In Memoriam: MRFF Takes a Look Back at Friends, Board Members, and Advisory Board Members Whose Contributions We Will Never Forget
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: September 1, 2014
Publisher Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Publication: Freethought Newswire
Original Link: research@militaryreligiousfreedom.org
Publication Date: August 24, 2024
Organization: Military Religious Freedom Foundation
Organization Description: The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Over 89,000 active duty, veteran, and civilian personnel of the United States Armed Forces, including individuals involved in High School JROTC around the nation, have come to our foundation for redress and assistance in resolving or alerting the public to their civil rights grievances, with hundreds more contacting MRFF each day. 95% of them are Christians themselves.
| Saturday Afternoon, August 24, 2024 |
| IN MEMORIAM MRFF TAKES A LOOK BACK ATFRIENDS, BOARD MEMBERS, AND ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS WE WILL NEVER FORGET |
 |
ED ASNER Dear Friend, Ardent MRFF Supporter,MRFF Thomas Jefferson Award Honoree |
 Ed Asner receives MRFF 2010 Thomas Jefferson Award from MRFF Founder & President Mikey Weinstein |
| Ed, himself a military veteran, was an American icon as both a superb and celebrated actor as well as a tenacious, never-say-die, civil rights activist. From the very first moment he heard what MRFF was doing, Ed was never too busy to enthusiastically pitch in and help. And help he did! Ed personally appeared in MRFF media pieces and attended MRFF fundraisers in the L.A. area. His broad, selfless, and determined support for MRFF resulted in Ed’s winning of the MRFF 2010 Thomas Jefferson Award, which is our highest honor. |
AMBASSADOR JOSEPH C. WILSON IV Military Religious Freedom Foundation Board Member MRFF Thomas Jefferson Award Honoree |
 Joe was a loyal, fierce, and steadfast advocate of MRFF’s mission to ensure constitutionally-mandated church-state separation in the U.S. armed forces and Veterans Administration for over 13 years. He will always be remembered fondly and is deeply missed.Click to read full bio |
GLEN DOHERTY Dedicated MRFF Advisory Board Member, Former Navy SEAL, Killed in 2012 Libya Consulate Attack |
 |
| Glen was one of the first MRFF Advisory Board members and was a passionate core contributor to the fight to prevent a fundamentalist Christian coup within the United States Armed Forces. Glen lived and died believing in the righteous cause of religious tolerance and dialogue among all peoples and faiths around the globe. Click to read full bio |
ROSS PEROT A great patriot and an even greater human being who tremendously helped our MRFF clients in need, particularly medical need, on dozens of occasions |
 |
| Mikey and Bonnie Weinstein with Ross Perot |
Mikey Weinstein on his long-time family friendship with Ross Perot: “My family has known the Perot family for 70 years ever since my dad, Jerry Weinstein, met and became extremely close friends and midshipman classmates with Ross during Plebe Summer with the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1953 in the summer of 1949. “Ross literally knew me before I was even born. I have wonderful childhood memories of him, including when he visited me on several occasions during my cadet years at the USAF Academy. But it was as an adult that I really got to know him. “I worked for him professionally on two occasions and became his first General Counsel at Perot Systems Corporation in the late 1980s after first representing him as legal counsel in my New York City-based law firm. In fact, the second time I worked for Ross, in the early 2000s, became my very last job before starting and directing the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).” |
GOVERNOR RICHARD LAMM Three-term Governor of Colorado,One of MRFF’s first Advisory Board members |
 |
| Dick’s unimpeachable integrity, character, dignity, intelligence and honor and his kind, avuncular nature made him a joy to work with. Through the many years of his active MRFF Advisory Board advocacy and membership, he helped out often behind the scenes with matters we were engaged with, especially in Colorado, but elsewhere as well. He was a magnificent, loyal and relentless supporter of MRFF’s mission and a consistent personal donor to its civil rights cause. |
ROBERT T. HERRES First Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,MRFF Advisory Board member |
 |
| During his 36 year Air Force career, Bob Herres served in fighter-interceptors, technical intelligence, the Flight Test Center and Space Systems before tours as a wing commander in Strategic Air Command. Later, he was commander of Air Force Communications Command, the Eighth Air Force, and as the Joint Staff J-6, was promoted to general to become commander of NORAD and the first commander of US Space Command. He ended his active duty career with a three-year assignment as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first to hold that position. |
EAGLE MAN, ED McGAA Enrolled Oglala Sioux tribal member,Marine Corps fighter pilot, Author,MRFF Advisory Board member |
 |
| Ed received a law degree from the University of South Dakota, was an author, speaker, publisher, and veteran. He served as a Marine in Korea and flew 110 combat missions as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. Ed authored 14 books including Mother Earth Spirituality, Nature’s Way, Rainbow Tribe, Native Wisdom, Black Elk Speaks IV, and Exposing Terrorism: Indigenous Spirituality and Religious Extremism. |
