The knight with red crosses is "not an approved logo," Ferguson said. She said she wasn't sure how long the sign had been up or who approved the design, noting that the center had opened recently. A photo of the sign hosted by the U.S. Pacific Command website is dated Oct. 23.
"Ultimately, this was human error and not representative of the unit or the Army," Ferguson said in a follow-up email after the sign's removal.
The image was pulled from Army.mil and other locations Monday morning while officials looked into the matter, she said. The sign came down shortly before 4 p.m. Monday.
A number of MRFF clients — the group claims 40,000 clients on active duty across all military services — flagged Weinstein's organization regarding the sign, he said, including some Muslim soldiers.
Unit officials were not aware of any complaints regarding the sign before Monday, Ferguson said. The free-standing sign had been located near the training center in an area known as Fort Shafter Flats, far from most of the installation's foot or motor traffic.
Weinstein's email to Dorman also requests an investigation into the matter and the punishment of those found responsible. He also chastises the general for sending a tweet that included the image through what appears to be his personal Twitter account, and suggests that such imagery "enrages our Islamic allies" and "emboldens our Islamic enemies."
"This shocking utilization by your command of this weaponized imagery representation of historic Christian sectarian warfare and brutality is just PLAIN WRONG both as a matter of law and as a practical matter," the email reads, in part.
The MRFF made a similar demand in September regarding a sign at Marine Corps Base Hawaii bearing the phrase, "God bless the military, their families and the civilians who work with them." When Marine officials balked at removing the sign or moving it to the grounds of the base chapel, Weinstein demanded permission to construct similar signs invoking the names of other deities, as well as one with a message designed for atheist service members.
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
