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thedrifter
08-08-08, 06:26 AM
2 'gay' corporals walk into a bar …
Posted: August 08, 2008
1:00 am Eastern


By Matt Sanchez
2008


Just in time for the political season, the U.S. House Armed Services personnel subcommittee is debating the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

The rule was we won't ask and you won't tell, but LGBT activists don't care if the military asks, because they have every intention of telling.

To garner support for pro-gay sex in the military, the Human Rights Campaign is taking out its biggest weapon – the victim.

Staff Sgt. Eric Alva deployed to Iraq in 2003, where he stepped out of his vehicle to heat up an MRE and stepped onto a land mine. Alva's leg was amputated. First to fight, Marine Alva was among the first wounded during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Although Congress found "the primary purpose of the armed forces is to prepare for and to prevail in combat should the need arise," Alva says repealing the ban on open homosexual behavior would improve the military by "helping to fight discrimination and hate."

Activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign demand a sex surge for the military at the expense of national security. After repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, or DADT, the campaign will lobby for recognition of same-sex couples in the military.

But before marriage, how would unit cohesion respond once two Marine infantrymen, say Lance Cpl. Jones and Lance Cpl. Callahan of the same fireteam start to date?

Will the larger firesquad and platoon be affected if Jones and Callahan hook up in their barracks?

While I was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, there were only three females in barracks for a platoon that numbered over 70 Marines. For separation, female Marines were required to have an entire wing of the barracks to their own.

Male Marines were not allowed to enter the female side without another Marine as witness. The few females were strictly forbidden from entering the crowded male side of the barracks.

Will openly homosexual Marines in the military have to be separated from their fellow Marines? Or would the military create all gay units?

Will Marines be obligated to report they are openly homosexual to their senior command? Or will there be some kind of test?

Would homosexuality be marked somewhere in the Marine's SRB (Service Record Book), or is a pink triangle in Marine's medical file more appropriate?

Let's pretend we work out all these "minor" details for Lance Corporals Callahan and Jones to carry on with their sex lives.

Is it in the interest of the military to make accommodations so that two Marines can hook up? Especially when they are in the field – in a combat environment?

What if the two combat Marines have a break up or a domestic dispute – would the morale of a tight-knit unit suffer?

Infantrymen are highly trained to focus on doing one thing, accomplishing the mission. Would a little same-sex hanky panky break down the chain of command on fire watch, night patrols or guard duty?

From Bagram, Afghanistan, I reported the 70 and counting pregnancies among the small population of military women. The hook-up culture wasn't going to change just because there was a war going on.

Pro-gay advocates hold up the example of other military around the world that have lifted bans.

It is true: France, Germany and Spain all permit openly gay service members, but who cares? In Afghanistan, neither France, Spain nor Germany will fight the Taliban. The same progressive mindset that condones homosexual behavior in the military also justifies soldiers who won't attack.

Since the United States military actually fights, it's probably not a good idea to use the armed forces as a laboratory for social experimentation, yet surprisingly not everyone agrees.

During the congressional hearings, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., a first-term congressman and the only Iraq war veteran in Congress, threw a tizzy fit when a witness implied U.S. service members weren't professional enough to handle serving with homosexuals.

"You're saying you don't trust our military professionals to serve openly with people who might be different," Murphy huffed.

But Congressman Murphy should ask a different question.

The real question is: "Are members of the military professional enough to keep their sex lives private?"

In a stirring speech before the congressional committee, Staff Sgt. Alva, sporting a dashing HRC lapel button, asked, "Who would have guessed that the first serviceman wounded would be a gay Marine."

When a gay newspaper asked Alva how he had personally suffered from the DADT policy, his response was:

"I couldn't be open about who I wanted to date."

I'm thinking that's a good thing.

During an interview, Paula Zahn of CNN asked Alva if he was ever attracted to another "soldier." Alva responded:

"I never took my personal life to work."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the most sensible statement Alva made and the best endorsement for keeping Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Ellie