Shields of Strength Case

Personal Inspiration

For over 20 years Kenny Vaughan and his wife Tammie have been making Shields of Strength replica dog tags with encouraging Bible verses on them for members of the armed forces and first responders. Kenny got the idea after Tammie wrote a bible verse on his waterski rope before a competition in 1996. The verse gave him courage during the competition, so he began making these dog tags hoping to encourage others who may be facing fear.

In 2001 one of the tags caught Army Colonel David Dodd’s eye, commander of the 86th Signal Battalion. Colonel Dodd and his troops were headed into Afghanistan for the start of Operation Enduring Freedom when he inquired about purchasing some of the dog tags. Instead, Kenny and Tammie donated 500 Shields of Strength to encourage the troops.

In 2003, while serving in Iraq, Captain Russell Rippetoe was killed in action while wearing a Shields of Strength dog tag. At the 2003 Memorial Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, President George Bush referenced the dog tag on Rippetoe, and read the scripture. Thousands reached out afterward wanting dog tags.

To date, the Vaughan’s have made over 4 million dog tags and given hundreds of thousands to the U.S. military and other ministries. During the Iraq War, they donated over 50,000 pieces a month and even fulfilled a single request for 30,000 pieces.

In 2012, the U.S. Army granted a trademark license to Shields of Strength to feature Army trademarks on its products.

In July 2019, a news article once again spoke of the distribution of 4 million Shields of Strength dog tags. Shortly after the article ran, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) sent a complaint to the Department of Defense regarding the use of military logos with religious symbols. MRFF demanded an investigation even though Kenny had trademark licenses to use the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps logos.

“I was shocked that there are groups in America that would go on the attack against Shields of Strength that have inspired so many of our fighting men and women,” said Kenny Vaughan, owner of Shields of Strength. “I hope the Army sees that the very freedom our soldiers fight for is at stake.”

However, after receiving the letter, the Army sent Mr. Vaughan an email informing him that he was not authorized to put biblical verses on Army products, and that he needed to remove all biblical references from all army products, and from product descriptions on the Shields of Strength Website.

That’s when First Liberty reached out to Kenny and offered to represent him. First Liberty sent a letter to the United States Army Trademark Licensing Office urging it to reinstate licenses. The letter explained that, once the government has created a limited public forum via a trademark licensing regime, it cannot ‘discriminate against speech on the basis of its viewpoint.’

Then, in January 2020, First Liberty sent a similar letter to the United States Marine Corp Licensing Office after the USMC denied to license Kenny’s Shields because of their religious nature.  Added Berry, “Events of the past several weeks make clear that our military personnel are constantly exposed to danger. And yet the MRFF seeks to deny them the freedom to wear Shields of Strength. Denying our troops a source of inspiration, hope, and encouragement simply because it contains a religious message is an outrage. The Marine Corps should tell the MRFF to support our troops, not punish them.”

After two years without a satisfactory response from the military, First Liberty Institute and the law firm Fish & Richardson filed a complaint on behalf of Shields in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division.  Then, in May 2022, First Liberty Institute and t Fish & Richardson filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to immediately prohibit the Department of Defense from enforcing its discriminatory policy preventing Shields from producing and distributing military themed replica dog tags with encouraging Bible verses.

In late May 2024, a decision by a District Judge in Texas moved Shields of Strength one step closer to proving that the DoD’s discriminatory refusal to allow production of its popular military-themed dog tags with inspirational Bible verses for service members and their families is illegal. This decision came after production was wrongfully halted more than five years ago following a complaint from an anti-religious group.

“The decision by the court is a victory not only for Shields of Strength and its owner, Kenny Vaughan, but also for the brave men and women of our armed forces and their families who gain divine inspiration from Shields’ replica dog tags containing biblical scripture and military insignia,” said Senior Counsel and Chair of the Military Affairs practice group for Frist Liberty Institute Danielle Runyan.