Ret. Mstr. Chief Petty Officer in Afghan. & Persian Gulf, talks to Troops about Military's Gay Ban

Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Tours Afghanistan & Persian Gulf, Speaks to Troops about Military's Gay Ban; MCPOCG Vincent W. Patton III Says Most Troops 'Don't Care' about Sexual Orientation

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Contact: Steve Ralls of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, 202-328-3244 ext. 116 or sralls(at)sldn.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Most enlisted troops serving in the Middle East simply "don't care" if they are serving alongside openly lesbian or gay personnel, a retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard reports. MCPOCG Vincent W. Patton III, USCG (Ret.), who served in the Coast Guard's highest ranking enlisted position from 1999-2002, recently returned from a visit with American troops stationed in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf region. General John Abizaid, Commander of U.S. Central Command and the USO, invited Patton, an SLDN honorary board member, to tour Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan with the USO. Patton also tried to go into Iraq twice, but each time his aircraft turned back due to enemy fire. His mission, which was part of the USO's "Operation Handshake" program, was to gauge the morale of our troops involved in military operations in the Middle East.

Patton says that he spoke to an estimated 700-800 troops, mostly soldiers, during his tour. While he talked about a variety of topics with the troops, he also talked candidly about his thoughts on gays in the military and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy. "It's like building a sandwich," Patton says. "You don't start off the conversation talking about gays in the military. I had to first build trust with the individual I was talking with. In doing so, I found some common ground. That then opened up the dialogue to pursue the discussion further to touch on this sensitive yet volatile subject," Patton says.

Attitudes regarding lesbian, gay and bisexual colleagues, he says, split largely among generational lines. Young enlisted troops were not concerned about the sexual orientation of their military colleagues. "I found in my conversations that for the most part they are more culturally exposed to gays. They grew up with it so it's no big deal. There's a lot to be said about Barry Goldwater's statement, you don't have to be straight to be a good soldier, you just have to know how to shoot straight," Patton says.

SLDN has estimated that approximately 125,000 lesbian and gay troops are serving in the armed forces, including in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One such service member approached Patton during his visit and talked openly about being a gay soldier. "The soldier reported that he knew of three other soldiers in his unit that are gay or lesbian, but they kept themselves distant from each other out of fear of being discovered," Patton says. The soldier also said that "I know about SLDN."

"Patton's experience shows that leadership makes a difference," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of SLDN. "Having gained the trust of the troops, and showing leadership on behalf of all service members, he created a zone of comfort. When leaders like MCPO Patton take the time to listen, we all learn about the bravery with which all our troops, regardless of their sexual orientation, serve our nation."

Patton retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2002, after serving 30 years of active duty service, including as the Eighth Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG). His numerous military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, the Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon, eight Meritorious Team awards and nine Coast Guard Good Conduct awards. He has also earned the Cutterman's insignia (sea duty recognition) and coveted "Parachutist Wings" specialty badge. He currently serves on the honorary board of SLDN and recently became an ordained minister.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a national, non-profit legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and related forms of intolerance. For more information, visit http://www.sldn.org.

Most enlisted troops serving in the Middle East simply "don't care" if they are serving alongside openly lesbian or gay personnel.....

In fact one could probably desire to serve with some really butch woman, who can handle her rifle and bayonet better than most guys ...

The problem ain't on the battlefield, it's in the showers!

Maybe the solution would be to have all the gay men shower with the woman and vice-a-versa.... nah, then all the straight guys and gals would be just saying they were gay.

4 bathrooms? nah, then the gay and lesbians would be taking way too long in there .... oh what tangled webs we weave ;-)

(I've been waiting for a thread about a Chief Petty Officer)

Real Chief Petty Officers...

Think Ensigns should be seen and not heard and never ever be allowed to read books on leadership.

Don't own civilian clothes.

Have CPO Association Cards from their last five commands.

Don't remember life before they were a Chief.

Wedding Proposal, "There will be a wedding at 1000 hours on 29 October, be there in whites with your gear packed because you will be a prime participant."

Favorite national holiday is CPO Initiation.

Keeps four sets of dress khaki uniforms in the closet in hopes they will come back.

Favorite food is shipboard SOS for breakfast.

Don't know how to tell civilian time.

Call each other "Chief."

Greatest fear is signing for property book items.

Dream in Navy Blue, White, Haze Gray and occasionally khaki.

Have served on ships that are now war memorials or tourist attractions.

Get tears in their eyes when the "Chief" dies in the movie "Operation Pacific."

Don't like "Certified Navy Twill" (CNT's). "Wash khaki" is the ONLY thing out of which to make a uniform.

Can find their way to the CPO Club while blindfolded on fifteen different Navy bases.

Have pictures of ships in their wallets.

Only own ink pens that have "Property U.S. Government" printed on them.

Never volunteer to get mandatory flu shots.
Have a permanent curl in their forefinger.

Don't order supplies, they swap for them.

Favorite quote is from the movie Ben Hur, "We keep you alive to serve this ship."

Think excessive modesty is their only fault.

Hate to write evaluations, except for their own.

Turn in a four page brag sheet for their evaluation.

Always say their last ship was their best ship.

Know that the black tar in their coffee cup makes the coffee taste better.

Are proudest when one of their former strikers makes Chief.

Idea of heaven: Three good PO1's and a Division Officer who does what he is told.

Think John Wayne would have made a good Chief if he had not gone soft and made Marine movies.

Use the term "Good Training" to describe any unpleasant task. Scraping the sides of the ship is "Good Training." Having to sleep on your sea bag in the parking lot because there was no room in the barracks is "Good Training."

Teach their children that the highest attainment in life should be in becoming a Chief.

Always question why a Chief would even consider accepting a commission.

Think "Crepes and Quiche" are a gay Hollywood couple.

http://www.bluejacket.com/humor_index.html

i do understand it's been awhile since I served on active duty.But back then most of the enlisted didn't care about
a whole lot beyond everybody pulling htei rshare of the
details--and nobody trying to force them to accept anything
they didn't believe to be right. My first Article 15 was over a fight some queer started.The unit commanded exercised his right to not pursue an investigation.the joy
Boy had been recently recognized as Soldier of the month and
promoted to Sp-4.An investigation of the fight would have
proven embarassing -So he was convienently transferred to
'Nam-where I heard he was fragged within a few weeks of
his arrival-combat justice.

He currently serves on the honorary board of SLDN and recently became an ordained minister.
------

How can he be a ordained minister if he's on the board of an organization that promotes abomination? Obviously not a Christian or moral ministry

And of course the press releases that such an organization would put out would say that the guys don't mind working next to sodomites. I bet most of the fleet knew that this guy was a sodomite or a sodomite enabler and avoided him like the plague (AIDS)

This is so dead on it hurts. My Father was a 30 year MCPO and reading this made me laugh my butt off. He was the saltiest salt that ever trod a pitching deck. He was a great admirer of ships and women and tended to use interchangeable terms to describe them. A woman with a large round bottom was " stable in a heavy sea" or " A fine merchie".. a very busty woman was decribed as " proud in the prow"..there were race builts and flush deckers. I'm Afraid NOW would have found him appalling. I think he would have referred to them as flush deckers with 20mm pom-poms.

Hilarious stuff. Thanks for the memories..

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