I think that it is a safe assumption that you have never served in the military. If you had, you would know that units are tightly knit and it is imperative that all members of the team be comfortable with each other. Inherent in this is the belief by the group that the rest are just like you and are--like 97+ percent of the male population--heterosexual, i.e., "normal."
There are other aspects (such as not being concerned that another soldier or sailor has a sexual interest in you) but that should be explanatory.
> I think that it is a safe assumption that you have never served in the military. If you had, you would know that units are tightly knit and it is imperative that all members of the team be comfortable with each other. Inherent in this is the belief by the group that the rest are just like you and are--like 97+ percent of the male population--heterosexual, i.e., "normal."
Just my opinion, but I think you may have mistaken FWF's meaning. I took his comment to mean: "Why do they think they have to make an open big deal about being gay? What's wrong with shutting up and just serving your country?"
But I could be wrong... it's happened before. :)
Issues of sexuality aside, this just isn't true. Serving in the military requires team members to trust in each other's professionalism and competence. "Comfort" simply isn't necessary.
Inherent in this is the belief by the group that the rest are just like you and are.
This is completely wrong. The military brings together Americans from every demographic--men and women; white, black, latino, Pacific islander, southwest Asian; Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Mormon, atheist; people from other countries like Brits and Africans; patriots and pragmatists; cat people and dog people. Military life forces service members to get along with people that aren't just like them. Most service members are pretty good at that, because they are professionals. The ones that aren't professionals join little cliques and complain about the "Canadians."