On the 15th and 16th of November, the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers (MAAF) will have a seat at the table to participate in the shaping of the religious respect training curriculum at the Air Force Academy (USAFA). This is an unprecedented outreach action on the part of the Academy to expand their diversity training to nontheists.

MAAF represents nontheists including atheists, Humanists, agnostics, and others across military branches, components, operational specialties, duty locations, and ranks. MAAF will bring to the table the needs and challenges that nontheist service members face on a daily basis. MAAF will also attempt to bring the civilian perspective of major national nontheist organizations including the Secular Coalition for America, the American Humanist Association, and American Atheists. Through its relationship with interfaith advocacy groups including the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Americans United for Church & State, MAAF will be certain to highlight ongoing, real-world issues that can no longer be ignored. MAAF's contributions, from the perspective of the civilian and military nontheist community as well as separation of church and state advocacy organizations, will provide key ingredients for measurable, positive changes in the religious command climate at USAFA.

This conference provides the opportunity to move forward from a military that hasn't yet gotten religious accommodation right. USAFA has been the target of years of allegations of misconduct from cadets, faculty, graduates, and outside watchdog organizations. The 2009 biennial climate survey was kept from public release until October 2010, and Academy officials have attempted to minimize real problems especially in the area of religious respect. 41% of respondents indicated they had been targeted for discrimination and 33 cadets indicated they fear for their safety. The Academy has declined to invite the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an organization whose efforts, more than any other factors, are leading to reform at the Academy. The religious respect conference is part of the Academy's plan to improve the climate, but there must be a public recognition of the severity of the problem and of the comprehensive changes needed for reform.

The conference is focused specifically on "religious respect training" that MAAF has already reviewed presented back to the Academy for feedback. The training had consistent and inclusive references to nontheists and addressed the requirement that leaders express no religious bias in their discussions. Fundamental changes needed include a need to recognize the establishment clause as well as the free exercise clause of the 1^st Amendment. Leaders cannot pick and choose from the Constitution. Secondly, the training currently includes situations for the cadets to discuss but limited guidance on the acceptable and unacceptable responses.

Without explicit guidance from Academy leadership to cadets, cadets are likely to leave training with reinforced bad behavior. These changes, presented publicly in advance of the conference at the MAAF website, should help jump-start the discussion to ensure the Conference itself provides the opportunity for substantive and detailed discussion.