US Military Defends Bible Verses on Rifles

[Varmit]

You know what I don't see in this report...is the opinion of the troops that actually have to carry these things into combat.  I seriously doubt that many of them would have a problem with it.  Until one of these "its inappropriate and offensive" types has the courage to actually pick up a rifle and use it, I say to hell with'em!  I mean whats next, are they going to bitch about Chaplins handing out pocket sized Bibles? 

[jerry wagner]

You know what I don't see in this report...is the opinion of the troops that actually have to carry these things into combat.  I seriously doubt that many of them would have a problem with it.  Until one of these "its inappropriate and offensive" types has the courage to actually pick up a rifle and use it, I say to hell with'em!  I mean whats next, are they going to bitch about Chaplins handing out pocket sized Bibles? 

And to hell with you!  You are not the only person permitted to have an opinion.

[srkruzich]

And to hell with you!  You are not the only person permitted to have an opinion.

By your response, I take it your one of those that doesn't have the courage to join our men and women in the military?  Actually unless you do pick up a rifle and join them you don't have any opinion.  You haven't earned it.

[Warph]

This is why I cannot stand the American-Muslim.... one of the biggest mistakes the government made was to let the ragheads into to these United States.  My Jewish-Christian values are dead set against these 7million ragheads telling us... 310million plus....  and our military..... what we can and cannot do.... screw them... send them back to the SANDBOX!!!!   Varmit is right when he said:

You know what I don't see in this report...is the opinion of the troops that actually have to carry these things into combat.  I seriously doubt that many of them would have a problem with it.  Until one of these "its inappropriate and offensive" types has the courage to actually pick up a rifle and use it, I say to hell with'em!  I mean whats next, are they going to bitch about Chaplins handing out pocket sized Bibles? 

...Warph

Read and weep, people:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583566,00.html

Company to Remove Bible References From Combat Rifles
Thursday, January 21, 2010  

WASHINGTON  —  A Michigan defense contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the U.S. military, a major buyer of the company's gear.

In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., says it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from the telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.

The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries.

A spokesman for U.S. Central Command initially said the Trijicon sights didn't violate the ban and compared the citations on the sights to the "In God We Trust" inscription printed on U.S. currency.

On Thursday, however, Army Gen. David Petraeus, Central Command's top officer, called the practice "disturbing."  "This is a serious concern to me and the other commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan," Petraeus told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.  (Horse Shit!  It is pretty bad when they get to the top commander)

New Zealand announced Thursday that they would remove the citations from the sights they have, and Australia, which also uses the sights, is assessing what to do.

New Zealand defense force spokesman Maj. Kristian Dunne said Trijicon would be instructed to remove the inscriptions from further orders of the gun sights for New Zealand and the letters would be removed from gun sights already in use by troops.

The inscriptions are not obvious and appear in raised lettering at the end of the stock number. Trijicon's rifle sights use tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, to create light and help shooters hit what they're aiming for.

Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is standard issue to U.S. special operations forces, include "JN8:12," a reference to John 8:12: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,"' according to the King James version of the Bible.


The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," the King James version reads.

Photos posted on a Defense Department Web site show Iraqi forces training with rifles equipped with the inscribed sights.

Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said in a letter sent Thursday to President Barack Obama that the gun sights "clearly violate" the rule against proselytizing. Gaddy added that "images of American soldiers as Christian crusaders come to mind when they are carrying weaponry bearing such verses."

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, contacted The Associated Press last week about the Scripture citations. He said he had received complaints from active-duty and retired members of the military. Weinstein said he couldn't identify them because they fear retaliation.

The company's practice of putting Bible references on the sites began nearly 30 years ago by Trijicon's founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon's president, has continued the practice.

"Trijicon has proudly served the U.S. military for more than two decades, and our decision to offer to voluntarily remove these references is both prudent and appropriate," Stephen Bindon said in the statement.

The statement does not provide an estimate on the removal costs. A company spokesman did not return a telephone call.

The company is also making the same offer to military in other countries that have purchased Trijicon's rifle sights.

An Army spokesman said Thursday the service was unaware of the coded biblical references until a few days ago. (Bull Shit.... Bull Shit.... BULL SHIT!!!)

"It is not the policy of the Army or the Department of Defense to put religious references of any kind on its equipment," Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings said.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Geraldine Carey said the service "is making every effort to remove these markings from all of our scopes and will ensure that all future procurement of these scopes will not have these types of markings."

[jerry wagner]

Serving or not.... having served or not.... I do have the right to my opinion and am entitled to speak it.  If you cannot deal with it... shove it.

[jarhead]

Jerry, why do you hate our military so bad? Did you get your little butt kicked by a big bad Army guy ? Or did a Woman Marine put an ass whup'n on ya ?

[srkruzich]

Serving or not.... having served or not.... I do have the right to my opinion and am entitled to speak it.  If you cannot deal with it... shove it.

Well unless you have held one of those rifles in your hand, you have no opinion.  It has no effect on you because you don't see it nor are near enough to it for it to cause you to clutch your chest and wail in agony for having come in contact with something religious!

[srkruzich]

Jerry, why do you hate our military so bad? Did you get your little butt kicked by a big bad Army guy ? Or did a Woman Marine put an ass whup'n on ya ?

LOL oh come on now, he would never survive one of those gals.  LOL the day i dropped my boy off at camp lejeune, this short skinny gal came out and dumped all over those big ole fellas coming in from boot camp. 
She was scary enough to make big men cry!

[jerry wagner]

Jerry, why do you hate our military so bad? Did you get your little butt kicked by a big bad Army guy ? Or did a Woman Marine put an ass whup'n on ya ?

Instead of making a intellectual point, you resort to trying to debase me?  My father and my grandfather were members of the US Armed Forces and I do not hate the military.  I haven't expressed an opinion that directs hate towards the Armed Forces rather that I do not support the idea behind certain endeavors.  If you are so narrow minded to be unable to understand the difference than there is little value in carrying on this discussion.

[Catwoman]

Actually, Jerry, you need to go back to the original statement he made that, unless you were ACTIVELY serving your country ("unless you pick up a rifle and join them..."), you had no right to an opinion...LOL...That means any of our proud armchair quarterbacks who are expounding so fluently are left out of having an opinion, too (and NO, previously having been a serving member does NOT allow you to be abusive of others...)...I would wager that there are very, very few of us on this Forum who haven't had a member of our families in the Armed Forces.  We are all proud of the service rendered to this country.  We are also all ready, at a moment's notice, to defend our country's safety and honor.  And, in defense of our armed forces, there are many, many religions represented through the volunteer efforts of our enlisted men and women...It is the many differences represented, united under one flag, that makes us the strongest nation on earth.  And, ALL are welcome...Even armchair quarterbacks! lol