A Pagan in the Air Force
Interview with Matt Switzer By Christopher Blackwell

It’s been a while since the last time we had an article about our Pagans in the military. Some have had their problems and some have had little problems so it is always good to be aware of what is happening to them and perhaps how we could be of help to them.

I put out a call on one of my Pagan military and Pagan vets forums and Matt was kind enough to give permission for an interview.

Christopher: Matt, could you tell us a bit about yourself? How long have you been in the Air Force and how long have you been a Pagan?

Matt: Sure! I grew up in a small northern California town called Paradise, a town pretty much dominated by retirees and with a religious diversity ranging around 90+% Christian-based. My parents were great growing up... neither of them were terribly religious (my mom calls herself a "recovering Catholic" and my dad's never really mentioned a preference or background of anything) although they both told my brother and I that if we were ever interested in church that we were free to go. Neither of us ever took them up on the offer.

Since I could read I was always fascinated with the stories and biographies of Native Americans, and had a great appreciating for their spirituality. I could grasp the idea of being grateful for what Mother Earth offered and that we have to respect her. There was a great affinity between animals and myself as well... I can remember petting deer grazing near our yard in the nearby fields, being able to scratch the head of parrots in pet stores that the people working there wouldn't dare approach, and thought more highly of the dogs I grew up with than many of my school friends.

At 18 I enlisted in the Air Force as a Security Police security specialist (my dad has been in law enforcement my whole life, so it was the first thing I could think of when the recruiter asked me what I wanted to do). Around the time I was turning 20 or 21 (1997-98) I first started having what I would call a crisis of spirituality. My best friend at the time was a fairly devout Jew, many of my friends were fairly devout Christians, and I guess I started feeling a little left out on the spiritual front. I knew what I believed and what meant the most to me spiritually, but was struggling with the fact that I didn't have a name for it, and were there more people out there with the same general beliefs and ideas? I started hitting the religion section of bookstores hard, looking at the alternate religions to the Abrahamic "big three". I enjoyed reading on Hinduism, but it didn't quite click... I found Buddhism much closer, but a little too strict. Then I found Scott Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner". I remember lying in a nice hot bath in my apartment, reading the introduction, and feeling absolutely electrified (and shocked) by what I was reading... I felt like he had written this book specifically for me! Every other page I found myself saying, "Yes! That's me!" and "How does he know all this?!"... I had finally found what I was looking for! Anyhow, I dove into studying as many variations as I could find (impossible to get them all, I've discovered) and decided that the eclectic path was the one for me. Unfortunately, I couldn't really share this with anyone, as it still felt very... taboo.

I stayed in the Air Force until October of 2002 and separated before the war with Iraq began. In that eight years time I ran into a handful of openly pagan airmen (maybe a half-dozen total)... the military is still very Christian-oriented in my experience, and I feel only grudgingly accepts that Wiccans and all other Pagans can't be outright discriminated against. Once I got out and went back home, I became a full-time student (four semesters, four different majors, from environmental horticulture to history to art to sociology/human behavior, with multiple anthropology and Eastern religion classes) while working at a plant nursery. I got married to my beautiful wife Tami, we got pregnant with our first daughter (Maddie), and then moved a bit north to Redding near her parents. There I got a job doing work with the Western Shasta Resource Conservation District, keeping myself outdoors and working closely with the god and goddess. I started noticing just how good the benefits were in the military, so we decided to work on going back in. In 2006 I came back in the Air Force, staying in the Security Forces career but with the added benefit of getting to go through dog handler school and got to work with a K9 (best working partner I could ever ask for). So to sum up a long story, I've been in the Air Force for a grand total of almost 11 years, and have been knowingly purposefully pagan for about 10 years.

Christopher: Could you tell us some of the areas that you have served?

Matt: I've been stationed in Kansas (McConnell) for a year, northern California (Travis) for almost four years, Iceland for a year, Idaho (Mountain Home) for almost two, Washington DC (Andrews) for two years, and am heading to Italy for three years in March. I've also been deployed to Turkey (four months), Saudi Arabia twice (four months apiece), the United Arab Emirates (four months), Qatar (six months), and most recently I volunteered for a year in Afghanistan working with the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Christopher: Why did you choose the Air Force?

Matt: I knew I wasn't gutsy enough to join the Marines, my dad was in the Army and never had much good to say about it (granted, he's a Vietnam vet, not the greatest time to serve and have a good time doing it), I was seriously thinking of joining the Navy (my brother was Navy for four years) but they didn't have the military police-like job until you reach higher pay grades, so they called up the Air Force recruiter and set me up with her. I do have to say that I was very happy with the idea that with the Air Force, when you go on leave, the base will be right where I left it! The quality of life in the Air Force was a huge factor for me, and still is, especially after serving with the Army for the past year... way different culture!

Christopher: What types of experiences have you had as a Pagan in the Air Force?

Matt: Being in the Air Force has given me to opportunity to see the God and the Goddess in so many different guises! Iceland was such a primal, raw, beautiful land full of nature at her best! A country where Paganism is still alive and well, where Asatru (where I gained an interest in casting runes) is accepted and there are still elves in the lava fields. Best of all for me was seeing the Northern Lights... it's like the Goddess is dancing above in the sky and we get to witness her multi-colored dress swishing around.

