Gays serving in the Military - 2

First, let me state right off the bat so no one is confused on where I stand: I am OK with gays in the military. They are there now and have always been there – this fact can not be ignored. This said, I am still not quite sure that ‘serving openly’ is the best thing. It definitely may not be the best to just rush into a change at this particular date and time. I just don’t know.

As I previously stated, “the time is always right for a change for the better.’ This, while it is change may not be for the better right at this time. We have too many forces engaged in battles overseas and a distraction of any type is no a good thing.

The leadership in the Pentagon is split on the subject as you might well suspect. Admiral Mullins (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) has come out strongly for lifting the ban. While he backs the Secretary of Defense (Bob Gates) in almost a ‘lock step’ approach, the other members of the Joint Chiefs are not really on board yet. As previously mentioned the Marine Commandant will probably resign prior to accepting the change.

General George Casey, Jr. (Chief of Staff of the Army) has stated just today: “I do have serious concerns about the impact of repeal of the law on a force that’s fully engaged in two wars and has been at war for eight-and-a-half years. We just don’t know the impacts on readiness and military effectiveness.”

Additionally, General Norton Schwartz (Chief of Staff of the Air Force) has concerns about how little research there is on the impact of a policy change’s effect on “personnel deployed for combat, surveillance and support missions around the world. This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation," Schwartz has said.

It is easy sitting here to become emotionally involved in the debate, but we aren’t taking any flack and not one bullet has whizzed over my head in more than thirty years, give or take. So let’s all cool down and take this one step at a time and be sure we can do it exactly as it deserves to be done. After all, the law has been in place for seventeen years, there isn’t exactly a need for haste in place of deliberateness.