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SLDN’s Capt April Heinze, USN (Ret), Coronado Eagle & Journal, Letter to the Editor

Coronado Eagle & Journal
"In Reference To ‘Revisiting Don't Ask-Don't Tell'"
Letter to the Editor
April Heinze, Capt, USN (Ret)

Mr. Kelly correctly states that Congress is usually reluctant to take action that may hurt military morale and unit cohesion, yet he fails to cite any of the dozens of studies already done that show no link between openly gay service and impaired morale or unit cohesion. The best evidence that openly gay service works is that the majority of troops say they already believe there are gays in their units.

Sixty-six thousand gay and lesbian service members not being able to discuss who they are under the current Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy degrades teamwork and unit cohesion. Not being able to list one's partner on a next of kin form or communicate with them openly while on deployment without fear of discharge degrades morale and hurts retention. Separating qualified service members for their sexual orientation during a time of two wars forcing others to deploy repeatedly degrades morale and hurts retention.

Standards of conduct prohibit fraternization and unwanted advances and include requirements for respect and tolerance of others; good leaders set the right example and enforce the rules uniformly. The fact that some individuals may be uncomfortable because of religious-based beliefs that homosexual behavior is immoral is irrelevant to military service the same as past beliefs that blacks were not equal to whites; both show a lack of understanding and intolerance for diversity.

Yes, the military discriminates based on legitimate job-related factors. However, sexual orientation is not a legitimate screening factor by any stretch of the imagination. Today's professional, all-volunteer military needs the best and the brightest and separating more than 13,500 otherwise qualified individuals for their sexual orientation since 1993 is a waste of taxpayers’ money. This is not about unit cohesion, but about the intolerance of a generation of senior military officers who are out of touch with today's society.

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