Is it just me, or has the DADT issue pretty much fallen off the media’s radar. Even a lot of the conservative sites don’t seem all that interested. Do Americans really think open homosexuality in the military is no big deal? Are conservatives no longer generally interested in social issues?
Well, DADT’s repeal is a major issue for the military. The military will follow orders of course, but this change is going to cause a lot of grief. The Senators who voted for this crap can sleep soundly at night, thinking they’ve righted some great wrong. Oh, how noble and righteous they are, but the military will have to deal with the problems.
Let me lay out some facts. There are many outstanding women serving in the military, but women weren’t added without creating problems that exist to this day. One of the most obvious ones is pregnancy. Women who get pregnant are typically removed from certain career fields for nearly a year. That has a negative affect on their training progression and job experience, at least in their core specialty. Plus, the military has to pick up the tab for the pregnancy as well as cover the workload with fewer people.
Another problem with women in the military: strength. There are many jobs that require a man’s upper body strength, and some women are simply too petite to do all of the tasks. Of course the military generally has equipment available to help with heavy lifting, but men can do the job faster using raw muscle and they don’t require a bunch of support equipment to help them.
Now I’m not demeaning women in the military in any way. Women can serve well in many jobs, and they do. My point is simply that there’s a price to be paid in military readiness for thinking women are no different than men, that they can do all of the same jobs, etc. That price IS paid right now, but it’s under the radar so that most people never know.
The same thing goes for gays in the military. Open homosexuality WILL affect military readiness and be a distraction, but you’ll never hear about it. Why? Because the military controls public relations. Even if the media was interested in something other than the perspective of the poor, downtrodden gays, who would tell them the truth? Even if senior leaders were aware of the disruptions in the lower ranks that don’t make the police blotter, would they speak openly knowing that their careers were on the line? No. Aside from leftist studies from time to time in the future showing how well gays have integrated into the active force, Americans will never know the grief their senators have served up for the military rank and file.
“Is it just me, or has the DADT issue pretty much fallen off the media’s radar. Even a lot of the conservative sites don’t seem all that interested. Do Americans really think open homosexuality in the military is no big deal? Are conservatives no longer generally interested in social issues?”
Great question.
Why didn’t the Republicans fight harder to stop this repeal?
Me thinks a deal was cut to get the tax cuts.
And, yes, you are right about other so-called conservative sites.
You can find posters on a well known conservative site who claim they are conservative and, yet, they do not believe in God or our Christian heritage.
No way...