Military Regulations

The list of regulations are related to MAAF policy and goals. The list is sorted into functional categories - Equal Opportunity, Chaplains, Ministry,and Religious Programs, Standards of Conduct, and Administrative Procedures. We will verify each regulation has the current version and make comments about the important points within each regulation. Note that each regulation has a certain area - AF is Air Force only, as with Army, Navy, and Marines. DoD is Department of Defense, and there may be Joint documents. Also, each document has a different level of legal authority. For example, a Pamphlet and Field Manuals are not necessarily binding, whereas DoD Directives, Air Force Instructions, Army Regulations, and Navy Instructions are considered most binding.

New additions, Feb 2010: New versions of JP 1-05, DODI 1300.17 (was DODD 1300.17) and DODD 1350.2

Equal Opportunity

• DODD1350-2pv1997 Department of Defense Equal Opportunity. Establishes a comprehensive Defense Equal Opportunity Council (DEOC). This council has responsibilities analogous to those suggested in the 2008 joint MAAF/SCA recommendations to the incoming Obama administration.
• Definition of religion: A personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, moral or ethical beliefs, and practices that are held with the strength of traditional religious views, characterized by ardor or faith, and generally evidenced through specific religious observances. (repeated in other regulations)
• Previous version: [1997]
• ArmyReg600_20v2002 Army Command Policy. Chapter 4 provides instructions on conduct and Chapter 6 provides guidance on equal opportunity.
• AFI36-2706v1996 Air Force Equal Opportunity. This regulations specifically states that organizations that discriminate shall be denied use of military facilities or resources (like the Boy Scouts).
• ArmyPam600-26v1990 Army Affirmative Action
• AFI36-2707v1998 Nondiscrimination
• AFPam36-2705v1995 Discrimination Prevention Manual
• AFPD36-27v1993 Social Actions. This provides for measurement of discrimination compliance
• ArmyReg601-210v2007 Army Enlistment Program. This provides a specific exception to allow enlistees to drop the "so help me god" clause from the oath of enlistment.
• ArmyForm71v1999 Army Oath of Enlistment Form
• DODForm4v2007 DoD Enlistment Form
• NGBForm337v2006 NGB Oath of Enlistment Form

Chaplains, Ministry, and Religious Programs

• DODD1304-19v2007 Appointment of Chaplains. Details the requirements to be appointed as a military chaplain, including education and ecclesiastical endorsement. States specifically, "chaplains [shall] facilitate ministries appropriate to the rights and need(s) of persons of other faith groups"
• ArmyReg135-100v1994 Army Appointment of NG and Reserve Officers (and Chaplains).
• Previous version: 1993
• AFI52-101v2008 Air Force Ministry Program - provides for the privilege of total confidentiality in communications with a chaplain ... made either as a formal act of religion or as a matter of conscience.
• AFMan52-103v1997 Chaplain Service Readiness
• ArmyFM16-1v1995 Religious Support
• ArmyReg165-1v2004 Chaplain Activities
• Previous version: [2000]
• DODD5120-8pv1995 Armed Forces Chaplains Board Charter
• "A chaplain of a particular religious faith group may be appointed by the Board as a special consultant for matters about that religious faith"
• JP1-05v2009 Religious Ministry Support.
• This publication provides an excellent overview of the wide variety of secular services a chaplain is beholden to provide as well as the great range of training a chaplain would need to perform these activities.
• Chaplains are responsible for "religious affairs" includes counseling to service members and advice to the chain of comamnd, including "to support welfare and enhance morale, and to help the command understand the complexities of religion ... to advise on religious structures and monuments of antiquity (as valid military targets) ... [counseling activities including] work-space visitation, counseling, coaching on military life, pre- and post-deployment training for Service members and their families, crisis prevention and response, family life programs, memorial observances... "building relationships and collaborating with other government agencies, NGOs, and IGOs ... caring for the wounded and honoring the dead."
• This publication includes sectarian wording implying that religion is consists only of "faith or spiritual principles" or "religious worship, rites, sacraments, ordinances, and ministrations" rather than the more appropriate definition found in other higher-level regulations, including DODD 1350.2 (listed abobve).
• George Washington is quoted saying, "reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National Morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." This is a quote discriminatory to nontheists within the military and must be removed. (MAAF action forthcoming Feb 2010)
• Previous version: [2004] [1996]
• MCMp2816v1995 Chaplains and religious affairs
• MCWP6-12v2001 Religious Ministry Support
• NavyFMFM3-6v1989 Religious Ministries
• NavyFMFM3-61v1992 Ministry in Combat
• NavyI1730-3Gv1989 Employment of civilian clergy
• NavyI1730-6v1974 Visits of Civilian Religious Leaders to Overseas Installations
• NavyI1730-7bv2000 Religious Ministries Support
• MCO1730-6Dv1997 Command Religious Programs
• MCRP6-12bv2000 Religious Lay Leaders Handbook
• NavyMan1730-010v2000 Use of Lay Leaders in Religious Services
• NavyMan15555cv1993 Military Funerals
• VHAH1111-1v2005 Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agencies
• CAPReg265-1v2007 Chaplain Service Activities

