DADT Update

The Lowell Sun has come out with an editorial endorsing repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).  Titled, "A military for all", the editorial says:

If the Pentagon says gays serving in the military would not harm long-term military effectiveness, that's good enough for us.  We say it's time to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that was established 17 years ago during the Clinton administration.

Of course, it is not quite that black and while.  A friend of mine, in another forum, raised some questions about the survey the Department of Defense did, including whether the public positions of certain leaders influenced answers.  He, in turn, was answered by another member of the forum, a PhD in statistics and a designer of questionnaires, who said that it was a well designed tool.

However, it is to be noted that the "no" vote seemed to be clustered in the combat arms parts of the Army and Marine Corps.  Of the Marines, 32% of the riflemen who responded said that openly introducing homosexuals into the military would cause them to get out sooner. The Army Combat Arms people had a slightly lower score.  The overall number was 12.6%.

Of course, the question is, where would they go, given civilian workplace rules today against sexual harassment?

And, here is a comment from a "field grade" officer in the US Army.

It is interesting to note, however, that similar numbers of southern whites expressed such "I will leave" thoughts (according to the study) in 1947 and few did.  I also doubt the number of those who feel so strongly that they will cash out at the 12-18 year mark short of a 20 year retirement.  My S3, who is horrified at the prospect of repealing DADT on moral/religious grounds, has said he will leave - after 20.  No telling what happens between implementation and then that may change his calculus.

But, back to the survey instrument, here is the official version of the results.

For a breakdown by various groups (USMC is Appendix L) go to this link.  As an FYI, there is a breakdown between "Combat Arms", "Combat Support" and "Combat Service Support".  For a rough breakdown, Combat Arms are those Infantry and Tank units that close with the enemy.  Combat Support would be like Artillery or Engineers.  They are up front and in danger, but they are supporting the aforementioned Infantry and Tank units.  Combat Service Support is the rest of what makes the ground forces effective, like transportation units and supply units.  They are further from the front lines.

I had an EMail exchange with a classmate from "college" (the Air Force Academy).  He allowed that while on active duty (he served over 25 years) he had not known any homosexuals in uniform (I add the caveat "that he knew of").  He also raised the issue that Columnist Ann Coulter raised about Army PFC Bradley Manning, the releaser of hundreds of thousands of EMails to Wikileaks being a homosexual and a disaffected one at that.  I responded:♠ 

I had figured I was the only one who didn't know any practicing homosexuals while on active duty.  I figured it was an indication of my lack of emotional insight.  I am glad to see I was not the only one.

It is a fact that the news about Manning's sexual orientation has been out there for some time and has generally not been mentioned.  That fact, coupled with his disaffection related to the military's approach to homosexuals serving appear to be the driving fact in his decision to commit acts that are tantamount to treason.

I think she [Coulter] must have written this before narcissism was removed from the Psychiatric Diagnosis Manual.  His (Bradley's) problems went well beyond being homosexual.

I liked "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" as an answer to the questions of homosexuals serving in the military.  I took it to be the same approach as we use for adulterers and it works there.  I remember when I showed up at Bitburg in January 1967 the first Officer's Call was that month and at it the Wing King, Bent Wing Ben Cassiday,♥ stood up in the Officers Club and said that there would be no "Flag Polling".  I had to ask someone standing next to me what that was, but what it was, I was told, was not having sex with someone other than your wife within sight of the base flag poll.  Frankly, that made sense.  Why did people have to be told?

But, that said, I expect this thing is coming.

I think everyone has both the right and the duty to serve.  We register homosexuals for the draft.  We should also be registering young women.  But, we need to (1) be more judicious about who gets a serious clearance and (2) stop over-classifying stuff.

Back before we went to the Zoo (Air Force Academy) together there was some history program on TV and one of the episodes talked about letting people serve.  Back early on in colonial New York a small group of Jewish men, excluded from the local militia, sued in (British, I think, but could have been Dutch) court to have the right to walk the walls at night, just like everyone else.  They won.  It was a good thing.

The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has promised to bring this to a vote.  Senator McCain is against repeal, but our junior Senator, Scott Brown has said he will vote yes.  I expect that at the end of the day there will be enough senators to vote for cloture and that will be that.  I do think that the US Senate should take this step.  When the Courts force some social change it only leads to upset and dissension.  It is far better for our elected representatives to make the change.  Here is the end of the Lowell Sun editorial:

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates fears that if Congress fails to act, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy will wind up in court where it would likely be ruled unconstitutional.  The court would then end up forcing the military to accept gays, a development that would prove harmful to morale and battlefield performance, said Gates.

Gates is right. America doesn't need an activist court to tell the military what to do, even if the court is right in ending the ban.  Congress must show the courage to make this policy change. It's long overdue.

The US House of Representatives has acted.  It is time for the US Senate to do likewise.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  I know it is lame to quote ones self, but I am thinking I am not creative enough to say the same thing twice, but in different ways.
♥  He was one of the first F-86 SABRE JET pilots and in his unit the pilots all bent their wings down at the ends to show that they were now flying swept wing jet aircraft.  This was a fad that did not last.

PLEASE IGNORE this link.  It is for testing purposes only.