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Straight Iraq War Vet Explains Why Gays Should Serve Openlyby Kilian MelloyWednesday Feb 11, 2009 An op-ed piece written by a former Marine who saw two tours of duty in Iraq calls for the ban on openly gay and lesbian troops to be repealed.
The item, which was published in the Feb. 8 edition of The New York Times was authored by Owen West, now a commodities trader.
Calling "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," the policy implemented by Congress after then-President Bill Clinton was unable to overcome fierce anti-gay prejudice in the ranks of the military and integrate the armed forces, a "bizarre compromise" for the way it allows gays and lesbians to serve their country in uniform as long as they keep quiet about their true sexualities, op-ed author Owen West warned that Barack Obama needs to understand how DADT came about if he truly intends to reverse the policy.
Under DADT, more than 12,000 servicemembers have been dismissed over the past 16 years, including some with mission-critical skills deemed essential in the war against terror, according to gay and lesbian military resource Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Recalled West, "Generals circulated videos made by conservative groups depicting ’gay agendas.’
"Senators brought television crews into cramped berthings," all in order to drive home the message that openly gay troops, who would have to live and fight in proximity with heterosexual comrades, would damage "unity cohesion" and "morale" and, by extension, make America’s armed forces less well-prepared to take on enemies.
Wrote West, "The lesson for President Obama is that this fight is not about rights, but about combat readiness."
Continued the op-ed piece, "This is a propitious moment for seeking change: a nation at war needs all its most talented troops."
Indeed, West noted, "Last year the principal architects of ’don’t ask, don’t tell," former Gen. Colin Powell and former Senator Sam Nunn, said it was time to "review" the policy.
"That’s a polite way of saying they’ve changed their minds."
Added West, "So have many of us who wore the uniform in 1993 and supported a policy that forced some of our fellow troops to live a lie and rejected thousands who told the truth."
West cited the historical precedent of racial integration among the armed forces.
"The armed forces initially resisted President Harry Truman’s 1948 order to integrate the ranks," West wrote. "But the Korean War forced trials by fire--in fact, the units with the highest casualty rates in Korea integrated the swiftest--and the Pentagon ultimately acknowledged that recruiting from across America’s socio-economic spectrum produced the best force.
"After that, the military swiftly set the standard for race relations," West’s op-ed continued.
Indicating that he was himself initially opposed to full integration of the military’s ranks, West wrote that the racial analogy was one troops had earlier dismissed.
"The homosexual threat to good order and discipline was behavioral, we argued, not physiological, and therefore unrelated," West recollected.
Now, however, West sees that as "a flawed argument," writing, "The underlying fears were the same as with integration: homosexuals jeopardized unit cohesion not because of their own conduct--after all, military law and command discretion encompass behavioral breaches--but because of the perceived reaction of those xenophobic troops who didn’t want to cohabitate with people different from themselves.
"Today, this sounds like one of the "worn-out dogmas" President Obama identified in his inaugural speech," West added.
"And it does a disservice to the ranks."
West noted that just over one-quarter of the electorate approved of Truman’s directive to integrate the military racially, whereas in 1993, when then-President Clinton tried to bring equality to the ranks for gay and lesbian servicemembers, just under half of Americans were in favor of allowing open service by gay troops, "which perhaps explains the split decision of ’don’t ask, don’t tell,’" West wrote.
West went on to say that the numbers in favor of allowing openly gay troops to serve had only grown--to almost 80%.
"As our troops tend to reflect the values of our society, lifting the homosexual ban will be easier now," West maintained, adding, "In addition, six years of war have clarified priorities.
"The battlefield has its own values, starting with courage. Sexual orientation falls somewhere below musical taste."
West went on to cite personal experience, writing, "For months I lived with 12 other American advisers on an Iraqi outpost. There was a single pipe shower next to a hole that masqueraded as a sewer.
"But the reality of combat dominated personality quirks--nobody wondered about sexual orientation."
West also referenced the realities of the modern military, writing, "Most military jobs are office-based and provide sufficient individual privacy.
"Even in Iraq many of our fighting forces are comfortably housed with compartmentalized showers."
West cited a poll of veterans who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq that showed that nearly three-quarters of respondents "were personally comfortable interacting with gays."
West then quoted psychologist Bonnie Moradi of the University of Florida and Rand Corporation psychologist Laura Miller, who wrote of the study, "The data indicated no associations between knowing a lesbian or gay unit member and ratings of perceived unit cohesion or readiness.
"Instead, findings pointed to the importance of leadership and instrumental quality in shaping perceptions of unit cohesion and readiness."
West also noted that the sheer dictates of numbers all but demanded the repeal of the policy. With the long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continuing, West wrote, recruiters have now had to resort to taking applicants who would not have been admitted into the military before now because of health considerations such as obesity or criminal records. West noted that one in five applicants are given a pass on factors that would have kept them out of uniform a few years ago.
Wrote West, "In a press conference last fall, Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, the head of Army recruiting, said the relevant question in considering such applicants was, ’Does that person deserve an opportunity to serve their country?’
"That’s exactly right," wrote West. "And to choose a felon over a combat-proven veteran on the basis of sexuality is defeatist. Ask any squad leader."
But if pragmatism is the best argument for accepting openly gay troops, West wrote, then one pragmatic fact should not be overlooked: "The military is a dictatorship, not a republic. It is built to win in combat.
"Its strict codes of conduct ensure good order and discipline."
Added West, "Cohesion depends on leadership. Our troops will follow the lead of our combat-tested professionals who base their opinions on what a soldier brings to the fight, and little else."
West cited the highest military authority below the President, writing, "If ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ is rescinded, military leaders will ensure smooth compliance, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, has said."
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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