Don't Ask, Don't Tell Revisited

The Congress may actually take up the matter of considering repealing the policy that prevents openly-gay people from serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. Most people know that the current policy was a Clinton-era initiative, that was essentially a compromise between the left and the right, which says that gay people can serve in the military as long as they don't make their sexuality known to military authorities.

I served in the military from 1980 - 2000. Were there gay people in the military in 1980? Of course. I'm quite sure there were gay people in the military as early as the first group of homosapians formed a small group, picked out their favorite clubs and sharpened sticks, and crossed the river to slaughter the neigboring tribe. During my career I observed very harsh treatment of gays at first, and then, near the end of my career, I observed wide-spread tolerance - the kind of tolerance that most would call indifference or ambivalence. I came under fire professionally when I published a letter to the editor of the Navy Times in October of 1999, wherein I stated that people should mind their own business when it comes to the sexuality and sexual preference of others. I received emails and telephone calls from folks who called me "fag" and other endearing terms (not true, by the way). But the heat was on. So I left military service, eligible for retirement, but earlier than I had planned.

So my challenge to Congress and the Joint Chiefs is this: Repeal the ridiculous current policy and allow gays to openly serve in the Armed Forces of the United States, instead of proudly serving while hiding their true personal selves behind a policy which serves no particular end. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has taken the first step, while the Army Chief of Staff has apparently taken the tried and true "I worry about the impact on morale" line that is responsible for the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" nonsense we have now.