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I posted this on facebook recently, and some of the replies follow:
'Gays' in the military? Back when I worked at chase one of the folks I worked with was gay and had been kicked out of his position because he was gay. He was arabic and a translator. After 9/11 we needed people like him to examine incoming intelligence - but he was let go. Which do you think is more important to your national security, someone's sexual orientation or their ability to serve?
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"Well , maybe you should check your history. How is Gays bein allowed in the military any different than Blacks or women? It isnt a command coming down from the top, it is a social issue that needs to be addressed in the rest of the count...ry and accepted before it stretches to the military. Blacks served the military honorably until society said it wasnt right, then they werent allowed. Women still arent allowed to serve in combat arms fields, a lot of gays are feminine, so should we allow them to serve the same way? And no amount of ordering troops around is going to get them to change their personal opinion, troops arent ordered to accept gays, it is congess debating whether to kick them out for being gay or not. A law coming down from congress does not constitute an order coming down the chain of command."
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"I must confess, I am astonished at the arrogance of some who believe THEY know better than then lessons we have learned through history and that continue to be presented to us day to day. Where history shows us over and over and over again ...that a certain idea is not a good one, these prophets from on high dictate that "it should not be so" and "it must be fixed." They order us to make changes to our society against experienced advice to the contrary.
The mere fact that we are even having this discussion, with this much passion, is proof that society is still divided on the place of gays within it. It is a fair conversation to have, for society to have. It is NOT a fair conversation for the military to have. For as long as society is having this conversation, the military should not. Once society is accepting of gays as a whole, the military will be too, and it will be a non-issue about whether or not they serve. THEN, their service will be dependant upon all the things cited previously by others in this thread, their desire to serve, their warfighting abilities, and so on. But, society must change first.
Once again, for the arrogant prophets who seem to miss the point, the military is NOT the place for social engineering. It is NOT the place of the military to be politically correct or whatever. They exist to fight and win our wars, and that's it. The more we throw in their way to hinder that, in ANY way, the more we degrade their ability. The more we degrare their ability, the more we put our nation at risk.
Leave the social engineering elsewhere in society. Continue the conversation about how they fit into society, or how they should fit."
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Ok, I'll say this more blatently. I am a member of the armed forces, I personally dont have a problem with gays. However, many people in our society, and more so in the military are not accepting of that lifestyle. Relationships may or may ...not make a difference, what matters is that gays serving openly would cause problems with unit cohesion because many people do not accept them. You can't just kick out the people who choose not to accept gays because you WILL LOSE HALF THE FORCE! this isn't an issue that should be decided by civiians or congress, it is one that requires an up or down vote by the very people it will affect, the soldiers. You all can have your opinion on this matter, but in the end, if don't ask don't tell is repealed you don't have to deal with the consequences, we do. Hazing is bad enough now for some soldiers, to the point that they kill themselves in record numbers, imagine what it will be like for openly gay soldiers. Its like throwing a lamb into the lions den. It will not end well. It's not about following orders, its about personal choice. We are not told who we can and can't accept, and unfortunately some people pay the price for other peoples views. As far as other countries military accepting that, we are not other countries. We have the most powerful military in the world, putting all others to shame. We win where we fight. Maybe they are not as good because they allow openly gays to serve. Just a thought...
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whether you claim my assertions to be absurd or not, history is on my side. Romantic bonds are very different from cameraderie and loyalty. Romantic bonds disrupt unit cohesion and erode combat effectiveness. They have done so for thou...sands of years. Why would we suppose homosexual romantic relationships today to be any different? Are we that arrogant?
And, even if they are NOT disruptive, the present military leadership believes they are, as do many who currently serve. Why would we foist upon them a leadership challenge that is not necessary.
Again, the military is NOT the place for social engineering. It is absolutely the wrong place for that.
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