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AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLO. -- Air Force Academy officials are defending the building of a worship area targeted toward a small minority of cadets after the Los Angeles Times recently criticized the Academy for the money it spent on the project.

In a statement released this week, Air Force Academy officials said the $51,484 used to build an outdoor worship area for Earth-Centered Spirituality (Wicca and Paganism) was small compared to the famous Cadet Chapel, which cost $3.5 million when it was built in 1959 - the equivalent of $25 million today.

The LA Times criticized the 2010 Falcon Circle project because it thought the money didn't justify the small number of cadets that would come. However, Academy officials said the area can be used for any religious celebration.

The project began when workers removed screws and nails from the circle and installed 1,225 square feet of flagstone. The boulders were removed from the east side of the hill in 2009 when erosion threatened to send them crashing into the Visitor's Center.

"The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion does not just apply to the mainstream faith groups, e.g., Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Orthodox (or) Muslim," Chaplain Col. Robert Bruno said in the statement. "It also applies to atheists, secularists, freethinkers and those whose belief systems are usually classified under the umbrella term of 'Earth-Centered Spirituality.' As a government institution... our constitutional charter in this matter is obligatory. A denial of constitutional rights to one threatens the constitutional rights of all."

Officials said the maintenance cost for Falcon Circle is about $381 annually.

Read the complete statement here