Yesterday, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos told Stars and Stripes that he was worried repeal of don't ask don't tell could lead to casualties on the battlefield:
"Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines lives," he said. "That's the currency of this fight."
"I take that very, very seriously," he added. "I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction. I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda
with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."
Given the possibility that Senators on the fence might take Amos' remarks seriously, it's worth addressing them.
According to the Pentagon's DADT study, while more than 70 percent of servicemembers were indifferent or supportive of repealing DADT, the Marines combat arms units were among the most opposed, with 58 percent saying they thought repeal would have negative effects. However, Marines combat arms units were actually less likely to think the impact on unit effectiveness would be negative in an "intense combat situation." Under those circumstances, negative predictions from Marines combat arms units dropped from 58 percent to 48 percent -- less than half. In other words, the survey suggests a majority of the Marines combat arms units serving under Amos believe the opposite of what he said.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
