Air Force Academy Wiccans

COLORADO SPRINGS: According to the USAFA web site, the Air Force Academy chapel will add a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions during a dedication ceremony, which is tentatively scheduled to be held at the circle March 10. The circle, located atop the hill overlooking the Cadet Chapel and Visitor Center, will be the latest addition to a collection of worship areas that includes Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist sacred spaces.

Every Monday night, cadets of the Earth-centered religions (Wicca, Druidism) meet, and they go on retreats.

Worship circles in the military isn’t brand new – there was one placed at Fort Hood, Texas in 1999. That circle was vandalized on four separate occasions. As far as the new Colorado Springs worship area, somebody has already placed a large wooden cross there, says the LA Times:

“We’ve been making great progress at the Air Force Academy. This is clearly a setback,” said Mikey Weinstein, a 1977 graduate of the academy. He is founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and has often tangled with the academy over such issues……In a statement, Gould said, “We absolutely will not stand for this type of destructive behavior. I consider this no different than someone writing graffiti on the Cadet Chapel.” The academy — which also has worship areas for Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish faiths — already had a designated area for Wiccans, pagans and followers of similar traditions, but it was located on the north end of the 19,000-acre campus and was not easy for cadets to visit, Van Winkle said.