Standards of Conduct

• AFPD36-29v1996 Military standards of conduct, in particular those regarding personal solicitation on installations.
• General Order 1B (4-star), General Order 1B (3-star) General Order #1B, the governing prohibition for servicemembers in the middle east, updated for the current conflict. Covered specifically in the recent Bagram Bibles fiasco
• ArmyPam600-15v2000 Extremist Activities
• DODD1325-6pv1996 Handling dissent and protesting activities by service members
• DODD1334-1pv1969 Wearing of the uniform
• DODD1344-10pv2000 Political activities by active duty service members
• AFI51-902v1996 Political Activities in the Air Force
• DODD5500-7rpv1996 Joint Ethics Regulation cover sheet
• DODD5500-7v1996-JER Joint Ethics Regulation contents
• Air Force Values v1997 [external] Secular treatment of values with a specific statement that the values are the 'price of admission' to the air force, have no particular faith basis, and that leaders should not influence the religious views of subordinates.
• DODD13541pv1980 Unions
• DODI1000-15pv1997 Private organizations on installations
• DODPM11-2v2008 Private organizations on at Military Enlistment Processing Centers. This is a new message precipitated by an Americans United lawsuit. There are significant loopholes and issues with the new regulation, but it does recognize the damage done by providing special access to proselytizing organizations.
• DODI1015-9pv1999 Scouting on Installations Overseas. Provides for brought support of scouts on overseas installations.
• DODI1330-7pv1994 Visits of civilian leaders to overseas installations
• NavyI4651-8v1989 Attendance at and Participation in Meetings by Military Personnel

Treatment of Religion

• AFPD52-1v2006 Accomodation of religion in the Air Force
• AFGuide-RelAccomv2006 Air Force Guidance interim guidance regarding accomodation of religion. This guidance was published in response to the MRFF expose of discrimination at the Air Force Academy and led to the later update of AFPD52-1.
• Previous version: [1999]
• ArmyPAM600-75v1993 Accommodating Religious Practices
• ArmyPam600-63-12v1987 Spiritual Fitness. This publication freely associates "spiritual" with "emotional" fitness, providing a mostly secular treatment of the subject.
• DODD1300-15v1985 Military Funeral Support
• DODI1300-17v2009 Accommodation of religious practices (basically on religious clothing)
• Previous version: [1988]
• AFMemo-StaffPrayerv2000 this memo was provided by the Air Force Chief of Chaplains to defend prayer in a wide variety of situations despite a legal decision to the contrary
• NavyI1730-8av1997 Accommodation of religious practices

Administrative Procedures

• DODD5400-7pv2002 Freedom of Information Act. Procedures for acquiring documents and records from the DoD.
• DODD5400-11pv1999 Privacy Program
• USCode10v2008 United States Code - excerpts related to chaplains and worship. These are high-level, often outdated and having little direct effect on daily operations. USC 10 Section 502 has the oath of enlistment and does not specify an optional portion; however, lower-level regulations do.
• ArmyReg680_29v1996 Military Personnel, Organization, and Type of Transaction Codes. This regulations prescribes codes to be used in a variety of situations, including to categorize someone by religion. Section 1-68, page. 40 has religion options, including 00 - blank, 01 - No Rel Pref, 74 - Other, 99 - Unknown, 75 - Atheist, so don't just take no preference as an option. AR 680-29, 1996