INTERVIEW: Air Force Chaplain Allegedly Disciplined for Preaching Biblical Values
Chaplain Curt Cizek fights to clear his name and take a stand for his faith.
An Air Force chaplain and West Point graduate, Curt Cizek, asserts he was fired for preaching a sermon on sexual immorality. Now Cizek is working to overturn that firing, citing President Trump's executive order “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.” He has fought relentlessly to clear his name and is now awaiting a decision from the Undersecretary of Defense.
Cizek served as an Army infantry officer for 11 years, later joining the Air Force as a chaplain in 2007. In 2010, he was hand-selected to work at Basic Military Training (BMT) at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. During his military career, Cizek received glowing performance reports—but that apparently didn’t matter after he received a complaint from a trainee about his sermon content.
Chaplain Cut Cizek. Published with permission.
On February 10, 2013, Cizek preached a sermon about the Biblical prohibition of extramarital sex in adherence with one of the Ten Commandments—Do Not Commit Adultery. He said, “If you are having sex with someone to whom you are not married, you are wrong and you need to fix it,” and he quoted several scripture verses on the topic. He also preached, “We look like bigots when we condemn those who practice homosexuality and say nothing about those who practice adultery and fornication.”
After the sermon, a female trainee filed a formal complaint claiming his sermon targeted homosexuals and he shouldn’t be able to preach whatever he wanted. Then he was verbally admonished by his boss and three other supervisory chaplains questioning why he would preach a sermon about sexual immorality.
Before the sermon, Cizek received exemplary performance reviews but the evaluations following the sermon were downgraded. Cizek was not promoted and told Restoration News he was forced to involuntarily separate from the Air Force on July 31, 2016.
Cizek’s Records
Restoration News reviewed Cizek’s officer performance reports which revealed exceptional assessments. Comments such as “outstanding leader, superstar officer/chaplain, bright future” were listed on his November 2012 report. On a performance feedback worksheet from May 6, 2014, his ratings were all above average or "clearly exceeds" expectations. Specifically, Cizek was praised for his “first-class pastoral skills” and that his integrity was “without question.” His 2015 performance report was also glowing, and he was the number one rated chaplain in his command. His leader claimed he was the “most mission-effective chaplain I’ve seen in 23 years” and he was given the highest recommendation of “definitely promote.” He also has dozens of glowing letters of recommendations from high-ranking Generals, enlisted service members, and parishioners who attest to his high level of performance and integrity.
Violating Trainee Confidentiality
Cizek told Restoration News that in December 2012, chapel staff discovered that the chain of command was lying to trainees about the confidentiality of the results of their End of Course surveys. Cizek told his boss, Ch. Timothy Moermond, that they needed to do something about this potential violation of military law. Ch. Moermond spoke to the Deputy Group Commander who said he had no control over the issue, and the chapel staff worked the issue up through their command chaplain. Cizek was not told whether the issue was resolved.
In April 2013, he realized the issue had not been fixed when several female trainees were punished for statements made on what should have been a confidential survey. Cizek brought the issue again to the chapel staff the following week. Cizek said that Ch. Moermond ordered staff to begin telling trainees the truth about the survey—so he did. Although Cizek was reprimanded for advocating for the trainees, other officers who did the same were not reprimanded.
Cizek says he has witnesses who will testify that he was not promoted, and as a result involuntarily separated, because of his sermon. The squadron commander of Basic Military Training at the time was an outspoken lesbian who admitted she didn’t want Cizek to officiate her promotion ceremony. Cizek believes the commander may have influenced how he was treated.
Inspector General Investigation
Cizek asked for the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) to have the poor Officer Performance Reports he was given from 2012–2013 to be removed from his records. He also filed a reprisal complaint petition. The BCMR refused to remove the performance reports.
In 2021, a case review of the reprisal investigation was conducted by John Vernon, Senior Investigator for the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, referred to as the "Vernon report." Cizek told Restoration News that he had to sue the government to get an unredacted version of the report after initially receiving a document that was almost fully redacted. It took him 2 years, but a judge finally ordered a less redacted version be released to Cizek. In her decision, the judge stated the plaintiff was placed in an impossible position of persuading the Air Force “that his separation was the result of retaliation while being denied the benefit of the substance of Vernon’s observations about the defects in the OIG’s initial evaluation.”
Cizek appealed to the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Shawn Skelly for help. In 2023 and again in 2024, Skelly sided with Cizek and remanded his case back to the Air Force Board for Correction of Military records for further consideration directing that their reprisal investigation should address “all non-frivolous arguments raised in Mr. Cizek’s petition.”
Curt Cizek. Published with permission.
The Vernon report revealed that the reprisal investigative plan appeared to “be more focused on investigating the complainant, rather than his allegations of reprisal.” The report further showed that only one of Cizek’s twelve witness was interviewed as part of the investigation, and that the few interviews that were conducted were sloppy. They did not ask open ended or follow-up questions on important points and “on occasion led the witnesses.”
Cizek revealed that it took the Air Force three years to decide his case when by law a reprisal investigation must be adjudicated in 180 days. Cizek has proceeded through proper appeals and was denied each time. He is on his final appeal with the Undersecretary of Defense and expects a decision by August 12, 2025.
Chaplain Cizek served his nation honorably and with integrity. It’s shameful that he has had to fight so long to receive justice. He is asking the Trump administration to promote him to the rank of his peers (Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel) and approve his retirement. Cizek sets a great example of standing firm in your faith and fighting for what you believe.
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