Will eliminating "don't ask-don't tell" improve the military?

[woodjack]

No doubt that there are, And as long as they do not identify themselves as such no one will ever care. They do not need special treatment and special rules to serve.

DADT is a "special" rule.

Under DADT you are still kicking out qualified soldiers for issues that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job

Really? Under DADT that were released, 8 people that I have been associated with in the past 15 years were not qualified to mop a floor. They hated their job, they hated the dorms, they hated the state they now lived in, they did not care at all about the mission. And not because of DADT its because they hated the military life period. Have you every tried to train a person that just hated being at work? Impossible and a waste of my time period. Now if DADT did not exist I would have wasted a year of training, time, resources and man hours to make a paper trail big enough to get the person kicked out, keeping me away from the mission at hand. And it would take another 6 months for outprocessing and more resources to finally give the person a boot. And in each of those 8 cases that I have dealt with the person came out to get out period, they went and told to get a way out of a life they did not like. From my experience these people still lived their lifestyle with no problem. No one bothered them.

Now this is not the entire gay military population I realise that and I most likely work next to a gay guy or gal now. But I do not care, I do not want to hear about it, I just want to do my job and go home. This issue is a non issue and should not even be a big deal. Why is it that gay people want to tell everyone they are gay? Who cares!

Keep it or do away with it, I do not care, but really openly gay in the military what the heck does that even mean?

of the people that were kicked out because of DADT I am willing to bet that over 95% are people that just hated military life not because they hated the DADT Program. Now what really pisses me off is that they are given an Honorable discharge for not even completing an enlistment, seriously it should be a general discharge.

If they do away with it will it affect the Military negatively?, Nope, maybe at first their will be some unfortunate incidents but it won't do a thing. I am sick of hearing about it and sick of people saying that it is discrimination when in all actuality it is a non-issue.

Now if they do away with it, what next? Will Gay couples get to move in base housing? Increase BAH rates of married Gay couples? Gay night at the NCO club/Officers Club, gay Pride month, Gay Awareness training, Gay couples and tricare, Gay lifeskills training......I could go on and on with all the training the military has for things. When will this Insanity stop?

Just do your job and go home! either way about DADT, I do not care, But I can see the can of worms opening or pandoras box or whatever you want to call it, for all the new training that will have to be implemented and more time is taken from the mission at hand.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Woodjack, you're an idiot.

 

[trailertrash]

Guys in combat don't give a fuck if the next guy is gay. It's only the uptight religion/political guys who think only of chasing votes who make those kinds of claims. England and many other countries allow gays to serve openly with no effect at all on morale.

Sometimes I think we Americans are the most backwards of people on the planet. We spend too much time fearing this and that and the other thing. We spend too much time listening to idiots in religion who have their own tv shows.

 

[Political Junky]

Yes, it will improve in that we won't lose anymore qualified soldiers, like the Arab translators that were given dishonorable discharges in a time when such translators were very much needed.

 

[bodecea]

What happens when two guys or two gals want to marry? What happens when a guy wants to dress like a woman? Maybe take some female hormones and get some breast implants. He has every right to do it in civilian life, why can't he do it in the military?

Most elective medical surgery isn't part of the military....regardless of your sexual orientation. So, your point is moot.

Really? Women can get breast augmentations lipo and all sorts of elective surgery, last I heard about it was in 2004, but I think they have expanded it to family members as well. So your point is moot. But it is so the Doctors get experience so they are learning but again it is tax payer funded and free.

I understand that you have to pay for that kind of stuff yourself....I know it was not offered to MILITARY MEMBERS when I was in.

 

[rightwinger]

woodjack..

Now this is not the entire gay military population I realise that and I most likely work next to a gay guy or gal now. But I do not care, I do not want to hear about it, I just want to do my job and go home. This issue is a non issue and should not even be a big deal. Why is it that gay people want to tell everyone they are gay? Who cares!

