Rethinking "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"
A lot of hay is being made by the liberal pundits over a NYT piece written by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff GEN. John Shalikashvili, who was the Chairman under Pres. Clinton. In the piece, Shalikshvili says he now feels that the current policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass” should be scrapped and gays allowed to enter the service freely and openly.
Currently, leaders in the varied branches of the military are told not to ask if someone is gay and not to investigate the possibility that someone is gay. Gays in the military are told to keep their sexual preferences to themselves. Only in the event that someone openly admits to being gay by either word or deed can the military chapter them out. The military can’t do anything if there is only a “suspicion” that the individual is homosexual.
Explains GEN. Shalikashvili,
In the early 1990s, large numbers of military personnel were opposed to letting openly gay men and lesbians serve. President Bill Clinton, who promised to lift the ban during his campaign, was overwhelmed by the strength of the opposition, which threatened to overturn any executive action he might take. The compromise that came to be known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” was thus a useful speed bump that allowed temperatures to cool for a period of time while the culture continued to evolve.The question before us now is whether enough time has gone by to give this policy serious reconsideration. Much evidence suggests that it has.
GEN. Shalikashvili goes on to say that the culture of the nation has changed in the last fourteen years and he believes servicemembers are more willing to accept openly gay troops.
I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces. Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.
I know there are already gays in the military, and there always have been. It doesn’t mean they are any better or worse soldiers. As long as subordinates aren’t being propositioned by their superiors, it’s all good (which applies to heterosexual personnel as well).
If gay relationships are your thing, fine, no harm done. I know of at least three female soldiers - a senior NCO, a field grade officer, and a senior warrant officer who I would definitely place in the “suspiciously homosexual” category. Do they do their jobs? Yes. Do they declare themselves gay? No. However, I will admit that there are plenty of whispered comments about why they have some much WNBA memorabilia in their offices.
Blackfive and Enlisted Swine appear to have similar philosophies on this subject, and I agree with them when they say this shouldn’t be brought up as a way to increase our military end-strength. If we are going to do it, let’s do it and not sound so desperate to fill our ranks.
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