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Posted on 04/17/2011 9:41:47 AM PDT by don-o
The impending repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will, for the first time ever, allow gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly in military ranks.
After the president signed into law legislation that set conditions which must be met for the repeal, the Marine Corps began comprehensive training to educate all Marines on the coming legal and professional changes.
While debate over the policy polarized the political world and gripped national headlines, senior enlisted Marines at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., said that in the wake of the order, they anticipate little trouble implementing the policy changes.
“The transition with the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is pretty much what I expected – professional,” said Sgt. Maj. Thomas E. Sherwood, the sergeant major for Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron here. “It’s kind of common sense; you don’t treat anyone differently than you treat anyone else.”
Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron consists of more than 900 Marines, Sailors and Soldiers who conduct support operations for the air station, ultimately giving training and infrastructure support to tenants like the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the largest aviation element in the Marine Corps. Sherwood’s Marines run the gamut from air traffic controllers and aircraft rescue firefighters to the military police and the Marines who work in the mess hall, to name a few.
Sherwood said his instructions for the Marines in his squadron are exactly in step with what the online training focused on.
“As long as we maintain professionalism, dignity and we stay within our core values, we’ll be able to adjust and do what we have to do,” Sherwood said.
Elsewhere on the air station, in a small, unadorned compound of white, cinderblock buildings, the senior enlisted leader of a unit with an entirely different operational function than H&HS paralleled Sherwood’s sentiments.
2nd MAW’s Military Police Company is a small unit of roughly 200 Marines who deploy frequently in a variety of military police functions. It is lead by 1st Sgt. Wilbur T. Amaker, a deep-voiced, candid leader who spoke of how much the Marine Corps has changed since he joined in the 1990s.
He said the modern Corps is well-suited to adapt to changes in policy and will neither break stride nor take its eye off of operational goals when “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed.
“There is a lot more emphasis on education today,” Amaker said. “We make sure training is done the right way.”
The first sergeant seemed to express frustration not with the policy change, but that he would have to focus on anything except the mission of MP Co.
“This policy change is very, very minute compared to what we’re doing. We have a war to fight,” Amaker said. “My priority is with the war. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is not going to stop MP Co. from rolling.”
In true Marine Corps fashion, Marines are professionally and diligently carrying out the training. Amaker said he expects the Marine Corps will be the first branch to inform the Department of Defense it is ready for the repeal.
“We are smarter, faster, lighter, more mobile and agile, and we’re tightly knit. We’re structured differently, so we can get the word out faster,” Amaker said. “We’ve always done more with less. We’ve always been faster than everyone else.”
Sergeants major and first sergeants serve as the right hand of their commanding officers. As the senior enlisted Marines in a unit, their leadership and example will be integral to the policy change.
Combined, Sherwood and Amaker have spent more than 40 years in uniform. At the head of two very different units, they said they expect the way they implement the policy to be the same.
“We follow orders and regulations. That’s it. This is not a request, it’s an order,” Sherwood said. “We will march forward with our orders. That’s what Americans have come to rely on when you’re speaking about the Marine Corps.”
“My Marines are easy – they’re MPs. They know their job is to enforce all rules and regulations regardless of their personal beliefs,” Amaker echoed. “They will carry out this order like everyone else.”
“That’s the drumbeat from the commandant on down,” Sherwood said. “Were going to do this, and we’re going to do it professionally.”
Is there a USMC ping list by chance?
Only if you listhp it, sweetie.
Off the record,God help the “marine” homo who wiggles his gay ass in a REAL marine’s face.
Huh?
I wouldn’t talk to him like that if I were you.
Just kidding since this is a DADT thread.
His statement is BS... this is going to have profound negative effects on the Corps. The damage may not be apparent right away, but the kind of people who want to be Marines don't want to serve with openly homosexual men. With their foot in the door, gays will push to be allowed more and more flamboyant behavior, so fewer and fewer "manly" men (the raw material used to create good Marines) will want to serve.
It's really our (American societies) fault though. We've allowed our culture to decline to the point that homosexuality is considered normal behavior, so why not let them openly serve? And it's not like this is the first assault on the military, we've been degrading the armed forces for decades now - women in combat units, diversity as a recruiting and officer candidate selection goal, war on smoking, the idiotic idea that global policing, nation-building and humanitarian aid are core functions of the military, etc.
One day on the battlefield, we'll meet an equally equipped enemy that doesn't subject their forces to social engineering and political correctness, and that's the day we'll find out just how much damage we've done to the military with this kind of $hit.
Until then, we'll just keep beating up on defenseless third world countries, in senseless conflicts that really have nothing to do with national defense, ones in which the "bottomless" pockets of the American taxpayers make up for any deficiencies in fighting ability of service members by providing them with superior weapons and equipment.
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Don-o, maybe there's a Marines ping list? Or military members or interests ping list? Over the years especially when this got voted on, so many current and former military made comments about their experiences in the military and how homosexuals being "out" would be devastating. Bad enough when they weren't "out". Some of the newly elected R Congressmen made noises about how when they got to DC in January they'd defund the repeal of DADT, put monkey wrenches in it, etc. But haven't read anything since. Disgusting how the Rs have caved on this.
Those of you who think the military would not allow our government to go tyranical need to keep this moment in mind. Many people in the military think Obama is illegitimate, but how many have refused orders from him? (1 or 2?) I served proudly and I am proud of those friends who continue to serve. That being said, the military is a machine and it will operate as designed. For those of you looking to oppose this "social change" you need to do it at the ballot, at the picket line and in your every day life. The military will reflect whoever manages to lie, cheat, or steal their way into the CiC chair.
“The impending repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will, for the first time ever, allow gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly in military ranks.”
From there, it may just be a short jump to allowing them to service openly in military ranks.
As the ACLU likes to say, it’s a first step.
God help the marines who have to deal with the “hate crimes crap” that some queer brings up when one of them honestly has to complain about inappropriate behavior being done.
Wonder if combat medics will receive special training in dealing with potentially contaminated blood...
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