(LifeSiteNews) — Captain Forrest Doss, a Catholic Air Force pilot who was placed on a no-fly list for supposedly discussing his faith inappropriately, has been kept out of the skies and accused of creating a “hostile work environment.”
In a June 17 memo written by Air Force officials addressed to Capt. Doss, the pilot and instructor was reprimanded for discussing “potentially charged subjects.”
“As an officer in the United States Air Force, an instructor pilot, and an aircraft commander, it is your responsibility to act in a professional manner and create a safe environment to successfully execute the mission,” reads the official Letter of Counseling (LOC).
“This includes refraining from discussing potentially charged topics.”
The letter further states that Doss, whether intentionally or not, “created a hostile work environment” for members of his crew.
The ambiguity over why such a reprimand was warranted has drawn the attention of Doss’s legal counsel. Doss’s lawyer, R. Davis Younts, responded to the memo in an interview with Just the News, claiming Doss was being targeted simply for answering questions about his Catholic faith.
“The LOC turns it into an equivalent of a [Uniform Code of Military Justice] violation for answering questions truthfully about what his church teaches,” said Younts.
In the official response, Younts claims the Letter of Counseling to be unjustified due to its “impermissibly vague language.” It further claims that the investigation process into Doss’s comments “was weaponized to target Captain Doss’s religious expressions.”
The Commander Directed Report of Investigation into Doss’s actions claimed that he made two comments that induced a hostile work environment – yet cleared him of any deliberate wrongdoing.
The first comment was made referring to then-President Joe Biden, which labeled him a “fake Christian” and a “feeble old man who should not be president.” This statement was deemed unsubstantiated, as the comments do not meet the definition of “contemptuous words.”
The second comment was regarding the Church’s teaching on “religion, women, or sexual orientation.” This comment was noted as being protected under the free exercise of religion.
Among the recommendations from the investigation is that Doss receive verbal counseling and complete a “self-study on how to appropriately express his personal religious views to a secular audience.”
Despite the investigation and legal counsel, Doss remains grounded with his Air Force reputation hanging in the balance.
