Policy on gays seen hurting military

[Khephra]

Policy on gays seen hurting military
Others with same skills are recalled
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | July 9, 2004

WASHINGTON -- New military statistics show that many soldiers with the same skills as former service members the Pentagon is now recalling to active duty in the war on terror have been discharged from the military over the last five years under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prohibits gays from serving openly.

The military data show that in some areas where there are critical shortfalls, such as intelligence, military police, and infantry skills, the Clinton-era policy that allows the dismissal of gays whose sexual orientation is disclosed has deprived the military of some of the same skills it is now seeking by returning members of the Individual Ready Reserve to service.

Critics said that the figures proved the decade-old policy has undermined military readiness and hurt national security at a time when the Pentagon is struggling to meet requirements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other battlegrounds in the war on terrorism.

"It's tragic that at a time when the Army is desperate for skilled soldiers, an outdated and discriminatory policy is forcing the discharge of hundreds of specialists," US Representative Marty Meehan, a Lowell, Mass., Democrat and longtime critic of the policy barring gays from serving openly in the military, said yesterday. "Twenty-six foreign militaries have lifted antigay bans. It is time for the Bush administration to fully integrate the military."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/07/09/policy_on_gays_seen_hurting_military/

[Catfight]

1. Nope, I disagree, you don't need gays in times of peace you

don't them in times of war. Let the Republican heteros carry the burden. If the policy changes, I think that gay people should get a formal apology from the White House and Bush personally, since he is the commander in chief (technically only). Then they should demand back pay and compensation for the humiliation caused by this discriminatory law. Otherwise, homosexuals should not put themselves in harms way when they are not guaranteed the same human rights as what they are supposedly fighting for.

[Scooter24]

2. Actually...

Congress should be the one to issue the apology as the law on homosexuality in the military was passed in November 1993. It was part of the FY1994 National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by Clinton. This came after two years of studies, etc.

[Catfight]

3. I agree, Clinton will always disappoint me on passing FMA and

Don't Ask Don't Tell. He was weak on civil rights. Dumbya is weaker and more insidious, but still, it was a huge disappointment.

[struggle4progress]

4. America should reconsider. eom

[andychrist]

5. Remember the Defense Language Institute thing?

When the army fired a bunch of students, mainly in Arabic?

Tip of the iceberg. And it's all services, not just the Army.

And a damn lot of them pass...probably partly because they don't get married, pregnant, and discharged. Get rid of the gays and you've dug the hole even deeper.