DADT…WHAT’S THE POINT?!

October 24th, 2010

Recently one of my good friends asked the following question about the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy:

“…. is it fair for the person who might not want to shower or sit around in the barracks in his boxers in front of a gay person? Where are the rights for the Soldiers who may not like it. Is justice a one way street?”

As a Soldier in the U.S. Army, I’ve pondered this issue quite often in light of all the current 2010 election rhetoric. Here was my response:

Soldiers don’t care because it’s not a big deal. All this stuff is being debated in Washington and by the American people…it’s become a purely POLITICAL issue.

Why are politicians and the public so concerned about what goes on in OUR ranks. If it’s so dangerous, why not let the Department of Defense take care of these gays who are apparently making life unbearable for servicemembers like me? Even better than that, why not let the individual services deal with it. The Air Force has already publicly stated that it is NOT enforcing DADT.

And nowadays you will rarely find bases with open barracks and common showers. Soldiers, for instance, live in apartment-style quarters on nearly all Army posts. Some single room, most 2-person rooms with their own bathrooms. It’s not like prison where you MUST worry about dropping the soap — but it was NEVER a problem for Soldiers in the first place.

In my 20 years in the Army, I’ve NEVER witnessed or heard of any gay hanky-panky going on in any of the units in which I’ve served. There have been, of course, individual and very isolated cases of unwanted homosexual advances, rape, same-sex orgies, or whatever by members of the military, but those cases are a percentage of a percentage compared to the crap we have to deal with in civilian communities – THAT’S where the REAL problem lies…in my humble opinion.

And you know, if there was ever a situation where a gay person wanted to force himself/herself on someone else when not welcome, they would more often than not get beat the down and end up in the hospital with permanent injuries or end up DEAD! Literally…I’m jus’ sayin’…that’s the potential emotional reality of situations like this.

I can speak for most Soldiers when I say that homosexuals in the Army respect the uniform, with very VERY few exceptions. And there are those in uniform that are obviously gay (observable through mannerisms), but nobody gives a s**t as long as they do what the hell they’re trained and capable of doing in support of military operations and administration.

When I was commander of an Airborne unit years ago, I was responsible for about 220 U.S. Army Paratroopers. There were a couple of guys who were unmistakably gay, but they never disrespected anyone else in the unit…EVER. And if they had, and they got that ‘beat down’ I mentioned, oh well… But whatever they did off duty, off post, away from the flagpole, I couldn’t care less – UNLESS they were out in gay bars or openly announcing their sexual preference in public or something like that. BEFORE DADT, that would be considered a violation of good order and discipline, and was/is punishable under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). So why the hell did we need DADT in the first place?  Pure POLITICS…!

You know what we REALLY need to worry about??? Bloods, Crips, Gangsta Disciples, Latin Kings, Folk Nation, KKK, Skinheads, Aryan Brotherhood, MS13, Mexican Mafia, Surenos, Nortenos, Nuestra Familia, Hells Angels, and so on and so on…TRUST ME! I don’t have time to worry about a gay Soldier who wants his/her PRIVATE life respected because I need to keep from being murdered by ‘gangsta’ soldier who wants to kill me because I would not let him go on leave, or because I ordered him to work past normal duty hours. Why don’t the politicians and American people get outraged about that??? Because they are scared of it – and rightfully so.

I remember in 1994 at Fort Hood, there were little kids doing drive-bys on BICYCLES in the family housing areas with semi-automatic weapons…yes, I’m serious. The gang problem was atrocious back then, but it’s even scarier now because of technology and mafia-style tactics and operations…WITHIN THE RANKS.

Congress, help me with THAT!

In my informed opinion, DADT is a matter for the military, not Congress or the American people.

Here are a few very recent articles about gang activity here at Fort Hood:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/09/2456950/gangs-in-the-military-pose-problem.html

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/gangs.htm

http://militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/ngic_gangs.pdf

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/military-gangways/Content?oid=1138231

Here are a couple more…

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/crime/4070-gangs-still-active-in-us-military

http://www.stripes.com/news/gangs-in-the-military-how-much-do-we-know-1.60141

Here’s a video from the History Channel series ‘Gangland’ – “Gangs in the Military” – WATCH THIS:

The military must do a better job of educating and informing Americans of what we deal with day in and day out. Too many folks are more concerned with process, procedure, policy, and PowerPoint slides than they are with real live human beings.

All I ask is that you do not buy into the political and media hype surrounding the DADT policy…and I thank all of you for your support of our many Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard personnel currently serving around the world.