Rather Be Free
columnist: DigitalBob

Topic: National Security
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, And Mostly Don't Care

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Gays in the Military don't bother me. I'm grateful for everyone in the Military. It's when behavior distracts from the mission is where line should be drawn.

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by DigitalBob
(Libertarian)
Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" compromise regarding gays in the military was a Presidential decision to instill a sense of tolerance for people most of us don't understand. Most of the time I don't really care to either. Hopefully it slowed down the witch-hunts, which I consider a waste of time and money. I appreciate the service by every man and woman, who have pledged their lives to defend our Constitution, my property and my family. My hat is off to anyone who takes a bullet for me, without even knowing my name.

The military world is different than the civilian world. When I was in Navy ROTC training, I spent three weeks on a cruiser with 300 other men. You can smell the man in the next bunk (called a rack). At shift change, men were getting out of racks, and others were getting in. We were limited to how much time you can have for a shower. When the ship is rolling, you have to hang onto something to use that stainless steel urinal. Every day laundry is thrown in a big pile and washed together. On your off hours, you can work out with weights or do chin ups in the missile room.

When you're in close quarters, every ounce of privacy is precious. When you're on watch at night, you identify friend or foe in the dark by the sound of the other guy's voice.

You get to know more than you ever want to know about the man next too you. You see pictures of girlfriends, wives, and kids taped on the racks. One sailor did have a picture of younger man taped up. I asked him about it. He said it was it was his cousin and he wished he was back home with him. Later that week, that same man showed me how the radar equipment worked. He was professional.

There was another man, a 15-year veteran, who was visibly overweight, wore a girdle and smoked Virginia Slims with a cigarette holder.  The men playing cards with him talked to him about how he knew there was some oil leak and how his mother in Boston was doing.  I guess if you're considered valuable, the men around you will cut you some slack.  This was in 1983.

My father was a 20-year Navy veteran. He told me a story of a couple of men, who were supposed to be in formation, but were acting queerly. One was asking the other for a date in a feminine voice. My dad's exact term for this was "grab-assing". It was distracting and insubordinate. It was not professional. That sort of behavior can get someone killed.

The military has base facilities for families separate from bachelors. Those bachelor facilities are pretty drab, but functional. I was born in a military hospital, so I'm very thankful for those family accommodations.

As sympathetic as I am to alternative living arrangements, I think that dependent women and children need first preference. A sailor has a hard enough time trying to do his job, without worrying if his family will be taken care of. We need to place the needs of most sailors first.

In my father's Navy, he was told that if the Navy wanted you to have a family, it would issued you one. In a sense, it does with family quarters. When you're in combat, the man next to you is your family. But back when my father joined in the 1940's, blacks were only allowed to serve as cooks on ships. Harry Truman changed that in 1948.  I don't see an equivalent for homosexuals happening anytime soon.  If they're doing their job, they're not as visible.  Blacks and women can't hide who they are.

The captain is responsible for everything that happens on his ship. Until we can figure out how we can solve these social issues in the civilian world, it's an extra burden for field commanders. We expect them to shoot the right things and come home safely. That's already a full-time job.

Today's military is still a volunteer organization. It not only has rules and regulations, it has social codes of behavior. The codes cover about 90% of the population.

When you go to boot camp, the Navy is there to change you, not the other way around. If you have a serious problem with that, I suggest you consider another line of work. It's not like you didn't know.

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2007 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.
Published: Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Last modified: Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The views expressed in this article are those of DigitalBob only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. DigitalBob is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

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