Why would you come in and talk about your wife or girlfriend? Who cares about the chick you banged that you met in a bar last weekend? Yet you still get to talk about it without fearing getting kicked out of the service.
However, a gay person is not allowed to say I have a new boyfriend or I have been having arguments with my partner because that amounts to "telling"

What is the difference?

 

[ABikerSailor]

Guys in combat don't give a fuck if the next guy is gay. It's only the uptight religion/political guys who think only of chasing votes who make those kinds of claims. England and many other countries allow gays to serve openly with no effect at all on morale.

Sometimes I think we Americans are the most backwards of people on the planet. We spend too much time fearing this and that and the other thing. We spend too much time listening to idiots in religion who have their own tv shows.

What else do you expect from a nation that had it's beginning started by a bunch of religious zealots that were so uptight they got kicked out of England?

Shit.......one of the best things about a summer cruise through the Med while I was in the Navy was the beaches.

40 percent of the women were topless, and nobody gave a shit on all the beaches.

And every town had at least 1 full nude beach.

And that's just for starters.........shit, over in this country, if a woman went topless on a public beach, not only would she be arrested, but she would probably be vilified by 70 percent of the people.

Yes, we are an uptight nation.

Wanna know who's the worst in the military against the gays? The religious zealots that will tell you it's a sin.

But then again, those are the ones that are generally playing D and D and having prayer meetings. Not many people like them.

 

[Jarhead]

The military does not need imporvement.
It evolves with technology, but the military itself is the best in the world.

 

[G.T.]

Before it goes bust, my dick get's Bailed
it's like A-I-G, it's too big to fail

 

[Father Time]

Guys in combat don't give a fuck if the next guy is gay. It's only the uptight religion/political guys who think only of chasing votes who make those kinds of claims. England and many other countries allow gays to serve openly with no effect at all on morale.

Sometimes I think we Americans are the most backwards of people on the planet. We spend too much time fearing this and that and the other thing. We spend too much time listening to idiots in religion who have their own tv shows.

What else do you expect from a nation that had it's beginning started by a bunch of religious zealots that were so uptight they got kicked out of England?

Shit.......one of the best things about a summer cruise through the Med while I was in the Navy was the beaches.

40 percent of the women were topless, and nobody gave a shit on all the beaches.

And every town had at least 1 full nude beach.

And that's just for starters.........shit, over in this country, if a woman went topless on a public beach, not only would she be arrested, but she would probably be vilified by 70 percent of the people.

Yes, we are an uptight nation.

Wanna know who's the worst in the military against the gays? The religious zealots that will tell you it's a sin.

But then again, those are the ones that are generally playing D and D and having prayer meetings. Not many people like them.

Religious zealouts play Dungeons and Dragons?

 

[G.T.]

Religious zealouts play Dungeons and Dragons?

I thought I was the only one who was too dumb to get this supposed stereo-type. My face was like only not bald and yellow.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Yeah.......some of the religious nuts liked to play D and D.

Saw them in the corner on the messdecks while the rest of us were gambling playing Hearts and Spades.

 

[Toome]

I think ultimately it will not make a difference. The military is a reflection of its society, and society openly welcomes gays and lesbians. The thing is that gays and lesbians have been serving in uniform for years; they just couldn't do it openly.

There's one other aspect that people tend to overlook. The military is a very structured society. Gays and lesbians are not going to change how the military does business. It takes a helluva lot more than just eliminating certain policies to change the good order and discipline that is the foundation of the military lifestyle. The military's good order and discipline did not change just because Blacks were allowed to serve. It didn't change just because women were allowed to serve. It's not going to change when gays and lesbians are allowed to be open about their lifestyles.

I think Iraq and Afghanistan will have a significant impact on this as well. The men and women who are coming out aren't the stereotypical gays and lesbians. These are combat veterans, many of them decorated for heroism and valor, who are coming out. They've demonstrated how their service was vital to the national defense and have proven how they did not disrupt the good order and discipline of the service.

As for what Jarhead said, I agree: the US military doesn't improve; it evolves with the times. This is why it is the best in the world.

I don't know if this will happen soon, but I think this change is inevitable.