Posted on 08/15/2012 4:57:52 AM PDT by IbJensen
With homosexuals now free to serve openly in the U.S. military it didn't take long for a gay officer to climb to the top of the commissioned ranks.
Star and Stripes, the Defense Department's semi-official newspaper, proudly reported that the Army has promoted its first homosexual officer to general status. Army reserve officer Tammy Smith calls her recent promotion to brigadier general exciting and humbling, saying it gives her a chance to be a leader in advancing Army values and excellence, reported the military newspaper. The paper added that the ceremony August 10, at which Smith was officially promoted, marks an important milestone for gay rights advocates, giving the movement its most senior public military figure. She has already been assigned as deputy chief at the Office of the Chief at the Army Reserve, and spent much of 2011 serving in Afghanistan.
In its report on the story, the Los Angeles Times noted that during Smith's promotion ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, her proud wife placed a star insignia on her spouse's uniformed shoulder the official mark of an Army brigadier general. According to the New York Times, Smith, a 26-year Army veteran, married homosexual activist Tracey Hepner in March 2011, after they had dated for nine years. The Times reported that Hepner is the founder of an organization called Military Partners and Families Coalition, which, its website explains, exists to provide support, resources, education, and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military partners and their families.
While the Army made Smith unavailable for comment on the singular occasion, in a press release the Defense Department quoted her as explaining her wife's presence by saying that participating with family in traditional ceremonies such as the promotion is both common and expected of a leader.
Stars and Stripes pointed out that Smith has attempted to downplay her notoriety as the first openly homosexual general in the U.S armed forces. Smith insisted that such a fact is irrelevant. I dont think I need to be focused on that. What is relevant is upholding Army values and the responsibility this carries.
The irony of that comment is that, up until the dismantling of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) in 2011, homosexual behavior had been considered a violation of the values of America's fighting force since the nation's founding. But the Defense Department has somehow turned homosexuality into a lifestyle worthy of celebration among pockets of the military. For example, as reported by The New American, in June Defense Secretary Leon Panetta released a video thanking homosexual military personnel for their service to the nation both during and since the repeal of DADT. As we recognize pride month, I want to personally thank all of our gay and lesbian service members, LGBT civilians and their families for their dedicated service to our country, Panetta said. Before the repeal of dont ask, dont tell, you faithfully served your country with professionalism and courage. And just like your fellow service members, you put your country before yourself. And now after the repeal, you can be proud of serving your country and be proud of who you are in uniform.
In July, as reported by The New American, Panetta followed up that congratulations by allowing military personnel to march in uniform in a San Diego gay pride parade, an act that is banned by military regulations. After the event U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, fired off a letter to Panetta asking him why he offered a waiver of that prohibition to homosexual personnel, while at the same time allowing a Navy chaplain to be punished for wearing his uniform to a pro-life event, or a Marine for attending a Ron Paul campaign event in his uniform.
If the Navy can punish a chaplain for participating in a pro-life event or a Marine for participating in a political rally, it stands to reason that the Defense Department should maintain the same standard and preclude service members in uniform from marching in a gay pride parade, Inhofe challenged Panetta.
In a separate statement, Inhofe expressed his concern that the Obama administration continues to force its liberal social agenda on the military by promoting the homosexual agenda, mandating the use of high-cost green energy initiatives, pursuing abortion rights, and suppressing the free exercise of religious liberties.
Commenting on the Defense Department's double standard, Col. Ron Ray, USMC (Ret.), a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration, noted that there is a two-hundred-year history of Christian prayer as an edifying and educational foundation for our combat troops. Chaplains are now warned that they cannot pray in Jesus name, and combat leaders are instructed not to pray with their troops. By contrast, said Ray, there is a two month history of open homosexual political activity in the military, and senior Pentagon officials are calling this grand social experiment 'participating with family in traditional ceremonies.' Soldiers in uniform continue to be officially banned from political activity, but the standards appear to change based on whether we are talking about sodomy or religious liberty.
Totally agree and do the same...
And wonder when the Middle East becomes WWIII, which of the homo-community are going to fight this thing?
I for one, cannot wait, cannot I say, wait for the formation of a Lesbian Legion and a matching Gay Guard Regiment.. Whenever things are desperate on a battlefield, and, O say, the jihadists are over-running a position, we could plug the dike by rushing in the Lesbian Legion!
As the Lesbian Legion engages the enemy frontally, the Gay Guard should attempt to turn their flank, while transgendered combat teams sow confusion behind enemy lines by constructing unisex latrines.
In fact, as a matter of policy, all white men should be withdrawn from combat until minority, female, and LGBTG units suffer the same number of casualties suffered by the Union in the Civil War.
It is only fair, fair I say.
Of course, discipline in a Lesbian Legion must be severe. For example, if jihadists are captured, their prayer rugs are NOT, Not I say, to be considered MREs.
First one just had to be a lesbian.
She won’t have a problem gathering up Christians.
It is not her job to go down searching for Russki subs. If you're looking for someone to call on the carpet, try a Lesbian NAVY admiral.
A lying cheat who undermined honor for years in what would have been disgrace is now rewarded for it.
Forward, eh?
What people probably didn’t get about drone strikes earlier is that the president plans to make the military pretty much mostly machines doing the killing and combat, followed by most serious combat personnel being pulled out. Yep, people wonder what purpose drones served, well, Obama plans on making killing people something that the government and armed forces can do without warning, to just about anyone, and turn killing from risking one’s life to the job of someone on base playing a video game.
My point was the DOD’s and this regime’s emphasis on turning the military into a politically correct social engineering petri dish, at the expense of defending this nation. I resent to my core what these traitorous SOBs are doing to the Armed Forces.
And I know the differences among the Services.
Post of the thread ... LOL!!!
Here I am thinking outside the box to better prepare my country for war, while you deliberately misconstrue my military theories. For shame, Sir! Besides, who the heck knows where those prayer rugs have been? When not actually praying on them, our Worthy Oriental Genltemen friends may have been using them for interspecies transactions, which The Lesbian Legion may not condone.
No aspersions intended, I assure you ... simply an acknowledgment of your sneaky and superior witty humour (that no one else appeared to have gotten). (While I don’t know about your Worthy Oriental Gentlemen, as a member of the female persuasion but not of the cited Legion, I thought it was hilarious!)
Maybe it’s just me, but looking at the awards she is wearing (or lack thereof), it strikes me that I would expect someone who has made Brig. Gen. to have a more impressive collection of awards. I wasn’t Army, so I don’t recognize all of them, but given where her National Defense ribbin is located in relation to the rest, it looks like everything is relatively low level commendations.
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.