A study shows that Congress should repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and allow gays to serve openly in the military. The study, commissioned by UC Santa Barbara, found no evidence that gays serving openly would affect morale, unit cohesion or readiness:
Two of the officers on the panel have endorsed Democratic candidates since leaving the military ” Army Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, who supports Barack Obama, and Marine Corps Gen. Hugh Aitken, who backed Clinton in 1996.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Minter Alexander, a Republican, was assigned in 1993 to a high-level panel established by the Defense Department to examine the issue of gays in the military. At one point, he signed an order that prohibited the military from asking a recruit’s sexual orientation. :
Navy Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan said he had no opinion on the issue when he joined the panel, having never confronted it in his 35-year military career. A self-described Republican who opposes the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war, Shanahan said he was struck by the loss of personal integrity required by individuals to carry out “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“Everyone was living a big lie ” the homosexuals were trying to hide their sexual orientation and the commanders were looking the other way because they didn’t want to disrupt operations by trying to enforce the law,” he said.
You do need to know that the Michael Palm Center, a champion of gay rights, sponsored this study. You should also keep in mind that most studies are conducted by a party with an interest in the outcome. That being said, you can’t prove a negative, and there is no evidence that gays are disruptive in the military, as the military brass has spent the better part of 15 years admitting, at least tacitly, that gays can serve their nation with honor and distinction. . What say you?
While I have no problem with gays serving openly in the military, I am not your run of the mill 18 yr old who has been told that homosexuals are the spawn of the devil. As a commander, I would not want to have to contend with the discipline issues that would arise from an openly gay service member being placed into a combat unit where the vast majority of the enlisted men were raised to despise homosexuals. Even if only 2-3% of the soldiers so raised did anything, the resulting problems would not be worth the headaches. The derogatory comments and potential for violence would be enough to disrupt operations in a garrison environment and be potentially fatal in a combat one.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice has an offense called “prejudicial to good order and discipline”. It is a catch all offense. Anything that a CO deems as disruptive can be charged. Would it be better to have a gay military member’s presents result in multiple charges being filed against other members of the unit, or to avoid the situation entirely? I would have no problem with Gay members in the Air Force or Coast Guard primarily because these units tend to be mostly coed and unlikely to be in extremely dangerous combat conditions. The Navy, Army and Marines on the other hand are in either extremely tight quarters or combat operations that could result in openly gay service members being at risk of harassment or harm. I can foresee the joking/snide remark being reported up the chain of command resulting in a 19 yr old being demoted, losing pay and being forced to perform additional duty. I can then see that 19 yr old (and/or his friends) taking out a much more physical revenge on the gay service member later.
I would guess its a real damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.