In the fall of 1993 the policy created under President Clinton known as Don't ask, Don't Tell, Don't pursue was enacted. This bill was written to basically state that no homosexual man or woman during their time in service could openly be gay. This bill would remain in effect until it would be foolishly replaced by a new law allowing gays to serve openly with their sexuality. On December 22,2010 President Obama signed the bill repealing Don't ask, Don't tell.
With this new repeal in place our military has had to begin a complete martial retraining. The loss of this time and money could be better spent on keeping our main defense against the world in the top battle readiness. This takes away resources from our military that could be better used to fight in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The new law although anticipated by the armed forces has made military leaders across the branches such as the Marine Corps begin setting into motion new retraining plans. Commandant Gen. Jim Amos made a speech about the Marines next movewith the new law. He expressed his fears of the law how it would create more segregation and cause a distraction for people overseas. Amos has vowed that the Corps will obey the law, but still voices opinion that this new change could cost soldiers their lives.
One of my main fears of this new change is that another segregation war inside our military will begin, much like when African Americans were allowed into the military. During the Vietnam War when African Americans were first let into the army were seen as less valuable or even beneath the white soldier. Why would another soldier risk his life for someone he saw as less valuable than him? This is what can happen again in our military. Soldiers may didn't have to worry about creating this segregations and possibly endangering their soldier's lives. The old policy was not the most liberal this is true, however: opening all of this up at once will trigger segregation. In a Military unit its entire operation is based on the interlocking talents and specialized personnel all the way to the last man. If a soldier doesn't rely on the guy next to him then the system will break down and lead to failure in missions, higher casualties, or even higher civilian death tolls. All i'm saying even though an idea may look good on paper it's not always the best thing at the moment. Politicians need to start looking into the possible ramifications of their actions and listen to the people that are experienced in their field and do what's best for the country and not for their reelection.
I think the Don't Ask, Don't tell policy is a policy that should have never been created. Just because someone is gay, doesn't mean that they can't save lives just like any other soldier. People shouldn't have to hide who they really are just to do something they're passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you on some of your points. If the military spends excessive time and training on this matter, we could lose funding and valuable time that could be focused in on a greater cause. With this being said, I must also express my feelings towards the matter on a personal level. Although I am not gay, my father (who spent 23 years in the military and also in the closet) is gay. I think that this has been long overdue and I am surprised that it hasn't come into affect sooner. No longer can soilders use the excuse of being gay to avoid deployments overseas. I know that there are a lot of mixed opinions on this, but coming from my own experience, i see it as a great thing that will bring unity to a country that desperately needs it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I question if the expenditure of funds on retraining the military outweighs a person's right to identify themselves how they see fit. The issue that you brought up about the integration of African-American's into the military, in my opinion, weakens your argument. No one wants to be thought of as racist. By suggesting that the army could fall into the same pattern by the integration of openly homosexual military personal links those who oppose this integration with racists. Be careful of the arguments you choose to make.
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