Army Anti-Discrimination Officials Pressured Soldiers Not to File Discrimination Complaints

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Army Anti-Discrimination Officials Pressured Soldiers Not to File Discrimination Complaints
Monday 23 August 2010
by: Matthew Harwood, t r u t h o u t | Report

At least two of the soldiers who allege they were punished for not attending an evangelical Christian concert in May say that the Army's equal opportunity program is fundamentally broken and have lost faith that the separation of church and state within the military is adhered to by command. The allegations have since led to an Army investigation.

Anonymous soldiers and Pvt. Anthony Smith, who is on active duty with the National Guard in Arizona, told Truthout they were among approximately 80 soldiers who were punished for choosing not to attend "The Commanding General's Spiritual Fitness Concert" headlined by BarlowGirl, an evangelical Christian rock group, at Fort Eustis on May 13.

After being punished by cleaning the barracks, Smith and another soldier that night organized approximately 20 of the punished soldiers to complain to the fort's Equal Opportunity (EO) office. According to the Army's Deputy of Chief of Staff's web page, the EO program "formulates, directs, and sustains a comprehensive effort to maximize human potential to ensure fair treatment for military personnel, family members, and DA civilians without regard to race, color, gender, religion, or national origin, and provide an environment free of unlawful discrimination and offensive behavior."

According to Smith and another soldier, they were clearly discriminated against because of their beliefs. "Why do Christians get to celebrate their religion while we get to clean," Smith said. "That's the f**ked up part."

By the next day, only nine soldiers met with their EO platoon sergeant. Subsequently, seven of the nine soldiers decided not to press forward with the complaint, although Smith and another soldier were determined to file the complaint despite pressure from EO advisers not to.