Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
6/30/2012
A movable paper target is on display at the new close quarters combat training range at Joint Base Fort Story in Virginia Beach. Photo taken on Monday, June 25, 2012. (Hyunsoo Leo Kim | The Virginian-Pilot)
The Navy will not use a target depicting a Muslim woman holding a gun at a new training range for SEALs in Virginia Beach.
The announcement came hours after the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the Pentagon to remove the target. A picture of the cardboard target, which shows a woman in a headscarf holding a pistol, was published in The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday. The image shows verses of the Quran hanging on the wall behind the woman, which also generated criticism from the group.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based council, said in the letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta dated Friday that the target “is offensive and sends a negative and counterproductive message to trainees and to the Muslim-majority nations to which they may be deployed.”
Panetta’s press office did not respond to a request for comment. Late Friday, Lt. David Lloyd, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Group 2, said the materials in question would not be used on the close quarters combat training range, which was dedicated Monday at Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story.
“We have removed this particular target and Arabic writing in question from the range in the near term, and will explore other options for future training,” Lloyd said…
…The course was halted after a military officer who was a student complained. The instructor, an Army officer, was relieved of his teaching duties. A broader review of training across the military related to Islam found no other problems.
The complete article is at The Virginia-Pilot
H/T Althouse
