As a retired military officer, a low-ranking one, the highlight for me of the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer was what I called “the galaxy of stars,” dozens of retired generals and admirals that appeared on the INVESCO Field stage in support of Barack Obama the night of his nomination.
In my post on this event, I also noted that the Obama campaign listed more than 70 retired generals and admirals from all four services who were supporting and advising Barack Obama on national security, aerospace programs, energy and other issues, including retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, retired Army Lt. Gen. Donald Kerrick, retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, retired Adm. William Owens, Retired Adm. John Nathman, and “at least one former service chief; several service vice chiefs, a former head of the National Guard Bureau, a former commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and a former operations director for the Defense Intelligence Agency.”
I concluded, “Can such a galaxy of ‘stars’ with a total of around 2,100 years of honorable, distinguished service to their country be wrong? ”
Apparently not.
Barack Obama won this battle and will be the 44th President of the United States. I am sure he owes part of his victory to these military officers.
However, another battle is yet to be fought, and won.
As I have repeatedly asserted, I support full equal rights for gays and lesbians.
I also support full equal rights for our gay and lesbian troops serving honorably, effectively and, in many instances, heroically in our armed forces.
I have written several columns (for example here and here) and many Letters to the Editor on the subject of gays serving in the military and, in particular, about the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that has been in effect for 16 years
In one of my posts, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the integration of the armed services, I wrote:
But even President Truman’s 1948 Executive order, commendable and progressive as it was, left “without regard to sexual orientation,” out of his promise that ”there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services.”
It is this omission that our legislators are now addressing in the hearings on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And, predictably, the same tired and repudiated issues and arguments that were used 60 years ago are now being raised again to prevent gays and lesbians from enjoying “equality of treatment and opportunity …in the armed services.”
In another discussion on this subject, I wrote:
The future of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will not be decided based on my personal views. Rather, it may be decided on what a majority of the American people feel is the right thing to do. I say, “may” because even though several reputable recent polls have found that a vast majority of Americans feel that homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the military, there will be other powerful factors and factions at play.
One of these will be the judgment and recommendations of present and recent military leadership in our country. While many high ranking and prestigious military officers, both active duty and retired, have expressed their views on this issue, it is not clear yet which way the pendulum will eventually swing.
Well, today, according to CNNPolitics.com, another galaxy of stars has come out in support of ending the “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy.
In “104 retired military brass against ‘don’t ask-don’t tell'” CNNPolitics.com reports that, “More than 100 retired U.S. military leaders—including the former head of the Naval Academy—have signed a statement calling for an end to the military’s ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ policy.”
The “former head of the Naval Academy” is Retired Adm. Charles Larson, the former Naval Academy superintendent.
The statement signed by Larson and other generals and admirals reads:
We — the undersigned — respectfully call for the repeal of the ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ policy. Those of us endorsing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish. Scholarly data shows there are approximately 1 million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States today as well as 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in our armed forces. They have served our nation honorably. We support the recent comments of former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. John Shalikashvili, who has concluded that repealing the ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’ policy would not harm and would indeed help our armed forces. As is the case with Great Britain, Israel and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion and sexuality. Such collaboration reflects the strength and the best traditions of our democracy.
Of course, there are many, many who ardently oppose ending the “don’t ask-don’ tell” policy, including, I am sure, other galaxies of military stars—and of lower ranking officers and enlisted personnel, both active duty and retired.
For example, during a recent Congressional hearing, Brian Jones, a retired sergeant major in the Army, argued that allowing gays to serve publicly could hurt recruiting.
“Allowing homosexuality in the military would cause unnecessary sexual tension and disruptions to good order, morale, discipline and unit cohesion,” Jones said. “This would erode the very qualities of military service that presently appeal to potential recruits.”
Nevertheless, in order to meet its goals of ever-increasing numbers of recruits for the Iraq war, the military has recruited thousands of convicted felons and illegal drug users under its “moral waivers” program, while dismissing hundreds more for being gay, according to a recent Palm Center report. Palm Center is a California-based think tank that supports the movement.
What about our President-elect?
According to the same CNN report:
Obama has said that as president, he would seek to repeal “don’t ask-don’t tell,” but not by signing an executive order, as President Harry Truman did when he abolished segregation the armed services in 1948.
“I would not do it that way,” he said in a September 16 interview with Philadelphia Gay News.
“The reason is because I want to make sure that when we reverse ‘don’t ask-don’t tell,’ it’s gone through a process and we’ve built a consensus or at least a clarity of … what my expectations are, so that it works.”“I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be. That’s how we were able to integrate the armed services to get women more actively involved in the armed services.
“At some point, you’ve got to make a decision that that’s the right thing to do, but you always want to make sure that you are doing it in a way that maintains our core mission in our military.”
Stay tuned.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.