What The Navy Did Today
When I arrived at the office around 8am this morning, I had a voicemail, left late yesterday evening, from Jason Knight:
"I just got a call from a JAG Officer in San Diego here, and I'm supposed to report tomorrow morning . . . they're going to discharge me under the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy . . ."
Despite Jason's love for the Navy (which comes though loud and clear in every conversation I have with him) . . . despite the fact that he showed up for duty, no questions asked, when many people are trying to avoid another Middle East deployment . . . and despite the stellar feedback his superiors and colleagues had for him in last weekend's Stars & Stripes interview, the Navy decided it was important to make sure Jason was dismissed for being gay, and prevented from ever reporting for duty again.
And they did it all just 17 days before the scheduled end to his current, one-year commitment.
We also learned today that Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon says more troops are needed to stop the bloodshed in Iraq; that there is woefully inadequate healthcare in our veterans' health care system; and that there are new concerns about the "surge" of troops in Iraq.
But, despite all those pressing matters to deal with, the Pentagon found time today to fire Jason Knight because he happens to be gay.
As Sharra Greer, our director of law and policy, said today: "Our nation should be embarrassed that our armed forces are forced to respond to Knight’s selfless service with a government-sanctioned pink slip."
What does Jason think about the whole experience? Find out when he speaks live to Good Morning America this Sunday.
And leave your own messages and comments for him here in our comments section. We'll make sure to pass them along.
- Steve RallsLabels: in the news, jason knight
-----05-11-07
Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.