HAWAII, February 17, 2012 - An article in today's Military Times which reported the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) U.S. Air Force Lt. General Ronnie Hawkins has come under fire and even received calls for his court-martial for the use of the word "God" in one of his staff presentations is utterly appalling.
As is frequently the tradition in the military, officers routinely give "command philosophy" presentations as a means for acquainting others with their leadership outlook. In the case of Hawkins, his presentation was reported by Military Times as including bullet points that said "Always put God first, and stay within His will" as well as "Always remember that God is good -- all the time!"
If Hawkins is reprimanded for his use of "God" in his presentations, this would be completely fly in the face and repugnant to more than 236 years of tradition in which officers and enlisted of America's military have, without proselytizing, made reference to God in official documents.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower prior to the D-Day Invasion issued a memorandum to his forces in which he said, "Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking" (emphasis added).
The U.S. Fighting Man’s Code (DOD PAM 1-16), an official defense pamphlet, issued in 1959 likewise states:
"An indomitable will to resist is not acquired overnight. Nor can it be supplied by military training alone. For it rests on character traits instilled in our homes, our schools, our churches - traits such as self-confidence, self-reliance, self-discipline, self-respect, moral responsibility and faith in God"(emphasis added).
There are countless other examples of senior officers and official documents throughout the history of our military which make use of the word "God" too numerous to list here. To suggest that Hawkins should be punished for a presentation in which he discussed his personal values would be to say that the U.S. military is no longer the same military that it has been for two and a half centuries.
Is making reference to the word "God" really an unpardonable offense in today's military? Should the Secretary of Defense now retroactively insert letters of reprimand into the records of every officer in U.S. military history who has ever mentioned "God"? I think not.
If a commanding officer cannot say that he personally believes in God without being punished, then what in the world are we doing saying we are fighting for freedom when our own war fighters don't have freedom to say what gives them purpose? Those who make others free must be without freedom? Does that make sense?
I for one am not ashamed to say God bless Lt. General Ronnie Hawkins, God bless the United States Air Force and God bless the United States of America. I hope that President Obama and Secretary of Defense Panetta will stand with Hawkins and commend him for his service and patriotism to our country.
Danny de Gracia is a political scientist, an ordained minister and a former senior adviser to two committee chairs of the Hawaii State House of Representatives. He currently lives in Hawaii.
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