Pentagon probes tales of forced prayer at U.S. Air Force Academy

The Pentagon will investigate the U.S. Air Force Academy after cadets complained that they were ordered to pray and told they'd go to hell if they didn't preach the word of God.
Michael L. Dominguez, acting secretary of the U.S. air force, announced Tuesday that a task force will visit the Colorado Springs, Colo., campus of the academy after 55 cases of religious intolerance were uncovered through internal surveys.
Dominguez said senior commanders will be put under review to see if they "enhance or detract from a climate that respects ... the free exercise of religion."
Among the complaints:

• A professor who required cadets to pray before taking a test.
• A chaplain who warned anyone not spreading the word of God would "burn in the fires of hell."
• A coach who hung a banner in the locker room declaring: "I Am a Member of Team Jesus Christ."
• The academy's second-in-command, Brig.-Gen. Johnny Weida, sent an e-mail to cadets: "The Lord is in control. He has a plan for ... every one of us."