matclone

Shhh!

Definitely a relic. Although I'll admit when I was younger (and more naive) I had the attitude that gays did not belong in the military.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell would be a good name for a doll, wouldn't it?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2008012...onttellturns15

UGLY

I wont say that gays and lesbians don't belong in the military but I will say from my experience in the military that there fellow soldiers would not take it well. Firstly for the majority of the time you are dealing with young kids and don't accept things they don't like. No matter what you say I can tell you first hand that the military is not ready for openly gay soldiers.

matclone

A big part of the problem of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is that it reinforces the idea that being gay is wrong. The officer mentioned in the story is a good illustration of the consequences as to what happens to real people.

They have to change the culture, and that starts by leaders saying we aren't going to tolerate condemnation of gays. This could naturally start with the President. The next one needs to have the balls (or whatever) to make a change.

It won't happen overnight. But it has to start sometime. I'm old enough to remember when women serving like men (except in combat) were a big to-do, and how there was a lot of grousing about that. But, we adapted.

UGLY

That is true Clone and I support anyone who wants to serve our country.

matclone

Back in the day, a few gays outed themselves--because they could get out this way. I knew a guy in the company office who did this.

Then there were many who wanted a career but were in the closet. There were always rumors--especially about women. Then we had a scandal on base which included some guys I knew but didn't find out about until several years later. One career enlisted man in my outfit, married with kids, was about 2 years from retirement when he got caught doing some stuff in a public restroom (like Larry Craig). I heard he was court-martialed and out. What a waste of a good career.

Flop The Nuts

"One career enlisted man in my outfit, married with kids, was about 2 years from retirement when he got caught doing some stuff in a public restroom (like Larry Craig). I heard he was court-martialed and out. What a waste of a good career."

I know a guy just like that. He got caught rogering a private. Were his initials SB?

Long shot, I know.