The U.S. Navy has instructed housekeepers to remove Gideon-placed Bibles from every hotel room on its military bases after it received a letter from the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).
"We were told today, June 23, 2014, that due to a new policy by the CEO of NEXCOM, Rear Admiral Robert J. Bianchi, we were to remove the Bibles from the rooms," a housekeeper told AFA in an email. "They told us to put them in boxes, where they would be taken to a donation center somewhere."
NEXCOM (Navy Exchange Service Command) issued the directive to bases offering hotel accommodations, ordering them to impound Bibles from 34 Navy Lodge locations and 24,000 Navy Gateway Inns & Suites guest rooms on Navy bases worldwide.
The directive orders lodge managers to contact base commanders and Chaplains and facilitate removing the Bibles and other "religious material currently in the guest rooms."
The Air Force tried unsuccessfully to remove Bibles from its lodgings in 2012, but after public outcry, the Air Force reversed itself.
TAKE ACTION
Contact Rear Admiral Robert. J. Bianchi, urging him to reverse the decision to remove Gideon Bibles from base hotel rooms.
Also contact Michael Brockelman, VP NEXCOM, who actually approved the directive.
We have provided easy-to-send emails and links to the Navy Lodge social media pages for you to make your voice heard.
