Report Highlights Changing Attitudes in the Ranks
Sunday’s AP story (“Generation gap divides troops on gays in the military”) is the latest reminder that younger service members – who make up the majority of those in the armed forces – by and large don’t care about the sexual orientation of their comrades. The next generation of military leadership understands that being gay has nothing to do with being a good soldier, seaman, airman or Marine.
This report also comes on the heels of news from late last week that a majority of service members and military families support “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, according to findings from an internal Pentagon survey:
“Details on the findings were still scarce. But in conversations with troops and veterans, the idea repeatedly emerges that younger recruits, who make up the bulk of combat troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, are indifferent while older ones, including many officers, don't want the ban lifted.
“Many veterans of the current wars use terms like ‘archaic’ and ‘old-school’ to describe the viewpoint they see from higher-ranking officers and others who support the ban. …
“Lance Shults, 25, a master at arms at Naval Base San Diego, said he was in boot camp with gay men and women, and that serving alongside them isn't a concern. Shults believes his attitude is common among younger members of the military, who have grown up with portrayals of gays in the media and who may be likelier to have openly gay friends or relatives than older officers and enlistees.”
As military attitudes continue to change in favor of open service, supporters of repeal must continue to urge both their senators to end DADT next month during lame-duck session.
11-01-10 By Paul DeMiglio, Senior Communications Manager |
1 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.anonymous on November 01, 2010 at 03.21 pm
This excerpt from the article represents another side to this issue that SLDN and other advocate groups should pay attention to and cite. There are a number of social/moral conservatives who at once affirm that sexual acts outside of a marriage between one man and one woman are immoral, while also affirming that DADT is unjust. From this conservative perspective, heterosexuals are not kicked out because of their immoral sexual acts, so it is unjust to target only homosexuals under such a policy. Further, it is unjust to allow the policy to hinge upon a carefully guarded secret, as opposed to an honest policy that evaluates the object act rather than evaluates how well a secret is kept. Plenty of social/moral conservatives see this policy as unjust.
Excerpt:
But even those veterans with personal beliefs that don’t approve of homosexuality say the law is flawed.
Ashley, who retired in 2007 and now is a pastor near the Fort Campbell installation on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, said he does not approve of homosexuality based on his Christian beliefs. But, he said, the military should either repeal the law or create an outright ban on gay soldiers because trying to fall somewhere in the middle sends a bad message.
“That’s repressive. It’s an awful statement to homosexual soldiers and it’s an awful statement to leaders,” he said.