Military dismisses 6 gay Arabic linguists amid shortage of translators

AP ^ | 11-14-02

[mikenola]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, have been dismissed from the military because they are gay.

The soldiers' dismissals come at a time the military is facing a critical shortage of translators and interpreters for the war on terrorism.

[cmsgop]

"Don"t Ask , Don't" Jihad !!!!!

[Paul Atreides]

I guess they got tired of all the "girlfriend" and "you go girl" thrown into the translations.

[cmsgop]

Maybe they should have hidden the Pink Head Wraps in a better place.....

[steve-b]

Is there some reason translations can't be done by civilian support personnel? That would moot the whole issue.

[TroutStalker]

They were obviously not cunning linguists.

[ZULU]

"Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, have been dismissed from the military because they are gay."

Good. Send them to Saudi Arabia to bone up on their skills. The Muslims there will clear up their "problem".

[Asclepius]

... "It's not a gay-rights issue. I'm arguing military proficiency issues -- they're throwing out good, quality people," said Alastair Gamble, a former private first class ...

No, this is a gay rights issue. The army discharges far more adulterers than it does gays. So where are the articles about how discharging adulterers is undermining preparedness?

Part of being fit to serve means adhering to the military's codes of conduct. This is the case no matter how talented you are.

[cmsgop]

I think they can ( civies ) I remember a statement by the FBI asking for such help.....

[Paul Atreides]

Or, they shouldn't have shown up for work in burkas.

[Samwise]

Bad. Bad. Bad boy.

[Schmedlap]

I can understand an infantry or armor unit not allowing homosexuals within their ranks. Whether they are gay or sad seems arbitrary. However, I do not understand why it is of any importance if office rats are homosexuals. Is this any more disruptive than male and female office rats being attracted to one another?

[cmsgop]

they were caught together after curfew

Talk about a Covert Jihad !

[Semper911]

Why don't they just hire them as private contractors? The DOD could still provide the training and benefit from their services. I see no need for linguists to be soldiers, if they are just used for document translations.

[JohnMac]

Alas poor Gamble and Hicks
Were discharged for handling di--s
The shame took its toll
But they're still smoking pole
Cause you can't gay dog new tricks

[onedoug]

"Part of being fit to serve means adhering to the military's codes of conduct."

Well put.

[NorthGA]

This gets into the whole discussion of "don't ask - don't tell".

Somehow the behavior of these former analysts became known and was considered to be disruptive to a productive work atmosphere. Sort of like adultery is - and is a non-gay issue.

A separate thread on FR yesterday mentioned a coach who benched his entire first string football team (including his son) in an important game for violating an alcohol policy they had signed before the season. The players were sobered up probably by game time - why would this coach want his rules enforced?

[Schmedlap]

"Somehow the behavior of these former analysts became known and was considered to be disruptive to a productive work atmosphere."

I didn't notice it written anywhere that it was considered to be disruptive. I know it is against policy, but sometimes leaders down at the lower levels forgo policy in the interest of mission accomplishment. I am curious why these leaders did not. They may have been right. Again, I'm just curious.

[Let's Roll]

LOL!

[JohnMac]

Last line should be:
"Cause you can't teach a gay dog new tricks".
Sorry