Biblical citations on NZDF weapons to go

File photo / Patrick Gower

Going to war in Afghanistan with Biblical citations stamped on their weapons is not appropriate for New Zealand soldiers, the Defence Force says.

Biblical citations had been found on weapon sights used by New Zealand troops in Afghanistan but the Defence Force said they would be removed.

The Trijicon Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight rifle sights used by Kiwi troops were supplied with references to Bible verses that appeared in raised lettering at the end of the stock number, The Press newspaper reported today.

Markings included "JN8:12", a reference to John 8:12: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'."

The markings were also on sights used by the United States and British military.

Defence Force spokesman Major Kristian Dunne said New Zealand, like other nations, had been caught unaware and the Defence Force was unhappy the manufacturers did not make it aware of the citations.

The American manufacturer would be told not to put the inscriptions on further orders and the letters would be removed from existing gun sights.

Major Dunne said the Defence Force had about 260 of the company's gun sights, which were first bought in 2004, and soldiers would continue using them because they were the best of their kind.

The American manufacturer, Trijicon, said the American military had been a customer since 1995 and the company had never received any complaints about the scripture citations.

"We don't publicise this," Tom Munson, Trijicon's director of sales and marketing, told the American media.

"It's not something we make a big deal out of. But when asked, we say, 'Yes, it's there'," he said.

The rifle sights use tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, to create light and help shooters hit their targets.

Trijicon said biblical references were first put on the sights nearly 30 years ago by the company founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon's president, continued the practice.

- NZPA