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Air Force: 'So help me God' is optional in enlistment oath

An airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada was denied re-enlistment because he crossed the phrase "so help me God" out of the enlistment oath.

By Frances Burns
Men and women enlisting in the U.S. Air Force no longer have to use "so help me God" in the oath they swear. UPI/ Yasuo Osakabe/DoD
Men and women enlisting in the U.S. Air Force no longer have to use "so help me God" in the oath they swear. UPI/ Yasuo Osakabe/DoD | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Men and women enlisting in the U.S. Air Force no longer have to use "so help me God" in the oath they swear.

Military officials said Wednesday that the phrase is optional.

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The American Humanist Association had threatened a lawsuit after an atheist serving at Creech Air Base in Nevada was denied the right to re-enlist because he crossed the phrase out of the oath on Aug. 25.

"We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in a statement.

James said the Air Force is changing its instructions on enlistments and re-enlistments to reflect the policy, a process that could take weeks. But she said the change takes effect immediately.

"We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed our client has a First Amendment right to omit the reference to a supreme being in his reenlistment oath," Monica Miller, an attorney with the AHA's Appignani Humanist Legal Center, said. "We hope the Air Force will respect the constitutional rights of atheists in the future."

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