Very interesting debate from a couple of weeks ago regarding DADT and the recent Joint Forces Quarterly article on this subject:
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Comes Out of the Closet - To the Point on KCRW
The winning essay from the 2009 Secretary of Defense National Security Essay Competition criticizing the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) ban against gays openly serving in the military appears in the upcoming issue of Joint Forces Quarterly. This journal is "published for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff" and with regards to this essay, The Boston Globe reports:
The views do not necessarily reflect those of Pentagon leaders, but their appearance in a publication billed as the Joint Chiefs’ “flagship’’ security studies journal signals that the top brass now welcomes a debate in the military over repealing the 1993 law that requires gays to hide their sexual orientation, according to several longtime observers of the charged debate over gays in the military.
While decisions on which articles to publish are made by the journal’s editorial board, located at the defense university, a senior military official said yesterday that the office of Admiral Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman who is the nation’s top military officer, reviewed the article before it was published.
The 1993 “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” law was a political compromise reached after much emotional debate based on religion, morality, ethics, psychological rationale, and military necessity. What resulted was a law that has been costly both in personnel and treasure. In an attempt to allow homosexual Servicemembers to serve quietly, a law was created that forces a compromise in integrity, conflicts with the American creed of “equality for all,” places commanders in difficult moral dilemmas, and is ultimately more damaging to the unit cohesion its stated purpose is to preserve. Furthermore, after a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly. In fact, the necessarily speculative psychological predictions are that it will not impact combat effectiveness. Additionally, there is sufficient empirical evidence from foreign militaries to anticipate that incorporating homosexuals will introduce leadership challenges, but the challenges will not be insurmountable or affect unit cohesion and combat effectiveness.
Well after seeing this, it all becomes clear to me now...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Dan Choi Is Gay | ||||
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From 1st Lt. Daniel W. Choi, Infantry officer from the New York Army National Guard:
The Department of the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23rd. I will not lie to you; the letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me. It is a slap in the face to my soldiers, peers and leaders who have demonstrated that an infantry unit can be professional enough to accept diversity, to accept capable leaders, to accept skilled soldiers.
My subordinates know I’m gay. They don’t care. They are professional.
Further, they are respectable infantrymen who work as a team. Many told me that they respect me even more because I trusted them enough to let them know the truth. Trust is the foundation of unit cohesion.
After I publicly announced that I am gay, I reported for training and led rifle marksmanship. I ordered hundreds of soldiers to fire live rounds and qualify on their weapons. I qualified on my own weapon. I showered after training and slept in an open bay with 40 other infantrymen. I cannot understand the claim that I “negatively affected good order and discipline in the New York Army National Guard.” I refuse to accept this statement as true.
As an infantry officer, I am not accustomed to begging. But I beg you today: Do not fire me. Do not fire me because my soldiers are more than a unit or a fighting force – we are a family and we support each other. We should not learn that honesty and courage leads to punishment and insult. Their professionalism should not be rewarded with losing their leader. I understand if you must fire me, but please do not discredit and insult my soldiers for their professionalism.
When I was commissioned I was told that I serve at the pleasure of the President. I hope I have not displeased anyone by my honesty. I love my job. I want to deploy and continue to serve with the unit I respect and admire. I want to continue to serve our country because of everything it stands for.
Please do not wait to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Please do not fire me.
I'm not a fan of MSNBC or Rachel Maddow, but this is a good interview of an outstanding Infantry officer and Iraq War vet, who is now being kicked out for speaking "the three most powerful words".
I've finally finished reading Prayers for Bobby. This is the true story of Bobby Griffith a young gay man whose inability to reconcile his sexuality and the fundamentalist religious tradition in which he was raised, led him to take his own life.
A very sad and poignant tale. Sad for obvious reasons but also poignant in the story of his mother's redemption of sorts: the arduous and painful journy to overcome the rigid beliefs she held that helped drive Bobby to take his own life. This book is about her story as well as Bobby's. I can't do this book enough justice in describing it but I do highly recommend it.
Also check out the movie that was based upon this book and stars Sigourney Weaver.
An excellent op-ed in today's New York Times by Owen West, a Marine and veteran of the Iraq War. Some highlights:
I finally had the opportunity the other night to watch the Johnny Symons documentary Ask Not on gays serving in the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Last summer the guys at Gay Patriot and I had the privilege of doing a podcast interview with Symons and a few of the "stars" of this film, including Jarrod Chlapowski, Alexander Nicholson and Al Steinmann of Servicemembers United.
