Gate guards at a U.S. Air Force base in central Georgia are once again allowed to wish personnel and visitors a "blessed day" as they enter the facility, the Telegraph reported.

Commanders at Robins Air Force Base had previously forbidden the greeting after an unidentified airman complained to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation about its religious nature. When news of the ban went viral on Thursday, they quickly reversed their decision.

"Defenders have been asked to use the standard phrase 'Welcome to Team Robins' in their greeting," the Air Force said in a statement with reference to members of the U.S. Air Force Security Forces, who guard the branch's installations. The military policemen are allowed to use "various follow-on greetings," which need to be "courteous and professional."

"The Air Force takes any expressed concern over religious freedom very seriously," it said.

In the original complaint, the unidentified airman had noted that at least 10 different guards had wished him a "blessed day" on some 15 occasions over the previous two weeks.

"I found the greeting to be a notion that I, as a non-religious member of the military community, should believe a higher power has an influence on how my day should go," the airman wrote, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a New Mexico-based watchdog group that aims to "ensure that members of the United States armed forces receive the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom," took the airman's side.

Its founder and president, Mikey Weinstein, contacted the commander of the Robins Air Force Base-based 78th Air Base Wing Security Forces and was assured that guards would be instructed to say, "Have a nice day."

But the public outcry over the change apparently led to a larger assessment.

"Upon further review and consultation, the Air Force determined use of the phrase 'Have a blessed day' as a greeting is consistent with Air Force standards and is not in violation of Air Force instructions," the military branch said in a statement.