortunately, Chaplain (CDR) Woodruff is doing the exact opposite of what is permitted.
His sending out of this obviously Christian-only, unsolicited e-mail to ALL Marine Corps University personnel is totally violative of the No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, all germane, construing Federal caselaw on same, a plethora of DoD and Military Branch-specific Directives, Instructions and Regulations, the Core Values of the several Military Branches and the UCMJ.
The dozen (so far) Marine Corps University personnel who came to MRFF for help justly fear reprisal, revenge, retaliation and retribution if they went up through the Marine Corps University chain of command with their complaints or through your IG and/or EEO channels .
Sir, please ensure that Chaplain (CDR) Woodruff immediately ceases and desists from further BLANKETING all of his fellow MCU members with his Christian-only e-mail proselytizing and immediately conforms to the easy-to-work-with boundaries outlined above in all of his future Marine Corps University e-mail communications.
Our terrific U.S. military is a VERY diverse workplace. One of DoD’s greatest strengths IS its diversity. By sending out his Christian-ONLY e-mails to ALL Marine Corps University personnel, Chaplain (CDR) Woodruff is seriously and most deleteriously degrading the good order, morale, discipline, and unit cohesion of his Marine Corps University comrades.
As you know, General, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made diversity, inclusion, and equity an ABSOLUTE PRIORITY with his historic stewardship of DoD. Sadly, the Christian-supremacist, arrogant, callous, and imperious actions today of Chaplain (CDR) Bowen Woodruff are precisely the OPPOSITE of what SECDEF Austin is trying to achieve during his tenure at the helm of DoD.
Please swiftly do whatever is needed to timely rein him back in within the proper Constitutional bounds as, again, outlined earlier in this communication.
Please kindly advise soonest. We will stand by to hear back from you in a timely manner please.
With sincerest respect and gratitude,
Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, Esq.
Founder and President
Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)
505-250-7727
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