Where Symons does his best work in this film is with the excellent interviews of gay veterans. One of the finest examples is with "Perry", a gay soldier serving in Iraq. Because of the DADT policy his identity had to be concealed but he had some of the most moving scenes in the film, including at the end. The scenes with Chlapowski, Nicholson, Steinmann and Fred Fox during their Call to Duty Tour were compelling, especially with their personal stories of military service as well as their efforts to engage the public on repealing the ban against gays. If this documentary convinced me of anything, it is that the work of these men to bring about change through constructive dialogue while maintaining the obvious respect they have for the military, which I share, has a far greater chance of success than ill-advised publicity stunts. More on the latter in a moment. While all of these veterans had very interesting stories I found myself most identifying with that of Fox, probably more because although I do not know him and we served in different branches, our enlistments were roughly at the same time in the early 1990s. I’ve been impressed with Fox from previous interviews I’ve listened to and the material in this film reinforced this. I enjoyed the "personal stuff" about all of these men and it strengthened the documentary in putting a human face to gay veterans, as well as challenged ridiculous stereotypes.
The weakest portions of this documentary were where Symons included footage of events with Soulforce protesting the ban against gays. The anger and need to "take action" I can understand but the effectiveness of their efforts is highly doubtful. In the film they came across as spoiled brats with little or no understanding of the military, let alone respect for the organization they claimed to want to serve in. The most glaring example of this is in one scene where Soulforce protestors take advantage of a Marine recruiter who treated them well, only to have them "invade" his office when his back was turned. All of this was done just so they could get arrested to make their point. Putting aside the stupidity of inflicting these kinds of stunts on persons having zero control over the policy, Congress makes the laws after all and not the military, if this Marine recruiter had any sympathy for gay servicemembers before this incident one wonders how their poor behavior may have changed that. I could have done without just about all the scenes on Soulforce, with the possible exception of the brief interview of one female Navy veteran discharged for being a lesbian. I would have liked to see her interviewed more, like the others were, outside of the Soulforce nonsense. Barring that, Symons should have found other gay veterans to interview who are also working against the ban like Pepe Johnson of Integrity in Service. This would have been more in keeping with the rest of this film and far better than the material with Soulforce. Gay veterans instead of gay activists.
Probably the most surprising to me watching this documentary was how quickly the anger I had at former President Bill Clinton (D), the spineless coward who signed DADT into law, and Congressional politicians from the early 1990s, like former Senator Sam Nunn (GA-D) and his asinine "investigations", came rushing back. The nonsense from DADT proponents in this film only made it hotter. Yet where Symons excelled, thanks to many of the "stars" mentioned above, was taking that anger and focusing it towards constructive means. Overall I’d say this documentary was well-made and I'd recommend that anyone interested in this topic, see it for themselves.
(this is also posted over on Gay Patriot)
BSG finally has it's first male gay character! This is a first in a major U.S. sci-fi television series, making BSG bolder than Star Trek in going where no man... yadda, yadda. I like how the writers treat this too: no big deal with a quick kiss. You can see this first here. Alessandro Juliani, who plays Lt. Felix Gaeta, has joked in numerous gag reels, like the one above, and stated in interviews that his character's lack of a sex-life has made him so frustrated that he'd "frakk a Daggett" if need be. Well Alessandro, your wait is over and instead of a mutt you get to kiss a rather handsome man. Not too shabby.
A very interesting interview I came across yesterday with Captain Steve Hall (USN - ret.), a gay veteran and former nuclear submarine commander. Hall is involved with USNA Out, a group for LGBT Naval Academy alumni. He is also the driving force behind a new documentary film, currently scheduled to premier in Summer 2009, about LGBT Naval Academy alumni and the DADT policy banning gays from openly serving in the military. This film should do much to highlight the service of these vets and I'm very encouraged by what he said about this project in this recent interview:
"When I was a midshipman, there were no gay or lesbian role models," he said. "All we ever heard was when someone was kicked out."
He hopes the film will help people see that gay service members exist and have achieved great things, and that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy - which requires gays in the military to hide their sexual identities or risk expulsion - is a "folly."
"This is another way to tell our story and unveil the masks of who we are. We need to educate our fellow alumni and anyone who will pay attention," said Jeff Petrie, the founder of the gay alumni group USNA Out, who has agreed to be interviewed for the film. "When I look back at how other minorities were treated in military history and how far we've come with how those people are now part of an integrated team, I know the same will be true for us one day. And I want to take advantage of every opportunity I can to move that along." [...]
While some alumni - particularly those who were kicked out - are bitter about what happened to them, that will not be the focus of the film, Hall said.
