Is There a Doctor in the House?
Apparently not...according to a recent report by Laura Unger at Gannet News Service. It seems that there is a shortage of trained and qualified physicians and nurses in today's Army. The article, which appeared in the Army Times points to the loss of over 1,100 doctors and 1,200 nurses from the Army's Medical Corp over the past decade, a loss of personnel which has led to a nationwide shortage in key medical positions.
Doctors and nurses (not to mention Arabic linguists) are the very definition of mission critical skills. These are men and women with particular education and training who cannot be replaced by just any other troop. These are also exactly the kind of skills that gay men and women posses and want to share with the military, if only Congress would give them the chance.
No one in their right mind asks the doctor sewing up an injured vet if he is gay or straight...it is just not that important (just ask gay Iraq war medic Darren Manzella)! What is important is that the injured soldier receives the very best medical attention possible, period. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" makes that impossible by forcing all medical personnel to pass a litmus test before they even enter the operating room.
This conversation is obviously made-up but, in effect, that is what "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is doing. It is applying a ridiculous standard on our troops and stopping the best and brightest from serving in our military. The result is American lives are being lost. Give me the very best trained, most-able bodied fighting force out there and if they are all straight, fine, if they are all gay, fine -- but America's national security demands nothing but the very best. -Victor Maldonado"Are you straight? Yes, then go ahead and sew up this patient. Oh wait, you're gay!! I'm sorry you can't treat this patient because it'll disrupt the unit cohesion of our armed forces."
Labels: linguists, recruiting
-----01-18-08
Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.