Don’t Ask….Ahh….Too Late!

On the 5th Feb,  I posted an article entitled Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,  from the Inside, detailing what it was like for  Victor Fehrenbach, a  highly decorated Lt Colonel in the US Air Force, with nearly 20 years service, and currently going the process of being discharged, for being gay.

Following on from that post,  I received the following email from Michael Anthony  :-
My name is Michael Anthony,  I am an Iraq war veteran and having spent six years in the Army, at the age of twenty-three, I have spent more than a quarter of my life in service to this country.  I have four older brothers and an older sister, all of whom have been in the military: Air Force, Marines and Army.  My father and both my grandfathers were in the military.

Hailing originally for a small sheltered town just south of Boston Massachusetts, I say this in all earnestness: the only gay people I know have all been in the military.  This is not a joke or some talking point, it’s literal.  Generals, Commanders and Civilians can talk all they want, but the fact of the matter is, the only gay friends I’ve had have all been in the military, in fact, my only experience of gay people(outside of the military) is when I once watched and episode of the TV show Will and Grace (it was kind of funny).

For the policy known as DADT, there is one thing people often forget.  People forget that the policy doesn’t preclude gay people from entering the military it just precludes them from talking about their homosexuality.  In short, someone can be gay in the military; they just can’t talk about being gay in the military.

If people are already in the military and gay—from my former unit alone I know close to a dozen—what is it that people are afraid will happen with the repeal of DADT?  Are people afraid that the day after DADT is rescinded; gay soldiers are going to walk in wearing a feather boa and buttless fatigues?  The uniform policy will still be in effect so we can cross that option out.  Are people afraid that it’s going to hurt troop morale?   The Military suicide rate is at a thirty year high having consistently risen for the past five years, with eighteen veterans killing themselves everyday (according to the VA) so it seems like it can’t get any worse.

With everything said, there is a negative aspect to repealing DADT.  Having been in the military all my adult years, my peer group is filled with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.  Several of these war veterans having done two or three tours, have sworn that they will never go back to Iraq or Afghanistan.  Upon further questioning on how they plan to get out deployment if called, their answer is simple: “don’t ask, don’t tell,” expounding further, they say that if they’re called up, they will simply kiss a member of the same sex—in front of their commander.  So how is repealing DADT going to affect the military?  The answer is simple…my friends who jokingly suggested using DADT as a way to get out of a deployment are now stuck going to Iraq or Afghanistan.

And please don’t even get me started on the escapades that go on overseas.  But hey, what happens in Iraq stays in Iraq…ahh not quite.
Michael Anthony is the author of MASS CASUALTIES: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Deception and Dishonor in Iraq (Adams Media, October 2009). The book is drawn from the personal journals of Anthony during the 1st year he spent serving in Iraq. It is a non-partisan look at some of the escapades that go on behind the scenes in Iraq.
www.MassCasualties.com/anthony-praise.htm

Jason Shaw,  Brighton,  England.

Will Obama End Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?

Will President-elect Obama end the 15-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” which prevents homosexual men and women from serving in the U.S. military as an openly gay person?

Obama stated during his campaign that he was in opposition to the policy, but some have viewed his more recent statements of the issue as backpedaling.

On Friday, however, Robert Gibbs, a spokesperson for the Obama transition team answered a question asked by a Michigan resident who wanted to know if Obama was in fact planning to resolve the policy.

Gibbs stated:

“You don’t hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it’s ‘Yes.’ “

Critics of the policy have stated the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” may not happen immediately, as the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to take presidence over the policy reversal, but it does look like it may be inevitable.

Iraq War Vet to Speak OUT on D.A.D.T.

Openly gay, Iraq War veteran and GLBT Rights Activist, Eric Alva, will be presenting a lecture on the, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the Army as part of Coming Out Week at Texas A&M University.

His presentation on the policy focuses on his personal experience in the Marine Corps. He was the first soldier to be severely injured in the Iraq War and thus the first to receive a Purple Heart.

Alva stated; “Repealing the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy so gay men and women can serve in the military freely without discrimination is important.”  He also says he won’t stop fighting until the law is repealed, as  GLBT rights have become a huge part of his life.

Lowell Kane, the University’s GLBT Resource Center’s program coordinator stated; “I think he feels passionately [about 'don't ask, don't tell'] because he served his country for 13 years and sacrificed for his country, and had to do so under a veil of secrecy because the don’t ask don’t tell policy forces an individual to lie about their personal life.”

Democrats Seeking to Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Democrats are preparing next year to lift the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on open gays in the military, an uneasy culture-war compromise instituted under the last Democratic administration, should Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the Walnut Creek Democrat, said a hearing today by a House Armed Services subcommittee is aimed at educating Congress and the public in preparation for a full-scale push to end the policy, first imposed in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, in the next Congress. By then, Democrats expect to have won the White House and to have expanded their House and Senate majorities.

Find out more at sfgate.com. or here on gayagenda.com