CNN ran a story on one of the more controversial internal issues in the U.S. military: the law nicknamed “don’t ask, don’t tell”. It is a policy that has its share of supporters and detractors, and with the holidays coming and deployed service members undoubtedly craving for the comforts of home and the company of loved ones, gay and lesbian service members deployed to war zones and on active duty are in for yet another difficult season.
The photo that accompanied the CNN story showed Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi. An Arab linguist and a 2003 graduate of West Point, Choi came out publicly and has since been recommended for discharge. His case is still under review so he still remains active with the National Guard.
Homosexuality was considered as grounds for being discharged from the military according to the CNN feature, the argument being that the presence of homosexuals in the military may cause “a breakdown of unit cohesion and morale”.
The militaries of Great Britain and Israel, however, have openly gay and lesbian service members.
There is reportedly an estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian service members in the US military according to a report from the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan organization.
The policy is reportedly making an already challenging situation even more challenging for deployed gay and lesbian service members who are in relationships with civilian partners. Calls and e-mails are reportedly being monitored; they are not necessarily censored, but service members know fully well that correspondence may be monitored and that they are not allowed to reveal certain information, such as troop numbers and locations. What this means is that they should be extra careful about what they say, as they may unwittingly reveal their true sexual orientation.
Civilian partners of deployed service members have to deal with their own difficulties, which include not being on the military contact list; what this means is that if and when something untoward happens to a service member, their partners will not be one of those who will be informed. The group Servicemembers United, however, is striving to change things by setting up a Military Partners Advisory Group.
December 27th, 2009 - 7:53 am
“Homosexuality & the Military, Can They Really Go Together?”
Well, Homosexuality & The Military HAVE been going together since there WAS a military. Right now, at this very minute, the military is statistically made up of about 10% gay service members. So, the answer to that rather silly question is YES.
But the better question would have been:
Why do we FORCE gay service members to DISHONOR their honor code in order to fight for & protect freedoms and liberties that THEY are not afforded???
January 9th, 2010 - 11:48 am
I am an officer in the Royal Air Force (UK) I joined up before the change in UK policy to allow openly gay service men and women, I joined knowing that I was gay, but I wanted to serve and learn.
When te policy shift happened everyone (both straight and gay) held their breath, wondering just what would happen, a few people started to come out amoung the squads etc and you what it really hasnt been that big of a deal. In fact the services now have recruitment campaigns aimed at gays
I have since come out at work and I have received positive feedback from both my superiors and my men, apparently a few of them had even quessed but didnt say anything, as they were trying to protect me. Most people just accepted it and moved on, though I have heard a few ad experiences (there will always be idiots who should nevr wear a uniform.)
Eventually the U.S policy of dont ask dont will have to be abandoned because it simpy doesnt work and more importantly from a military point of view they are losing highly trained men and women over something as stupid as who you sleep with.
I say to U.S lawmakers… Some people are gay… get over it and let them do their jobs.
February 4th, 2010 - 4:59 pm
[...] prevailing “don’t ask, don’t tell” practice of tolerating – but not openly accepting – gays and lesbians in the military. Mullen had earlier proven that this was not always the case by laying out his sentiments about the [...]
February 7th, 2010 - 5:10 am
[...] One of the more controversial issues within the U.S. military is the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that referred to the current treatment of gay service members. [...]
February 16th, 2010 - 2:12 pm
Your blog is good! I found it in Google. I will come back really soon. Take care.
February 18th, 2010 - 12:17 pm
i just think how they say that gays shoud not be in the army to me is stupid like how can you judge a person just of how they are thats like back in the day how blacks where fighting for der rights..then again when the talk comes up you got people talkin about how god does not like yeah i understand but to say god dont want that type in the house of god like come on now i think god said he dont like people that have sex that dont have the hand in marriage n he dont like people that still like the list goes on in on but to me nobody can reach where god wants them to b we are all are own human!!!! and im on 16 and gay but i kno alow cuz i fight for my rights but love what you out