I knew it! As soon as it came out in Stars and Stripes that the inscription at the end of the stock number for Trijicon’s Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight was indeed a reference to Scripture, somebody would be raising Cain about being offended, dejected or otherwise abused by the "overbearing" Christian movement in the military.

A few notes to set the record straight: The Department of Defense policy forbidding proselytizing applies across all of DOD, not just in Iraq or Afghanistan, and, for the most part, is probably a good idea. In case you don’t know: Proselytizing (from dictionary.com: 1. To induce someone to convert to one’s own religious faith. 2. To induce someone to join one’s own political party or to espouse one’s doctrine) is more or less the act of recruiting. A reference to a biblical verse does not constitute proselytizing by any stretch of the imagination.

The letter writer and, unfortunately, many other Americans fail to realize that Islam and Christianity are closely intertwined. An overwhelming majority of Muslims know and respect all of the "books of divine wisdom," including the Torah, the book of Psalms and the New Testament of Jesus Christ. The mere acknowledgement of Christianity or Judaism is not distasteful or offensive.

The letter implies that someone else could produce these patented sights without the religious reference. I’m afraid not. Trijicon has put a lot of time, energy and resources into developing and producing these sights. Trijicon is the only company that makes the ACOG. I don’t know how many gunfights the writer has been in on Osan Air Base, South Korea, but the soldiers and Marines on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan demand the best optics available to the modern warfighter, and Trijicon supplies just that.

Sgt. 1st Class Dennis L. PettittForward Operating Base Delta, Iraq