When President Harry Truman decided on integration of the military in 1948, troops were not asked for their views on the subject! It is certain that many would have been opposed to blacks and whites working and living together, but it was done!
When women were integrated into the military academies in 1976, those at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, New London, and Kings Point were not asked to fill out a survey! Again, many might have been opposed, but who cared?
So why now does the Pentagon feel the need to ask people in the military how they feel about showering with gays and lesbians, or sharing living quarters and a commissary with them on the bases?
And also asked is the effect that having gays and lesbians serving openly would have on retention, unit cohesion, military family life, and privacy!
Why is this such a big issue when so many European countries and Israel have long had openly gay service members, and have found no complications that developed?
Are we to let some people’s prejudices and biases to determine who can serve, when we are already having trouble with recruitment and retention?
The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, usually right on most issues, is absolutely wrong on this issue, and it is time that progress be made on the final end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and that human dignity become part of military culture!
And if there are people in the military who cannot accept the changes that are coming, the answer is to say: “Goodbye, and good riddance!” 🙁