A.A. “TONY” VERRENGIA Pioneer in NASA’s manned spaceflight programs,MRFF Advisory Board member  |
| General Tony Verrengia was a pioneer in the manned spaceflight programs of NASA for over 25 years, including holding key staff positions in the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle program management offices. From 1983-84 he served on the interagency task force in Washington D.C. that obtained President Reagan’s approval to proceed with the International Space Station development. He received numerous military decorations and NASA awards. In 1983, for his work on the Space Shuttle program planning, he was honored by the Sons of Italy in America with its highest honor, the Marconi Award. In 1987 he was knighted by the Republic of Italy as a Cavallieri Ufficiali, for his work in assisting the Italian government in creating its new space agency. |
WILLIAM E. BARKER U.S. Marine Corps Major, Junior ROTC Instructor,MRFF Board Member,MRFF Thomas Jefferson Award Honoree |
 |
| Over his 19 years as Junior ROTC instructor, Bill Barker sent over 65 students to military academies – the highest number of students referred to military academies by any one instructor in the nation. His other accomplishments included being selected to be on the NRA’s National Coach Development Staff, for which he worked with rifle coaches of all levels, and served as the New Mexico State Director for the Civilian Marksmanship Program and the American Legion Junior Shooting Program. |
RICHARD T. SCHLOSBERG III Former publisher and chief executive officer of the Denver Post, publisher and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Times, executive vice president of The Times Mirror Company,MRFF Advisory Board member |
 |
| Dick Schlosberg graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and earned a master’s degree with honors in business administration from Harvard Business School. He served five years as an Air Force pilot and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. In 2003, Richard was honored by the Air Force Academy and named one of its distinguished graduates. Dick also served as President and CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, retiring in 2004. |
HOWARD BRAGMAN Public relations giant with a specialty of advising LGBTQ clients coming out of the closet,MRFF Advisory Board member |
 |
| In 2001, Howard was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and he created and chaired the Jewish Image Awards honoring depictions of Judaism in film and on television. His record spans more than two decades of activism for the AIDS/HIV community, lesbian and gay civil rights and First Amendment protections. He has received awards and honors from numerous groups including AIDS Project Los Angeles, The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, The Life AIDS Lobby and Congregation Kol Ami. Howard was one of the first individuals to join MRFF’s Advisory Board and provided invaluable professional assistance, particularly in the early formative years of the foundation. His brilliance and professional intuition is missed. His friendship, zeal to provide assistance and help whenever called upon, and empathetic disposition will never be forgotten. |
 |
“Note of Thanks” From: (Name and e-mail address withheld)Subject: Note of ThanksDate: August 23, 2024 at 12:17:55 PM MDTTo: <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org> Dear Mikey, I wanted to thank you and your organization the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. I am a Registered Nurse Advocate from Eastern Wa and after hitting a dead end while seeking assistance in halting an unconstitutional chaplaincy program, I really felt that you cared, you were passionate and you assisted me in connecting to the appropriate people. I had not found this tenacity when reaching out to the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, or the Freedom from Religion Foundation. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has no obligation to help my case given the absence of a military nexus. I received no response from these other organizations and had resorted to despair. I contacted Mikey as a last ditch effort and I felt heard and appreciated and for the first time experienced a glimmer of hope. His response was immediate and he included me in his correspondence and followed through. I have not seen this level of passion with any other of the mentioned organizations. The separation of church and state is not only a moral issue but a practical, legal and political one. Religious freedom has never been more important as it is today. The Christian Nationalist agenda that underlies the “Conservative Promise” in the Heritage Foundation’s project 2025 manifesto, is a direct threat to democracy and should be opposed with vigor and passion at every level. The Conservative- majority U.S. Supreme Court has effectively chipped away at the wall separating church and state in a series of new rulings over the last two years. This should give the population pause. Mikey Weinstein is fierce, passionate and in my interactions with him it is obvious that he cares and is invested a rarity not seen often enough in large organizations that tout advocacy. Yours truly, (Name withheld) (Town Name withheld), Wa. |
