Air Force General Who Credited God for Success Should be Court-Martialed, Group Says

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: May 18, 2015

Air Force General Who Credited God for Success Should be Court-Martialed, Group Says

A civil liberties group has demanded that Air Force general Craig Olson should be court-martialed for crediting God with his accomplishments in the military. Maj. Gen. Olson spoke about his faith in a speech at a National Day of Prayer Task Force event, according to Fox News

In his speech, Olson said that God guided his work.

"He (God) put me in charge of failing programs worth billions of dollars,” Olson said. “I have no ability to do that, no training to do that. God did that. He sent me to Iraq to negotiate foreign military sales deals through an Arabic interpreter. I have no ability to do that. I was not trained to do that. God did all of that."

The two-star Air Force general then requested prayers for the Defense Department and soldiers who were preparing for deployment. 

In response, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation wrote a letter to Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Walsh, complaining that Olson’s speech violated military rules of endorsing a particular faith. 

The letter reads in part, “This demand letter is sent to you on behalf of countless members of the United States Air Force who are utterly disgusted and shocked by the brazenly illicit and wholly unconstitutional, fundamentalist Christian proselytizing…”

It continues that Olson should be "aggressively and very visibly brought to justice for his unforgivable crimes and transgressions."

Publication date: May 18, 2015



Air Force General Who Credited God for Success Should be Court-Martialed, Group Says