CAN GAYS SERVING OPENLY IN THE ARMED FORCES HURT READINESS, LOWER MORALE & CAUSE TENSION AMONG TROOPS ~PERHAPS LEADING TO MORE CASUALITIES? (This Jersey Girl and Navy Veteran has an opinion which is all her own ~ at the bottom of this page. Love it or hate it, it is MY opinion as an AMERICAN, US NAVY VETERAN & my First Amendment right of Free Speech guaranteed under the US Constitution. To that end~ I welcome all opinions & promise to read them all, however; I will only respond to Veterans & current active duty Military Service personnel who actually are the only ones qualified and entitled to render their opinions on this particular matter! ~ JGT)

When I joined the military in 1979, it was illegal to serve if you were a homosexual, then came  “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” (1993-2011) when it was okay to serve as long as you didn’t tell anyone about it~ and now, (since 2011) it’s legal. Throughout its history, the US Military has had an inconsistent policy when it came to homosexuals in the military.  Here’s a brief history lesson courtesy of About.com. ~ JGT

Prior to World War II, there was no written policy barring homosexuals from serving, although sodomy was considered a crime by military law under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) ever since Revolutionary War times. In 1778, Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin became the first soldier to be drummed out of the Continental Army for sodomy. During World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, the military defined homosexuality as a mental defect, and officially barred homosexuals from serving based on medical criteria. However, when personnel needs increased due to combat, the military developed a habit of relaxing its screening criteria. Many homosexual men and women serviced honorably during these conflicts. Unfortunately, these periods were short-lived. As soon as the need for combat personnel decreased, the military would involuntarily discharge them. It wasn’t until 1982 that the Department of Defense officially put in writing that “homosexuality was incompatible with military service,” when they published a DOD directive stating such. According to a 1992 report by the Government Accounting Office, nearly 17,000 men and women were discharged under this new directive during the 1980s. By the end of that decade, reversing the military’s policy was emerging as a priority for advocates of gay and lesbian civil rights. Several lesbian and gay male members of the military came out publicly and vigorously challenged their discharges through the legal system.

By the beginning of 1993, it appeared that the military’s ban on gay personnel would soon be overturned.  President Clinton announced that he intended to keep his campaign promise by eliminating military discrimination based on sexual orientation.  But, this didn’t sit well with the Republican-controlled Congress. Congressional leaders threatened to pass legislation that would bar homosexuals from serving, if Clinton issued an executive order changing the policy.  After lengthy public debate and congressional hearings, the President and Senator Sam Nunn, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reached a compromise which they labeled Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue. Under its terms, military personnel would not be asked about their sexual orientation and would not be discharged simply for being gay. However having sexual relations, or displaying romantic overtures with members of the same sex, or telling anyone about their sexual orientation is considered “homosexual conduct” under the policy and is a basis for involuntary discharge. This is now known as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, and is the current Department of Defense Policy. (Proponents of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeatedly claimed that open service would undermine the unit cohesion and readiness of the U.S. military. DADT was Repealed September 20, 2011~ JGT)

As a 12 year veteran of the U.S. Navy and wife of a retired veteran, I can only sympathize with the current environment of the active duty soldier & sailor dilemma regarding homosexuals serving in the military. I was personally propositioned several times while living in the barracks at US Naval Air Station, Bermuda in the early 1980’s. After sharing open showers & other personal spaces with my friends & dozens of my other Navy female peers~ I was disgusted by those propositions, ALL of which came from young women I had trusted & believed to be heterosexual. I never reported the offenses even though at the time, homosexuals were being discharged from the military. I have had many friendships with both male & female homosexuals though the years including a few family members. I have no problem with their chosen lifestyle as long as it’s not thrown in my face or I am made to silence my own Christian Religious beliefs on the matter. However; in MY opinion~ outwardly & obviously gay individuals serving in the military disrupt the absolute necessity for bonding & comradely of ALL troops most ESPECIALLY when serving in any hostile environment or combat zone. ~ JGT