| “JBSA (Joint Base San Antonio) Follow-up” From: (Active Duty U.S. Army Enlisted Member/MRFF Client’s e-mail address withheld)Subject: JBSA (Joint Base San Antonio) Follow-upDate: August 23, 2024 at 12:59:53 PM MDTTo: Mikey Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org> Mr. Mikey Weinstein, I want to thank you for your prompt and effective assistance with a recent request I made to your organization. I am an enlisted member of the Army stationed at JBSA (Joint Base San Antonio) – Fort Sam Houston, TX. For the last few years while assigned here I have encountered repeated incidents (multiple times a week) of the entry point guards ending their ID checks with “Have a blessed day.” While seemingly innocent this imposes a religious aspect onto a required military interaction.There are many people I have spoken with over time at this assignment (approximately 40) and all have experienced the same greeting. There are many Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen on post here. This is a major training center as well as having a MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station), the number of forced religious tinged interactions must be immense. Even religious personnel I have spoken with about this have conceded that it is an unconstitutional situation for someone in a position of authority to impose upon others. We have armed personnel who have control of whether you can gain entry injecting religious messaging, innocuous or not, into a professional encounter. Last week after the third or fourth instance of the week I attempted to find out how to contact the Security Forces Squadron on post to make a complaint. Fortunately, during my search I found the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. I contacted your organization via email. Quickly thereafter your group followed up with me and asked for specifics about these interactions. After providing that information you were able to immediately get to work contacting JBSA leadership. I am pleased to let you know that what had previously been happening in almost every interaction dropped to one in ten. I want to again thank you and your organization for all that you have done and continue to do for our servicemen and women. (Active Duty U.S. Army Enlisted Member/MRFF Client’s name, rank, unit, and MOS all withheld) |
 |
| From: James SwartsSubject: Valuing the Military Religious Freedom Foundation Date: August 20, 2024 at 8:06:18 PM MDTTo: Mikey Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org> Dear Mr. Weinstein, As a point of introduction, I should note that it has been several years now since I met you, Mr. Weinstein, when you spoke at Rochester Institute of Technology here in Rochester, in what I thought was a wonderful presentation and a real eye opener. Your message resonates with me more today than it even did at that time. Your presentation made me realize the value of the MRFF, and the work of your organization. I look forward to hearing from you, and the work of MRFF. With that said, I would like to mention that I served six years in the U.S. Navy, during which time I served at sea including in the illegal invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965, and three years with the NROTC Unit at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy New York. That service made me aware of the religious and racial intolerance that I found embedded in military culture. Subsequent to my Naval service I earned both Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in History which helped to open my eyes to the meaning of the United States Constitution and the importance of the separation of church and state. It also gave me pause to reflect on the military’s coercion of forcing personal to participate in religious activities. After a lengthy career as a federal officer I returned to seminary and earned my Master of Divinity Degree (MDiv) while pursuing ordained ministry. Then I was invited to teach history at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, the state honors college. I devoted fourteen of the following sixteen years in that position. It was early in my teaching career that I attended the aforementioned presentation by Mr. Weinstein at R.I.T., which had a profound influence on me and helped bring together the many pieces of my military, civil service, history education, and theological education to zero in on the evil I had recognized, and experienced, personally and historically. It helped me to incorporate my strong belief in religious tolerance, and emphasize the need to keep religion out of our government and out of our military in many of my courses. MRFF serves as a beacon of enlightenment of religious freedom by protecting those in the military, and veterans, from coerced religious indoctrination. Peace, Rev. James L. Swarts, M.A., M.Div.President, Veterans For Peace, Chapter 23, Rochester, NY2021 VFP Chapter of the Year |
| SUPPORT MRFF’s SOCIAL MEDIA Please Help IncreaseMRFF’s Social Media Engagement |
| PLEASE MAKE A100% TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION MRFF is a 501C3 Nonprofit |
| Please Share on Social Media |
| MRFF Information/Contact:(505) 250-7727 |
License
In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.
Copyright
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012-Present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Scott Douglas Jacobsen, or the author(s), and In-Sight Publishing with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. All interviewees and authors copyright their material, as well, and may disseminate for their independent purposes.
Share this:
Leave a Comment
In-Sight Publishing 