GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Air Force Agrees To Omit 'So Help Me God' From Enlistment Oath

Well, that was fast! In Last week's Godless Wednesday we discussed the plight of an unarmed airman who was bing threatened with the inability to re-enlist in November without violating his beliefs thanks to a newly enforced policy that all enlistees must not alter the enlistment oath, which incliudes the words "so help me God."

This week comes the glad tidings that the Air Force will indeed allow people to reenlist without forcing them to swear obeisance to a deity.

Following a review of the policy by the Department of Defense General Counsel, the Air Force will now permit airmen to omit the phrase, should they so choose. That change is effective immediately, according to an Air Force statement. 

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

“The Air Force will be updating the instructions for both enlisted and commissioned Airmen to reflect these changes in the coming weeks, but the policy change is effective now. Airmen who choose to omit the words ‘So help me God’ from enlistment and officer appointment oaths may do so.”

It's so rare that we have good news to report on Godless Wednesday! This news that the policy has changed to increase religious freedom and acknowledge that some people who serve in the military might be godless is Good News.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis