AFA alum campaigns for return of — and reverence for — U.S. Constitution

Every fall, the Air Force Academy gives new cadets a pocket-sized book crammed with Air Force history, trivia, quotes and songs. It is officially titled ‘Contrails’, but is better known as the “Cadet Bible.” Cadets have to memorize its contents or face the wrath of upperclassmen.

Ralph Palmer, a retired lawyer and graduate of the class of 1967, used to buy a copy every few years and says he found comfort that it included the U.S. Constitution.

“After I graduated from the academy, I served as an intelligence officer on the Cambodian border during Vietnam, and let’s just say Constitutional issues arose. So it was nice to see it there,” Palmer said.

Then, in 2006, he picked up a current edition and noticed the founding document was gone.

“I remember my reaction, but it is not printable,” Palmer said.

The 65-year-old was concerned that without it in their bible, the next generation of Air Force officers and community leaders might not cultivate a proper reverence for the Constitution. He says he couldn’t help but imagine complex motivations behind its absence.

Its elimination was a routine logistic decision, said the academy.

“Sometimes it has to do with space, flat out,” said Air Force Academy spokesman Master Sgt. Chris Dewitt. “Everyone has things they want in ‘Contrails’ and it has the potential to grow to the size of ‘War and Peace’.”

So while the list of badges and ranks and the hymns stayed, the Constitution, which took up 40 pages of the book, was cut.

Palmer was outraged. In 2007, he began writing to fellow alumni and top academy brass, asking that the Constitution be reinstated.

“It was my own modest insurrection,” said the Harvard-educated lawyer.

He contacted the academy’s Association of Graduates, which funds ‘Contrails,’ and offered to pay for printing of the next edition (an estimated $20,000) if it would include the document.

They said content was dictated by the academy. So Palmer leveled his letter-writing sights on the academy’s top general.

In 2008, he wrote Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni about the omission. Regni agreed the “important document” was essential to ‘Contrails’ and would be included in 2009.

But when Palmer cracked open the 2009 edition he found the original 1787 Constitution, which lays out the powers of the federal government, but does not include any amendments.

“Some would say those amendments — things like the Bill of Rights or the ability for women and minorities to vote — are very important,” Palmer said.

So he continued his insurgency.

Late in 2010, Palmer wrote a 17-page treatise to the new superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, saying, among many other things: “General, I’m very worried about the future of our democratic republic . . . many Constitutional limitations on our military are now defunct or badly frayed. With good intentions and plans for perfect security, our republic may be dissolving.”

The academy sent a reply in early January that it would provide the Constitution in pamphlet form to every cadet.

This week, after Gazette inquiries, the academy said it would restore the full document to ‘Contrails.’

Omitting the amendments in 2009 was a simple mistake, said Dewitt. “The Constitution without the amendments isn’t the Constitution. So we decided it did make sense to include the whole thing.”

When Palmer received the news Wednesday, he was “overjoyed.”

“My knees won’t do it anymore, but otherwise I’d be dancing in the street,” he said, but cautioned. “I’m a lawyer, I will believe it when it is actually done.”
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