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Congressman Says Army Fired 11 Soldiers in January Because They Violated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Thursday 12 March 2009

by: Anne Flaherty  |  The Associated Press

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US soldiers guard a water treatment plant in Baghdad. (Photo: Reuters)

    Washington - The Army fired 11 soldiers in January for violating the military's policy that gay service members must keep their sexuality hidden, according to a Virginia congressman.

    Democratic Rep. Jim Moran said he has requested monthly updates from the Pentagon on the impact of the policy until it is repealed. In a statement released on Thursday, Moran said the discharged soldiers included an intelligence collector, a military police officer, four infantry personnel, a health care specialist, a motor-transport operator and a water-treatment specialist.

    "How many more good soldiers are we willing to lose due to a bad policy that makes us less safe and secure?" asked Moran, a member of the House panel that oversees military spending.

    The Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was instituted after President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gay service members in 1993. It refers to the military practice of not asking recruits their sexual orientation. In turn, service members are banned from saying they are gay or bisexual, engaging in homosexual activity or trying to marry a member of the same sex.

    The military discharged nearly 10,000 service members under the policy in a 10-year period, from 1997 to 2007. The number fired each year dropped sharply after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, when forces were stretched thin. Whereas more than 1,200 were dismissed in 2000 and again in 2001 for violating the policy, about half as many - 627 - were fired in 2007.

    The Pentagon has not released its 2008 figures.

    The White House has said President Barack Obama has begun consulting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen on how to lift the ban. But the administration won't say how soon that might happen or whether a group of experts will be commissioned to study the issue in-depth, as some Democrats have suggested.

    Likewise, Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill support repealing the ban but have not promised to press the issue immediately.

  

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Comments

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I'm on board with accepting

 Fri, 03/13/2009 - 20:04 — Anonymous (not verified)
I'm on board with accepting gays in the military. The matter of sexual orintation is certainly not connected to effectiveness in the fighting forces. However, I am bemused by the question of concupiscence. Men an women are customarily billeted separately, presumably to avoid the temtation of sexual contact that might happen if they slept and washed in close proximity. Yet if the military goes from a "don't ask, don't tell policy to an "ask and tell" policy, what will becoe of discipline in the barracks? Maybe gay males should be billeted with females, and lesbians should be billeted with males? How will this be handled?

Anonymous 20:04: Why not

 Fri, 03/13/2009 - 21:07 — Steve Newcomb (not verified)
Anonymous 20:04: Why not require males and females to grow up and serve their country? How are America's interests served by insisting that the troops be treated as children, with separate billets for boys and girls? I bet the epidemic of rape would be far more controllable in mixed housing than in segregated housing. If you want people to behave like children, treat them like children. And the reverse is also true.

Maybe we will have to see

 Sat, 03/14/2009 - 06:19 — Museum (not verified)
Maybe we will have to see what happens if we treat adults as adults. Our current polity seems to say that living with secrets and lies is what makes us safe, and the truth will create danger. I am hoping that we are bigger people than that...that given the truth, the power to tell and live it, people will take responsibility for their behavior, no matter where they sleep or where they like to put their genitals, and do what is best for their country. Regarding billeting: If gay males are billeted with straight women, the women may get turned onto the men, even though they're gay. Perhaps there should be a third option, where some gay men and some gay women are billeted together, some gay men and straight men are together, and some straight and gay women are together, depending on what they can handle. Or maybe four billets: gay men, straight men, gay women, straight women. I'm sure if can be worked out if we have the will to be honest.

The whole policy of "don't

 Sat, 03/14/2009 - 07:38 — Anonymous (not verified)
The whole policy of "don't ask, don't tell" is such an incredible farce and non-issue that it amazes me that it even gets this much debate. Get rid of a pointless policy that does absolutely NOTHING to increase the effectiveness of the military. There have been a number of rapes and murders in the military that you hear very litNo. tle about and I can guarantee you that it isn't male/male or female/female rape murder. I served in the military for 20 years and retired honorably. I am gay. It was never an issue. Did I shout out that I was gay? No. Did everyone serving with me know that I was gay? Yes. Did we do what we needed to do. Absolutely. And ladies and gentlemen, I spent over 4-years on a submarine (yes, they knew) and served on the staffs of several Admirals (yes, they knew). IT DIDN'T AND DOESN'T MATTER. I absolutely hope that this President and this Congress can get past all the rediculous hype and pointless study and discussions and get rid of this policy that serves no purpose. You must keep in mind also that if having gays in the military means that we will have a much less effective force then we need to end our alliances with Britain, Spain, Canada and several others as those alliances are obviously going to adversely affected by all the gays that are openly serving those countries military forces.

Actually I like don't ask

 Sat, 03/14/2009 - 12:00 — radline9 (not verified)
Actually I like don't ask don't tell. It gives soldiers a free pass to opt out of the brutal army. Just tell everyone your gay and you can go home.