AF Colonel Cleared of Promoting Religion

An Air Force colonel has been cleared in an investigation into whether an e-mail she sent to her airmen violated the military’s stance of religious neutrality.

Col. Kimberly Toney, commander of the 501st Combat Support Wing at RAF Alconbury, sent an e-mail on Jan. 16 referring airmen to an "inspirational" video on a Roman Catholic Web site.

The video featured the life of Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs. In the video, Vujicic says he finds his "greatest joy in this life is to introduce Jesus to those he meets and tell them of his (Jesus’) great desire to get to know them personally by allowing him to become their Lord and Savior."

"After a thorough consideration of the facts, the Third Air Force has concluded Colonel Toney acted inadvertently and unintentionally and did not willfully violate Air Force policy or (Equal Employment Opportunity) guidelines," said Lt. Col. Dave Honchul, 3rd Air Force’s director of public affairs.

The investigation, officially referred to as an "equal opportunity treatment incident clarification," was initiated in mid-March. The report was closed on Monday.

Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, Third Air Force commander, agreed with the findings of the EOTI, has taken appropriate action and considers the case closed, Honchul said. When asked what appropriate action was taken, Honchul did not offer specifics, citing privacy concerns.

As first reported by online news magazine The Public Record, some Air Force personnel who watched the video said they believed it violated the military’s ban on endorsing particular religious views. Some said they were more bothered by other things on the Catholic Web site, 4marks.com, such as an image illustrating President Barack Obama’s support for abortion rights by showing the president in a Nazi uniform and waving a flag with a swastika on it.

Mikey Weinstein, head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the incident represented a "textbook case" of improper religious influence, according to a New York Times story.

Throughout the incident, no formal or informal complaints were filed by airmen or civilians, Honchul said.