"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure the alumni look great. We're all products of the academy, and the academy does a really good job of developing people's character," he said. "I don't want to show dirty laundry." (Baltimore Sun)
1. Gay Bible. Jews & Christians have been "re-interpreting" the Bible for centuries so why do we need a bogus re-write?
2. Prop 8: The Musical. Cheesy. Corny. Counter-productive. Yet good to see Neil Patrick Harris.
Our politics could not be more different, though I imagine we have some limited common ground. I almost never read uber-liberal blog, The Bilerico Project, but I happened to catch a very good recent post by Bil Browning about a bad episode when he was a closeted youth. Political differences be damned, he dredged up a lot of painful emotions and memories of my own time in the closet. Having been 'out' now for nearly 3 years my perspective has certainly changed, but it is interesting to view these memories now. Let's just say that Browning isn't the only one who has some apologizing to do...
Read his post, it's very good.
I haven't really had the chance to follow the hearings conducted by the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel concerning the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. From the video clips I've seen on You Tube and press reports (e.g. this National Review column), it appears that I've been missing some dramatic political theater. I guess part of the reason I haven't been following this more closely is that the status of DADT will not change this election year and the same tired arguments from the pro-ban side can be overly tedious. I suppose hearings like this one though do help lay the groundwork for eventual repeal, which I hope happens soon. Yet I read today's column by Dana Milbank and think he makes a good point: pro-ban advocates like Elaine Donnelly hurt their cause more and more each time they open their mouths. From what Milbank and others report, along with Donnelly's own testimony, I'm somewhat encouraged that the policy's days are numbered. While Donnelly's performance yesterday enraged folks like disabled Marine veteran Eric Alva, who opposes the ban, it also helped in "torpedoing her own ship". I do not know Alva personally but was privileged to meet him at a SLDN event last year. My impression of him is that he is a good man who has sacrificed a lot in service to our country. Donnelly's inability to show discretion and tact in defending her position was unwise and insulting to veterans like Alva, which perhaps in the long-run will help in repealing this stupid ban.
Perhaps most interesting to me though from Milbank's column is this exchange between Donnelly and a Republican Congressman, who was very unimpressed with her shoddy performance:
Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) pointed a finger at [retired Navy Capt. Joan] Darrah and glared at Donnelly. "Would you please tell me, Miss Donnelly, why I should give one twit about this woman's sexual orientation, when it didn't interfere one bit with her service?"
Donnelly said something about "forced intimacy."
Shays cut her off. "You're saying she has no right to serve her country because she happens to have a different sexual orientation than you." [...]
Shays, his voice rising with Yankee indignation, continued to lecture Donnelly: "I think the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is unpatriotic. I think it's counterproductive. In fact, I think it is absolutely cruel."
Donnelly said something about her respect for the service of gay veterans. "How do you respect their service?" Shays demanded. "You want them out."
Donnelly seemed to have unified the lawmakers -- against her. The next questioner was Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), a retired Navy vice admiral. "I couldn't ask it better than you did," he told Shays. (Washington Post)
A whopping 75% support among the general public according to new polling by The Washington Post & ABC News. Combined with the recently released study by retired military officers that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion", and we're seeing a seismic shift in public attitudes that DADT simply cannot hope to withstand much longer. God willing, gays & lesbians will be able to freely and openly serve in the military one day soon...
(this is also posted at Gay Patriot)
Last night I was privileged to be part of an enjoyable interview on the Gay Patriot's America podcast, hosted by my fellow blogger Bruce Carroll. Our guests included award-winning documentary director/producer Johnny Symon, who was instrumental in the making of the film Ask Not that is currently making the rounds to rave reviews. This film examines the history of the DADT policy banning gays from openly serving in the military, as well as those soldiers it affects and folks who are trying to get it repealed. 3 veterans who are gay and appear in this documentary also took part in the interview, including retired Rear Admiral (USCG) Al Steinman, "The most senior military officer to self-identify as gay (yet, anyway)", along with Jarrod Chlapowski and Alex Nicholson of Servicemembers United. It was truly a pleasure and an honor to speak with all of these gentlemen. For some reason I was a bit nervous helping Bruce conduct this interview (I have to cringe hearing a couple of stutters and loss of my train of thought), but overall I thought it went well.
You can listen to GayPatriot's America here:
Pretty darn good video made by 8th grader Tucker Jepsen as part of a National History Day contest:
h/t - The Frontlines
This one looks like it'll be interesting. Eh, has a great song by Eric Himan at least...
