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A highly decorated Kirtland Air Force Base colonel who refused to sign a certificate of appreciation for a retiring master sergeant’s same-sex spouse says he was wrongly disciplined for following his religious beliefs.
Col. Leland Bohannon was relieved of command and a letter was sent by a superior officer recommending against his promotion after an Equal Opportunity complaint against him was substantiated. A religious liberties group is now demanding the reversal of the decision.
In May, Bohannon, then the commander of the Air Force Inspection Agency headquartered at Kirtland, was asked to sign certificates for a retiring master sergeant, including a “certificate of spouse appreciation,” according to an appeal letter to the Air Force from First Liberty Institute sent on Oct. 5.
The certificate is one traditionally given to the spouses of retiring military members; it is not legally required to be given and is not an official document.
Bohannon did not sign the certificate for the master sergeant’s same-sex spouse, as it conflicted with his religious beliefs.
According to the letter, Bohannon consulted others on the base, and his command chaplain suggested he file a religious accommodation request that would excuse him from signing the certificate.
That request was returned “without action” six weeks later, the letter states.
Instead, an off-base superior officer agreed to sign the certificate in Bohannon’s place.
The master sergeant subsequently filed an Equal Opportunity complaint, alleging Bohannon unlawfully discriminated against him due to his sexual orientation by not signing the certificate himself.
The complaint was substantiated, and Bohannon was removed from command. A letter was sent by a superior officer to the Air Force Brigadier General promotion board, recommending Bohannon not receive a promotion.
He has since been transferred to Washington, D.C., said attorney Mike Berry of First Liberty Institute, who is representing Bohannon.
Berry said the Air Force doesn’t provide clear guidelines to members in situations such as Bohannon’s.
“There was no guidance for him to know how to navigate that,” he said. “… The accommodation should have been granted.”
He said he was unsure of why Bohannon’s religious accommodation request was returned “without action,” as the only two options for such requests are typically approval or denial.
Berry also argues that the directive informing the Air Force’s Equal Opportunity policy enacted in 2016 contradicts existing law, in that it includes sexual orientation in the definition of “sex.”
“No airman … should ever have to forfeit their religious beliefs in order to serve in the military,” Berry said.
Paula Neira, a transgender Navy veteran, attorney and clinical program director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender Health, equated Bohannon’s actions with “bigotry.”
“The military is a secular institution and if an individual’s deeply held religious beliefs prevent them from doing their duty and leading/treating all of their subordinates equally then they need to resign,” she said in an email.
A Kirtland Air Force Base spokesman referred inquiries on the case to Air Force headquarters.
“The Air Force is aware of the issue, and is working it through the proper channels,” Air Force spokesman Maj. Ethan Stoker said in an email.
In addition to reversal of the substantiated Equal Opportunity complaint, Bohannon is seeking removal of any associated unfavorable materials from his service record. He is also requesting that adequate training be given to commanders on how to deal with similar situations in the future.
“He, like me, hopes for a swift and favorable outcome,” Berry said.
Berry said they will take legal action should it become necessary.
According to an August 2015 article in the Kirtland Air Force Base Nucleus newspaper, Bohannon has more than 3,300 flying hours as a pilot, including combat missions.
He was awarded the Bronze Star after service in Afghanistan.
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©2017 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Hand grenades from the last major battle of the Revolutionary War have repeatedly scrambled bomb squads in Virginia's capital
In an uh-oh episode of historic proportions, hand grenades from the last major battle of the Revolutionary War recently and repeatedly scrambled bomb squads in Virginia's capital city.
Wait – they had hand grenades in the Revolutionary War? Indeed. Hollow iron balls, filled with black powder, outfitted with a fuse, then lit and thrown.
And more than two dozen have been sitting in cardboard boxes at the Department of Historic Resources, undetected for 30 years.
At least 4 American veterans among group arrested in Haiti with arsenal of weapons and tactical gear
At least four American veterans were among a group of eight men arrested by police in Haiti earlier this week for driving without license plates and possessing an arsenal of weaponry and tactical gear.
Police in Port-au-Prince arrested five Americans, two Serbians, and one Haitian man at a police checkpoint on Sunday, according to The Miami-Herald. The men told police they were on a "government mission" but did not specify for which government, according to The Herald.
They also told police that "their boss was going to call their boss," implying that someone high in Haiti's government would vouch for them and secure their release, Herald reporter Jacqueline Charles told NPR.
What they were actually doing or who they were potentially working for remains unclear. A State Department spokesperson told Task & Purpose they were aware that Haitian police arrested a "group of individuals, including some U.S. citizens," but declined to answer whether the men were employed by or operating under contract with the U.S. government.
White supremacist Coast Guard officer stockpiled firearms and hit list of Democrats for mass terror attack
A Coast Guard lieutenant arrested this week planned to "murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country," according to a court filing requesting he be detained until his trial.
Yes, your supportive texts to your battle buddy actually help prevent military suicide, study says
(Reuters Health) - Military service members who are at risk for suicide may be less likely to attempt to harm themselves when they receive supportive text messages, a U.S. study suggests.
The Army allegedly missed this soldier's stomach cancer for 4 years. His widow wants someone to answer for it
The widow of a soldier whose stomach cancer was allegedly overlooked by Army doctors for four years is mounting a medical malpractice lawsuit against the military, but due to a decades-old legal rule known as the Feres Doctrine, her case will likely be dismissed before it ever goes to trial.