We are talking about the military here...So when did the feelings of a grunt make any difference to the brass?
I mean on what world do gunnies, much less generals, worry about crying soldiers? I thought crying was a sign of your inner Mary, and the main reason for permanent banishment from the foxhole or trench..
My understanding of the military is..and you can correct me if I'm wrong...that the soldier's only real duty is to follow orders...period...that is where the vaunted military cohesion originates.....soldiers who don't follow orders or who cry...are court martialed and discharged or killed....well, maybe not killed but disciplined...
“you want me on that wall.....you need me on that wall!”
“You can't handle the truth!”
“General.....Did you order the CODE RED?!”
“You're damn right I did!”
This whole movie was about following orders and what happens to a soldier who was outcast in his platoon. He ends up dead on orders from the general. It's not the only movie like this. The lore surrounding the brotherhood of the military is legendary.
So my question....If Obama has issued the CODE RED...and he is Commander in Chief....Who the fuck cares or is taking into consideration, the hurt feelings of a few uber straight guys and gals?
Orders are orders.....no emotions allowed. You bunk where you're told to bunk, shower where you're told to shower and kill when you're told to kill.
It's not complicated....wasn't complicated when England did it or the Scandinavian countries or down under in Australia....these countries simply went cold turkey...
So you're trying to tell me the best fighting machine in the world can't follow one simple order?
“Don't ask don't tell is no longer policy in the American military...replace those pages with these new and updated policy pages in your how to be a soldier manual...effective immediately”
Can't get more simple than that....
3 comments:
Makes you wonder.
Like, "Do you think camo makes me look fat?"
They say it took 5 yrs for Truman's 1948 order to completely overturn the practice of discrimination in the military. I have to check in on that. But to answer your question about the brass ordering and the grunts obeying, well, there is that thing of service members leaving. I think that's what some are concerned about, especially during this time of war. And they can leave through attrition as well as desertion. When I was in the service, I saw many, many service members who were let go because they just didn't want to go with the program. There would be grave political ramifications if the military was to jail so many people. They usually don't do that anyway, and if so not long-term. It's usually a few months of paying to jail people who should simply not be there. Not cost effective.
I do think the gov't, or objective party (maybe not military) should do an in-depth survey of how many same-sex loving people are in the military (with full protection of their identities), and use that information as a training tool that will be implemented as on-going regarding diversity training on the subject. Something Obama can order. We can't rely on many top brass to just sit there and say what they think they know, because they rarely come in contact with the 'grunts'. They sit in their ivory towers, just like executives, and make assumptions. In reality, we carried on homosexual affairs in the military as much we did when we were civilians. Don't let the talking heads tell you otherwise. And you know what, JoAnne? Many, many service members knew and really didn't care- - just like in civilian life. Obama should at least put forth an exec order to begin a serious implementation to begin true diversity training on the subject with the military, with the understanding that specific mileposts must be met every so often, and with the understanding that it will take place. Not just an idle threat. He should have points of measurement to make sure there are systemic changes, like broadening knowledge of gay lifestyle and history (especially in military history). But, really, you can't make people do what they don't want to do. We need to hear the true numbers and stories- - with protection- - of same-gender loving affairs to see how more common it really is. I always tell people, 'a lot of people actually come out- - at least to themselves- - in the military' because it's their first time in an environment that is conducive to doing so.
I think the main issue that separates the U.S. from so many of the other countries you name is that we really believe our country was started in the name of God. So there is always this underlying 'moral' ferma to everything we do. Hypocritical, but it's what so many believe. I do support DADT, but there is a reality to how fast it can be implemented. However, we shouldn't rely solely on the words of the brass living their insular worlds to tell us.
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