Posted on 12/01/2010 4:45:25 AM PST by EternalVigilance
*snip*
However, while administrative and "political" military personnel favor repealing the ban on gays, between 40 and 60 percent of combat troops surveyed said gays openly serving in combat would be a bad idea. 58 percent of those in combat responding negatively were Marines.
Former Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway has made clear in multiple interviews with the media that he and most Marines are against it and thought that it would harm combat effectiveness and unit cohesion. At one point, Conway even suggested separate quarters for gay service members.
Responding to the survey results, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a Marine combat veteran, accused the Pentagon of creating a survey whose "criteria and lines of questioning" were created to "reach a predetermined outcome."
“If anything, the survey results make a compelling case for keeping current policy in place and avoiding any type of distraction for our nation’s military and its combat mission,” Hunter said. “When breaking down the specifics, more respondents answered unfavorably or remain uncertain about a policy change than those who favor repeal."
The defense secretary conceded that there are variances in the overall outcome of the survey when broken down to specific groups.
"Within the combat armed specialties and units, there is a higher level of discontent, of discomfort and resistance, to changing the current policy. Those findings and the potential implications for America's fighting forces remain a source of concern to the service chiefs and to me," Gates said.
"So Gates is admitting that the troops who are first to go into harm's way -- special forces units, Marines, etc. -- are the personnel uncomfortable with having openly gay soldiers, sailors and Marines serving in the U.S. military," said former U.S. Marine and police detective Sid Franes.
"But be certain the news media -- the Amen choir for liberal-left policies -- will not report on the large number of military personnel opposed to ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The idea is simple: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Anyone opposed to the gay agenda is subjected to Obama-mentor Saul Alinsky's political tactics," said Franes.
While [Alleged] President Barack Obama and his administration are calling for an end to the Bill Clinton-initiated "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays and lesbians in the U.S. military, most Americans are being told only half the story.
Last month, several senior military leaders came forward to oppose repealing the ban on homosexuals serving in the military until a one-year study can be completed. This opposition contrasts significantly with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen's expressed "personal belief" that the current policy should be overturned.
Marine Corps Commandant Conway expressed his fear as early as last May that the repeal effort will distract from the military's mission of protecting the nation. He explained, "My concern would be that somehow that central purpose or focus were to become secondary to the discussion."
Army Chief of Staff General George Casey agreed, saying, "I do have serious concerns about the impact of a repeal of the law on a force that is fully engaged in two wars." He added, "We just don't know the impacts on readiness and military effectiveness."
Meanwhile, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz argued that now is not the time to repeal. "This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation," he said.
*snip*
The folks in the military I’ve talked to ALL say no way to fags.
I’m betting your survey is much more accurate than Obama’s.
Yes. The ‘Military Poll’ is a lie. Just like all things Democrat these days.
How about separate armies.
Send the real army to kill people and break things and the open homosexuals to solve difficult interior decoration problems.
Are gays going to have a higher KIA (killed in action) rate due to a lack of mutual coverage?
Common sense would say “yes.”
They will probably be assigned to blow up the enemy?
.
They just have to suck it up to get the mission accomplished.
It’s possible that would “even out” at an overall higher rate if it becomes an “us” against “them” mentality.
Point well taken.
The survey was designed and written to elicit the “PC” response. Couple that with the fact that although it was supposed to be anonymous, there is always the possibility it would be tracked.
Many guys would not want to jeopardize their military careers by responding in a certain way. It’s just the way of the world. They have to hold their political opinions very close to the vest.
The vast majority or military people we know don’t particularly care if someone is gay or not, they feel it is irrelevant to the job and “Don’t ask, don’t tell” WORKS because sexuality should not be an issue.
To the max.
He said it is a prescription for a disaster and multiple law suits.
He told me that the media is just making up the numbers as there has been no formal "secret" vote by the average military folks.
You can't have a superior officer ask these kinds of questions to junior officers and enlisted men and expect to get honest answers.
This is a seriously bad idea.
That’s part of the reason I keep calling this what it is: a BIG LIE campaign.
It’s plan stupid. It’ll never work, especially for those on ships, in combat, and subs. You get one gay guy hit on a straight or even a hint of hitting on him or perceived, your gonna have some real problems.
Its easy to say “no problem” when its not a reality. I don’t know combat units, but I know sailors. When the Navy screws up the implementation of this policy; and they will, the crap will hit the fan. As soon as a sailor sees someone else getting a better deal or getting out of some duty, or even having better berthing on the ship, the hate and discontent will begin to boil up. Expect the number of “new” gay sailors to jump when full realization of the bennies comes to light.
I believe that the results are fairly accurate, but they are not 100% truthful, or reflect the representation of the military as a whole. First off this is my opinion and not that of the US government or military. Secondly, like an...y good soldier if this is passed most soldiers including myself will suck it up and drive on, and either choose to get out (which I believe will be a large portion of the military) or re-enlist when our contracts have expired.
The results of this survey stated that the combat arms - meaning infantry, armor, special forces, engineers, and marines do not support allowing open homosexuality. I believe this to be the case because these are the men (women are not allowed to serve in front line units) who are at the tip of the spear of the fight. They are living in ragged conditions at combat outpost far from the luxurious “FOBS” or base camps. These are men who go days without showers, and are required to more often than not share showers and water supply, sometimes re-supply is non-existant depending on if the route or convoys have been ambushed. Also due to the nature of the fight being in remote, mountainous, but sometimes urban terrain (Iraq) our soliders are required to live with, and work amongst the locals. Having openly gay soldiers will affect the moral of these units, and cause discplinary problems. I can take an example from Iraq, we had a soldier at a combat outpost who was sleeping with the local Iraqi interpretors we had living on this little post in the middle of Baghdad. This hurt moral, and caused distrust among fellow soldiers. This also led to a breach in operational security as this soldier was emotionally attached to the Iraqis that he was sleeping with. Putting soldiers far away from home in remote, and often dangerous, and chaotic situations and requiring them to also deal with love relationships amongst their colleagues is not an additional stress that needs to be added. Also I believe that when you will have openly gay soldiers you will see an increase in favoritism in the ranks due to a relationship. This will also affect moral as well as retention. When you put private joe snuffy from Winterset Iowa in a remote, dangerous, and often fight or flight situation he does not need to be worried about if his comrades are sleeping with eachother, or with their superiors. I believe the results of this policy if enacted will be disasterous on America’s fighting man, especially in the infantry.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.