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Marine Commandant Amos: "There are 144 same sex couples in Marine Corps"
http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/article/update-corps-interview-general-james-f-amos-35th-commandant-marine-corpsIn an interview with Leatherneck magazine, Marine Corps Commandant James Amos stated:
"We have about 144 same-sex couples on active duty, and less than 25 are a Marine with a Marine. Most are a Marine and a civilian or a Marine with another servicemember. Same-sex marriages are not allowed in all the states, so the Secretary of Defense authorized them “basket leave” to get married in another state. He’s trying to take care of these people. It’s not causing any concern to my knowledge, and I haven’t heard a peep about it."
About the changine role of women in combat positions, Gen Amos reported:
"{Opening up the Corps’ closed jobs and units to women is} going as planned. We’re talking about the law here. Congress has told the Secretary of Defense to open up these closed MOSs [military occupational specialties] and units to women and report back by January 2015. We’re trying to establish one standard for both male and females in tanks, artillery, infantry and reconnaissance. For example, every artillery Marine must do certain things, including picking up and loading a 96-pound 155 mm shell.
Of the 150 female Marine officers who joined since April 2012, eight tried unsuccessfully to make it through the Infantry Officers Course {IOC} at Quantico, Va. We’re encouraged that four more women officers have volunteered for the next IOC that starts in early 2014.
On the enlisted side, 119 female Marines graduated recruit training last September, and 49 were physically qualified to attend the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, N.C. They reached the same standards as the males, including being first-class PFTers and doing pull-ups. Of those, 15 checked into the School of Infantry. Over the next 60 days, some were injured and others dropped-out-on-request. Four women made it through the final hurdle, a long march carrying a heavy pack, but one broke her foot. Three female Marines graduated."
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It kind of seems like all the gender bias and sexual orientation arguments people made against bringing the military into the 21st Century turned out to be baseless, at least as far as the Marines go.
37 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
The number of gay marines at 10% is 24103.1
Assuming 5% it's 12051.55 gay marines.
That 12K people only end up in 144 relationships
equal rights are equal rights
I do like to rely on facts though 
Last edited Thu Feb 13, 2014, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)
You have heard the term "in the closet", how do you measure what doesn't exist.
Being suspicious of statistics and polling around a controversial topic is common sense.
According to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, about 20 percent of the population is attracted to their own gender. That’s nearly double the usual estimates of about 10 percent. The authors explain that their methodology might have something to do with it:
Essentially, using a veiled question rather than a direct one uncovered a whole group of people who would not directly say they weren’t heterosexual. This kind of veiled questioning can get at all sorts of answers that people don’t want to give, like the incidence of rape. Daniel Luzer at Pacific Standard explains that uncovering these hidden biases is really important for understanding how accurate these kinds of surveys actually are:
Participants were randomly assigned to either a “best practices method” that was computer-based and provides privacy and anonymity, or to a “veiled elicitation method” that further conceals individual responses. Answers in the veiled method preclude inference about any particular individual, but can be used to accurately estimate statistics about the population. Comparing the two methods shows sexuality-related questions receive biased responses even under current best practices, and, for many questions, the bias is substantial. The veiled method increased self-reports of non-heterosexual identity by 65% (p<0.05) and same-sex sexual experiences by 59% (p<0.01). The veiled method also increased the rates of anti-gay sentiment. Respondents were 67% more likely to express disapproval of an openly gay manager at work (p<0.01) and 71% more likely to say it is okay to discriminate against lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals (p<0.01).
Essentially, using a veiled question rather than a direct one uncovered a whole group of people who would not directly say they weren’t heterosexual. This kind of veiled questioning can get at all sorts of answers that people don’t want to give, like the incidence of rape. Daniel Luzer at Pacific Standard explains that uncovering these hidden biases is really important for understanding how accurate these kinds of surveys actually are:
The most important takeaway isn’t a final tally of the gay people in society, but, rather, an understanding of the ways in which surveys and other existing attempts to measure such things might be slightly misleading. “The results show non-heterosexuality and anti-gay sentiment are substantially underestimated in existing surveys, and the privacy afforded by current best practices is not always sufficient to eliminate bias,” note the researchers, who were just looking at the way surveys might under-count both homosexuality and attitudes toward homosexuality.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-percent-of-the-population-is-gay-more-than-you-think-5012467
There are more of us than you believe.
