Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Kid Yourself

On the issue of whether or not to allow gay servicemen (and women) to serve openly in the military, repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" rule...would be a huge mistake. On this one, Senator John McCain has it right. Those who understandably want the rule repealed have it wrong.

No, I'm not homophobic. Oh, I used to be. As a twenty-one year old soldier in the U.S. Army (1964-65), I was a downright bigoted redneck regarding homosexuality. When I was twenty-two, though, a friend pointed out to me that--maybe--I was so against gays...because I secretly feared I was, at heart, gay myself.

Turned out I wasn't, but he made me think--and blind prejudice doesn't stand a chance against that.

Which is a concept that certainly applies to the blind prejudice aimed at Sarah Palin by her leftwing detractors, doesn't it? Talk about people refusing to think!

Anyway: One problem is the recent poll indicating that something like 70% of troops on active duty indicate they'd have no problem working side by side with openly gay members of the military. Now, the problem is not with the poll itself, but with the emphasis of interpretation.

Huh?

It's like this: 70% don't have a problem, right? Which means that 30% do have a problem. Take a million soldiers, sailors, jet jockeys, and/or Marines, and that means you've got 300,000 people with combat training and weapons (both projectile and edged) within arm's reach of somebody who makes them really, really nervous. And it took one dude with terrorist intentions to kill a bunch of our nation's best at Ft. Hood.

Ouch.

Top brass from both Army and Marine sources have echoed this exact concern, albeit in their own words. This is discussed in an article from the AP, published just today:

Army, Marine chiefs cast doubt on gay service

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Anne Flaherty, Associated Press – 1 hr 55 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The top uniformed officers of the Army and the Marines told a Senate panel Friday that letting gays serve openly in the military at a time of war would be divisive and difficult, sharply challenging a new Pentagon study that calculates the risk as low.

Testifying in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, both the Marine Commandant (General James Amos) and Army Chief of Staff (General George Casey) expressed concern over the prospect of repeal. Not surprisingly, the Army officer was more optimistic than the Marine; after all, nobody fights in tighter small-group units than the Marines do, and that's where wondering about the guy who's supposedly got your back is the scariest prospect you can imagine.

Yet even Casey admitted that having openly gay service members would add "one more stress" to an Army already stretched tighter than the skin on Nancy Pelosi's...face. (Paraphrased.)

The gay community and its supporters understandably want "don't ask, don't tell" repealed in the interest of fairness. The problem with that laudable desire is, however, simply this: War is not about fairness. It's about survival.

Perhaps a comedian might have the answer? One such standout standup (can't recall which guy at the moment) has a CD out which does address the issue. He recommends (tongue firmly in cheek) that we create an entirely separate Gay Army. It would, he feels, be a stronger deterrent to aggressive foreign regimes than any mere nuclear weapon. All our President would then have to do would be to pick up the phone, call the offending nation's leader, and say something like,

"Hey, shape up or I'll send our Gay Army over there! They take prisoners, you know!"

Who knows? If the aggressor nation happened to be homophobic enough, that might even work!

For now, though, let's not repeal "don't ask, don't tell". There are times when discretion really is the better part of valor.