UPDATE: Air Force Reverses Course

It would seem that the Air Force has seen the light and pulled an Immelman turn on forcing enlistees to say "So help me God" as part of their oath.  As I reported before, an Atheist airman who wanted to reenlist was being denied the opportunity to do so because he refused to use that phase in his oath.

From the Air Force statement on the change:

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force has instructed force support offices across the service to allow both enlisted members and officers to omit the words “So help me God” from enlistment and officer appointment oaths if an Airman chooses.

In response to concerns raised by Airmen, the Department of the Air Force requested an opinion from the Department of Defense General Counsel addressing the legal parameters of the oath. The resulting opinion concluded that an individual may strike or omit the words “So help me God” from an enlistment or appointment oath if preferred.

“We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. “We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our Airmen's rights are protected.”

Since I called out the Air Force for denying airman the religious freedoms that they were swearing to protect, it is only right that I congratulate them on making this injustice right.

Click here to read the entire Air Force statement.

Here is my original post: Quick Hits: Now with Military Grade Irony