Don't ask, don't tell

brneyedgrl80

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May 25, 2004
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I know this is a pretty old topic, but I haven't been here very long and I wonder what people think of this. Here's an article I stumbled across that made me curious as to what everyone's feelings are on this issue.

'Don't ask, don't tell' policy depleting military as gays speak up about sexuality

Ron Martz
Cox News Service
Jun. 23, 2004 12:00 AM


ATLANTA - Brian Muller of Atlanta did not have to tell anyone in the Army he is gay.

Under the Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, he could have continued to serve his country as a bomb technician dismantling explosive devices as long as he kept his homosexuality to himself.

"I knew the lines not to cross, and I didn't, even though I pushed them to the limit," Muller, 25, said Tuesday as he recounted his eight-year Army career.

But after more than nine months in Afghanistan, the former staff sergeant who also served three tours in Bosnia decided to admit his sexual orientation to his commander. He had had enough of "Don't ask, don't tell," he said.

The result was a quick but honorable discharge from the Army.

"It hurts to come back (from Afghanistan) and be told it doesn't matter what I did in the military. It doesn't count because I'm gay," said Muller, who was discharged in November.

Muller is one of 770 service members discharged in 2003 for homosexuality, according to a study released this week.

That number is down significantly from the record 1,227 discharged in 2001 before the start of the war on terrorism.

What is troubling about Muller's discharge, gay rights advocates say, is that his expertise and that of many other service members discharged under "Don't ask, don't tell" cannot easily be replaced. That is especially true, they say, when the military is extending the enlistments of many active, reserve and National Guard personnel because of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From 1998 to 2003, many of those discharged were in highly technical or specialized fields that require years of training, according to the study by the University of California at Santa Barbara's Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military.

Among those discharged were 88 linguists, seven of them Arab language specialists.The results of the study "should be an outrage to most Americans who value national security and military readiness above simple discrimination," said Steve Ralls, a spokesman for the Washington-based Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which assists gay and lesbian military personnel.



Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes gays in the military, said those discharged should not be in sensitive jobs.

"There is no shortage of people in the military, and we do not need people who identify themselves as homosexual," she said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0623gay-military23.html
 
Im sorry but it is for the same reasons that Females should not be allowed on the frontlines that gays should not be allowed in the military. If a guy is attracted to his fellow soldiers then it causes conflict in battle or in non combat situations.

This man was a decorated War hero and served his country honorably, but he knew what was coming when he said He was gay. Its a liability that the army can't afford.
 
Homosexual behavior is not tolerated in the military, and everybody knows it - 'don't ask, don't tell' classes are part of everyone's basic training. According to the military, if you 1) make a credible statement that you are homosexual, 2) participate in any physical homosexual act, or 3) enter into, or attempt to enter into, a homosexual marriage, then you are violating DoD policy. Everyone knows this. There are thousands of civilian jobs that someone could take if they wanted to serve their country.
Like insein said, it's a morale and discipline issue.
 
In my opinion the question comes down to: What military policy would best serve our nation? If the military were to have an "open door" policy and admit known homosexuals, would the result be a decrease in number of service men while soldiers dissatisfied with the policy leave. Would it also decrease morale and readiness? On the other hand, would the number of servicemen increase and there be an over-all positive result. I am not a statistician. I am not knowledgeable enough about the military to make an informed opinion. The question is not: What military policy would be fair for homosexuals? When the degree of national security and national defense may be influenced, the appropriate question is: What military policy would best serve out national security and defense?
 
Originally posted by mattskramer
In my opinion the question comes down to: What military policy would best serve our nation? If the military were to have an "open door" policy and admit known homosexuals, would the result be a decrease in number of service men while soldiers dissatisfied with the policy leave. Would it also decrease morale and readiness? On the other hand, would the number of servicemen increase and there be an over-all positive result. I am not a statistician. I am not knowledgeable enough about the military to make an informed opinion. The question is not: What military policy would be fair for homosexuals? When the degree of national security and national defense may be influenced, the appropriate question is: What military policy would best serve out national security and defense?

Agreed. I think that is why they have made the policy "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in response to the PC nonsense but to still maintain the Military at peak performance.
 
This may sound dumb, but I'll go ahead and ask anyway. Are the views that everyone has apply to lesbians as well? I ask because some people don't see lesbians in the same light as homosexuals for some reason. Just wondering...
 
Originally posted by brneyedgrl80
This may sound dumb, but I'll go ahead and ask anyway. Are the views that everyone has apply to lesbians as well? I ask because some people don't see lesbians in the same light as homosexuals for some reason. Just wondering...

Actually that isn't a dumb question. I still feel though that even though they may be homosexual doesn't mean that they men they serve with are. They still might provide a distraction for men if placed in a combat situation. If they take up similar roles as other women, then it could pose a problem to themselves. If they aren't asked and they Don't tell then the rule applies to them as well. If they feel they can handle it and don't informt the military of their status then it falls within the guidelines.
 
Starla, officially, the military feels the same way. Unofficially, lesbianism is tolerated a bit more than male homosexuality. Possibly, because lesbians are viewed as more man-like, and therefore more soliderly.
 
I had a thought when i read this. It looks like the left now has another way to dodge the draft if it ever comes up.
 
Originally posted by Avatar4321
I had a thought when i read this. It looks like the left now has another way to dodge the draft if it ever comes up.

That's always been an out, remember the drag character in M*A*S*H*?
 
Originally posted by Kathianne
That's always been an out, remember the drag character in M*A*S*H*?

Clinger was going for an insanity out not a gay out.
 
Originally posted by Avatar4321
Clinger was going for an insanity out not a gay out.

Ok, that makes sense, either way, he stayed.
 
OK, in response to this, I picture myself, maybe 10 years from now, digging a fox hole in some desert overseas. My fellow Marine stops and says "I think your pretty". Well, now I would feel uncomfortable serving alongside a soldier who finds me and other men attractive. Also, I wouldnt rely on a 'man' who is more concerned about how his cammies would look with his high-heels. You just cant.

In my opinion, homosecuality is a very bad thing. Thats how AIDS got started, it serves absolutely no purpose (in fact, negative) in human evolution and population growth. Its not natural, not normal, and is contradictory of the male class since the beginning of time. Men have always been the hunnters, the builders, the MEN! No man should try to be a woman, or think like a woman, you are a man, be proud of it. Live up to your duties as a man.

Sorry in advance if I offended any females by chance. Oh, and lesbians typically arent as targeted because they are seemingly more subtle about it. Most lesbians I have known you cant really tell, whereas a man wearing clogs and a large hoop earing and eye face cream whatever is noticable, and therefore obvious and, well, noticed.
 
The rule is "Don't Ask, Don't tell". Is that really hard? My husband didn't run through the halls and feel the need to tell everone he has sex with women, why would a homosexual feel the need to run through the halls alerting people he sleeps with men? He knew the rule, he broke it.
 
Originally posted by Avatar4321
I had a thought when i read this. It looks like the left now has another way to dodge the draft if it ever comes up.

Do you really think that this is just a 'leftist' way out? how many gay republicans are there?
 
Originally posted by DKSuddeth
Do you really think that this is just a 'leftist' way out? how many gay republicans are there?

Log Cabin come to mind?
 
Originally posted by gop_jeff
Log Cabin Republicans are a pretty small group, truth be told.

Well thought the numbers I've seen guessed at vary, in sociological perspective the % of homosexuals has been pretty consistently put at about 2% of the total population.
 

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