Pentagon to outline training for gay ban repeal

[Tx4obama]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Officials say Pentagon leaders will roll out a plan Friday that is expected to give the military services about three months to train their forces on the new law allowing gays to serve openly.

The plan will outline the swath of personnel, recruiting and other regulations that must be changed, And it will describe three levels of training for the troops, their commanders and the key administrators, recruiters and other leaders who will have to help implement the changes.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAYS_IN_MILITARY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-01-26-16-41-11

[slackmaster]

1. I once had a job writing maintenance comic books for the Army

I think writing one about how to accept and integrate gay soldiers would be a hoot.

[msongs]

2. step 1 - if you don't like it, resign. step 2 - otherwise keep your mouth shut n follow orders? nt

[slackmaster]

3. Frankly I think a lot of them will need to be taught that gay people aren't predatory

For example, that an adult gay man isn't going to automatically view all of his fellow soldiers as potential sex partners. I've seen a lot of very ignorant comments on some military forums.

[No Elephants]

7. As long as we recognize that posting on a military forum does not necessarily mean

you are now, or ever were, a member of the military, anymore than posting at DU necessarily mean you are a Dem. (Using "you" generically in both cases.)

And, for a variety of reasons, people post things they do not really mean and/or believe.

[No Elephants]

6. They are already integrated. Always have been.

[slackmaster]

11. Yes, but a lot of naive service members don't know it

They're in for some surprises.

[EvilMonsanto]

4. Great!

Just great, now gay people can sign up to kill innocent civilians just like straight people!

I know there's a big picture here, sure
But I just don't know why I should be happy about this

It would be so much easier to be ecstatic if we weren't fighting all these immoral wars

Sorry to be a downer

[slackmaster]

5. You have a rather jaundiced view of our military

Just great, now gay people can sign up to kill innocent civilians just like straight people!

Killing innocent civilians is murder, and illegal.

In the bigger picture, gay people are now free to sign up and get shot AT.

[No Elephants]

8. Sounded to me more like a view of our government.

"Killing innocent civilians is murder, and illegal."

Yet civilians are killed all the time in war, whether as "collateral damage" or otherwise; and no one gets life in prison.

[slackmaster]

10. All forms of collateral damage are by definition unintentional

That makes it not murder when a civilian dies.

[No Elephants]

9. Rut roh.

[jmowreader]

12. The training plan

Slide 1: a picture of some guy's butt with "THIS IS YOUR ASS" superimposed over it.

Slide 2: the same ass, with "YOUR GAY FOXHOLE BUDDY IS NOT INTERESTED IN IT" supered over it.

And then this famous Barry Goldwater quote: "You don't have to be straight to serve, you just have to shoot straight."