Today the chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff said that he won't apologize for calling homosexuality immoral and incompatible with military service. Afraid to stop there for fear that the religious right wouldn't know what he meant, Pace went on to compare homosexuality to adultery. According to Pace, homosexuality and adultery are the type of immoral behavior that the military prosecutes.
It is unclear whether Pace would like to prosecute homosexuality or homosexual acts. Under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, being homosexual isn't a crime, so long as you don't do anything homosexual. Pace's representatives have said that Pace was merely expressing his personal opinion when he gave a formal interview to a newspaper where his comments were made. I guess no one told Pace that he no longer has the luxury of personal comments now that wears the chairman's hat, particularly when his personal opinion bears directly on currently military policy.
When I think of gays in the military, I always have to ask the "So what?" question. So what if the entire LGBT population is banned from military service? So what if you can be homosexual, but not a practicing homosexual. Well, at the end of the day it matters a lot. By excluding the LGBT population, the military is sending the clear message that homosexuals are not fit to defend this nation. The military is sending the message that gays and lesbians do not meet the standards required of this nation's fighting men and women. The military is making a qualitative judgment about the entire LGBT population in which a verdict of inadequate is rendered.
I spent 8 years in the Army before being kicked out for being gay. I started out as an enlisted Russian Linguist, then went to Officer's Candidate School and became a Field Artillery Officer. During my years in the service, I knew countless soldiers who were gay, bisexual, lesbian, and confused. Not surprising when you consider the number of hormone driven 18-25 year olds serving in the military! I also knew many soldiers who were drug users, adulterers, and fond of being absent without leave (A.W.O.L.). Ironically, I never knew one of these soldiers to get kicked out of the Army. The drug users were usually given a slap on the wrist with a little extra duty, the adulterers were largely ignored, and those that went A.W.O.L. usually lost some pay and rank. The queers on the other hand were actively pursued and hung out to dry.
Pace's "personal opinion" is merely an affirmation of what really happens in the military. My gay and lesbian brethren were best served by staying as far in the closet as possible for fear of the Pace's of the Army coming after them with reckless abandon. Of course it is pretty easy pickins' for the Pace's of the military. The LGBT crew isn't hard to find. They congregate together in the same places and when a high-ranking officer sits down a low-ranking enlisted person for little one-on-one Q&A session, you can bet Private Nancy is going to sing his heart out.
Tonight we have General Pace to thank for keeping America safe from the homosexuals who are trying to penetrate the ranks of our military. We have this crusader of Freedom to thank for keeping the military on the straight and narrow. We have a man whose self-described moral convictions lead him to denigrate soldiers who are currently under his command and to alienate potentially great soldiers from ever serving in the military. My disdain for General Pace is only outweighed by my hope that he has more military sense than common sense and he managed to bring all soldiers serving in war zones home safely. Even the homosexual ones.
It is unclear whether Pace would like to prosecute homosexuality or homosexual acts. Under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, being homosexual isn't a crime, so long as you don't do anything homosexual. Pace's representatives have said that Pace was merely expressing his personal opinion when he gave a formal interview to a newspaper where his comments were made. I guess no one told Pace that he no longer has the luxury of personal comments now that wears the chairman's hat, particularly when his personal opinion bears directly on currently military policy.
When I think of gays in the military, I always have to ask the "So what?" question. So what if the entire LGBT population is banned from military service? So what if you can be homosexual, but not a practicing homosexual. Well, at the end of the day it matters a lot. By excluding the LGBT population, the military is sending the clear message that homosexuals are not fit to defend this nation. The military is sending the message that gays and lesbians do not meet the standards required of this nation's fighting men and women. The military is making a qualitative judgment about the entire LGBT population in which a verdict of inadequate is rendered.
I spent 8 years in the Army before being kicked out for being gay. I started out as an enlisted Russian Linguist, then went to Officer's Candidate School and became a Field Artillery Officer. During my years in the service, I knew countless soldiers who were gay, bisexual, lesbian, and confused. Not surprising when you consider the number of hormone driven 18-25 year olds serving in the military! I also knew many soldiers who were drug users, adulterers, and fond of being absent without leave (A.W.O.L.). Ironically, I never knew one of these soldiers to get kicked out of the Army. The drug users were usually given a slap on the wrist with a little extra duty, the adulterers were largely ignored, and those that went A.W.O.L. usually lost some pay and rank. The queers on the other hand were actively pursued and hung out to dry.
Pace's "personal opinion" is merely an affirmation of what really happens in the military. My gay and lesbian brethren were best served by staying as far in the closet as possible for fear of the Pace's of the Army coming after them with reckless abandon. Of course it is pretty easy pickins' for the Pace's of the military. The LGBT crew isn't hard to find. They congregate together in the same places and when a high-ranking officer sits down a low-ranking enlisted person for little one-on-one Q&A session, you can bet Private Nancy is going to sing his heart out.
Tonight we have General Pace to thank for keeping America safe from the homosexuals who are trying to penetrate the ranks of our military. We have this crusader of Freedom to thank for keeping the military on the straight and narrow. We have a man whose self-described moral convictions lead him to denigrate soldiers who are currently under his command and to alienate potentially great soldiers from ever serving in the military. My disdain for General Pace is only outweighed by my hope that he has more military sense than common sense and he managed to bring all soldiers serving in war zones home safely. Even the homosexual ones.
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