Having spent so much time in the Middle East is a wonder as well. I think it takes an open mind to truly be able to appreciate the beauty of the desert. One of my most magical nights was spent on a summer evening when I was providing perimeter security for a cultural

festival put on for the Americans and British by the Saudi military. I spent the evening sitting on top of a sand dune underneath an incredibly brilliant full moon, the sounds of traditional Bedouin music and singing floating over the desert, and the occasional snake slithering past my feet. Fantastic!

I've also been forced to become a little more adaptive and improvisational... right after the attack on September 11th, I deployed to Qatar for six months to support operations in and over Afghanistan. Time off wasn't an option, and I had to make some changes to what I was doing. I would dig a small hole, quarter it off, place some of the local dirt in one quarter, some water from a water bottle in another, leave one empty to represent air in the third, and the match book from my MRE meal in the fourth as my elemental sacrifice to the Lord and Lady... sometimes you have to make due with what you have, and I believe those watching over me would appreciate the offering that much more with so much less to offer.

I've been lucky enough that I haven't had a lot of negative experiences with being Pagan in an overwhelmingly non-pagan environment... I've kept it pretty quiet, especially as the Security Forces world within the Air Force is very dog-eat-dog. We've kind of stolen a saying from the Army and fitted it to our career field - "we eat our own" - and I hate to say it but it's true. Air Force cops are a lot like sharks... once they smell blood in the water it's game on, even if it's one of their own. I've had dirty looks and behind the back whisperings from the few that knew/found out, but nothing that's not easy enough to handle. Sadly, I've seen the same things happen to fellow cops who are Jewish and Muslim.

Christopher: Have your experiences taught you anything helpful?

Matt: Open-mindedness foremost. There are so many beautiful cultures, traditions, religious practices, and people around the world... nothing and no one should be dismissed as lesser than one's- self based through judging them by any of the above. I've danced with Saudi soldiers under a rare but greatly welcomed rain when most of my fellow American airmen thought them fools. I've shared the most wonderful apple tea with a Turkish tailor on a regular basis where others only saw him as someone to barter the most out of. I made so many Afghan friends where others would see them as dirty, uneducated, or worst of all, terrorists. Through my work in Afghanistan I had the opportunity to meet and talk with members of the Taliban in a prison (perhaps one in 40 looked upon me with hatred in his eyes) and remind me that there's a human side to everything, no matter how much I dislike the Taliban and what they've done in that country. I love that there are so many different cultures around the world, and everywhere I go I strive to experience as much of it as I can... it's the open-mindedness and the humility that my world travels have brought me that I cherish so much and helps me to do my best to not judge anyone based on something as trivial as appearance or background.

Christopher: So what are your plans for the future?

Matt: We're off to Italy for three years starting this spring, and I can't wait! Another new culture to experience, a new language to struggle with, a new Pagan tradition to discover (Strega), and hopefully some people who will change their perception of Americans a little through our interaction! To be honest, I also can't wait to finish up the next nine years in the military so I can be free of the bonds that come with the job. I would like to plant some roots, give my girls a stable place to live and go to school like I had growing up, and to finally figure out what I want to be when I grow up!

Christopher: Is there anything that we vets and civilians can do that would be helpful for Pagans/Heathens in the military whether here in the States, overseas or in the battlezones?

Matt: There are so many great military Pagan support groups and networks (milpagan.org, circlesanctuary.org, witchvox.com, just to name a few) as well as some of the pagan Yahoo! groups out there that are more than willing and able to send out supplies and support at a moment’s notice! The little base I was at in Afghanistan had nothing on-site to make any sort of altar or Sabbat easy... it was purely an exercise in improvisation! I made one post online and the responses or support, both spiritual and material, came flooding in! I didn't get many chances to reply to those who sent goods and well-wishes, but they were in my heart daily. I would ask that, if possible, please help support these groups support the troops, even if it's something as simple as a charged stone, a bit of herbs, or a votive candle, it's all so greatly appreciated! Being Pagan in the military can sometimes feel terribly lonely, and it brings so much joy and sense of community when you find yourself 10,000 miles from home to know that complete strangers are there standing by your side... a great thank you to all who supported me while I was so far from family, friends, and the spiritual community!

Christopher: Any advice for other Pagans considering going into the military?

Matt: Be willing to fight for your right to practice the religion of your choice, even if there aren't any military-sponsored services offered wherever you may be stationed, but also be prepared to meet some resistance. The military is perhaps the greatest melting pot you'll ever experience... people of every ethnicity, religion, social and economic background, people with the greatest myriad of experiences, both good and bad, are tossed together and expected to put differences and prejudices aside and work together. There will be people who are convinced that the modern Pagan is a devil- worshipper, there's a greater number that will experience interest and wonder at your chosen path... be prepared for it all! The more openly Pagan soldiers/sailors/marines/airmen/coast guardsmen we have, the more of an accepted status we'll receive and the less we can be looked down upon or misunderstood. Be proud, be open, be responsible, and most of all, be open-minded!

Christopher: Anything else you would like for our readers to know?

Matt: We're making strides as Pagans in the military... pentagram/ pentacle headstones in the national cemeteries, Pagan practices approved on many bases and many in the Chaplain Corps becoming more educated in general pagan practices, but one thing I think make a major impact in military pagans would be for more open covens and/or pagan groups in areas close to bases reach out to the military pagans, be it through online sources like The Witches Voice, flyers on base or ads in the base paper (where available). Thank you again to all those who help military pagans world-wise, and an extra special thanks to those specifically who supported me while in Afghanistan!