As a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and former Marine
Officer, I read with great interest the recent articles regarding
the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy by the
Daily Bruin Editorial Board (“Please ask, please tell ““
the quiet is taking a toll,” Feb. 15), columnist Jason
O’Bryan (“Time to close the door on “˜don’t
ask, don’t tell,'” Feb. 17) and political science
student Aaron Brown (“Members of military don’t want
gays, and for good reason,” Feb. 22). With the continuing war
on terror, increasing insurgency in Iraq, declining recruitment
numbers in ground forces, lowering of enlistment standards, and
significantly decreased discharges under the”don’t ask,
don’t tell” policy, it is time to revisit this policy.
Having this dialogue at UCLA is appropriate and timely.
I agree with many of Brown’s points. He is quite correct
when he says “there is deep trust and camaraderie that
develops between soldiers.” In fact, it is well-established
that service members don’t fight because of love of country,
or hatred of the enemy, but because they never want to let their
“buddies” down.
Where Brown misses the mark is his failure to identify the
factors that create this deep trust. Among them are the so-called
“core values” of all the services, the most important
of which are honesty and integrity.
Because, in effect, this policy requires service members to
deceive their comrades by actively living a lie, it was morally
corrupt from its inception. Rather then sharing the intimacies of
personal and family relationships, the policy mandates secrecy at
best and outright dishonesty at worst, destroying the trust
essential to unit cohesion.
Brown states, “The military is not a college classroom.
… People are given orders, and carry them out. … It is about
discipline and training.” He is right on target. In the
military you are sometimes required to follow orders that you
disagree with. Some service members find homosexuals morally
repugnant. That is their right. Some don’t want to serve with
ethnic minorities and women but they have no choice in the matter
““ they are ordered to do so and the vast majority follow
those orders.
If Congress changes “don’t ask, don’t
tell” or a court overturns it, the Joint Chiefs of Staff will
salute smartly and carry out the new law. Our military will go the
way of our allies, the British, Canadians, Australians, Israelis
and, with the exception of Turkey, all the original members of
NATO. The lifting of the ban in these countries has been described
as a “non-event.”
The military is not a democracy. Brown argues that the polling
data shows the majority of troops view homosexuality unfavorably.
Even if his hypothesis were true, which I do not concede, it would
be irrelevant. What matters is what the American people think.
According to several recent polls, up to 79 percent of our fellow
citizens believe that gays and lesbians should be able to serve
openly.
Brown is also quite correct that “The barracks is not a
place for sexuality.” I would add that neither is the
foxhole. Present regulations are sufficient to discipline any
service member whose sexual conduct, be it heterosexual or
otherwise, violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The bottom line to Brown is that “Members of the Army
would not be comfortable sleeping next to a gay.” I hate to
tell him this, but according to the Urban Institute, there are an
estimated 65,000 gay, lesbian or bisexual service members on active
duty today. They are in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are
sharing barracks, foxholes, berthing spaces and yes, taking showers
together with their straight comrades. In spite of a policy that
makes them second-class citizens, these men and women sacrifice and
commit themselves to the service of our country. They should all be
saluted and honored.
Carpenter is a Los Angeles-based board member of the
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.