[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.

[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.

[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

[PBRSTREETGANG]

So, 67% of gay linguists are Arabic?

[arm958]

You break the rules you pay the price. BTW, if they were still at DLI then they weren't linguists, they were trainees. I came real close to receiving UCMJ punishment when I was at DLI back in the 80's (caught in my future wife's barracks room during an inspection). The First Sergeant went easy on us because we already had firm plans to get married the next day during our lunch hour, which we did.

DLI was (and probably still is) a first rate language school. However, it was much more fun after hours back in the mid 1980's.

[aristeides]

Gamble and former Cpl. Robert Hicks were discovered in Gamble's room during a surprise inspection in April, Gamble said.

I don't recall having had a single surprise inspection during the nine months I was a resident enlisted student at DLI.

[DainBramage]

I always heard it tasted real Saudi.

[DainBramage]

One of the discharged linguists said the military's policy on gays is hurting its cause.

"Although...it mainly hurths those in the rear......oh I thed that wrong!"

[Greybird]

Well, y'know, we gotta have our priorities. Instead of protecting the lives and abilities of our soldiers, we've gotta EXPAND BIGOTRY! Isn't it nice to see that the U.S. military is doing what's REALLY important?

{/sarcasm OFF}

[thucydides]

Years ago the practice was when army personnel working in this area were discovered to be gay, to discharge them. Thereupon they were hired as civilian DOD employees and returned to the same job with a substantial raise.

[TexKat]

What, get oudda here!! They must have been sending the wrong message.

[SunTzuWu]

Seven of the soldiers were discharged after telling superiors they are gay...

These guys weren't outed, they told their superiors that they were gay. It sounds like they were trying to start something. What better way to strike a blow (no pun) for gays in the military than using the WOT to frame the issue.

[mrustow]

Seven of the soldiers were discharged after telling superiors they are gay ...

This was a coordinated set-up for political purposes. Under the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, there is no way they would have outed themselves to their superiors, unless they WANTED to leave the military. Thus, the military policy was a secondary factor in the seven dismissals. They wanted to leave the military, and to cause it maximum embarrassment, while giving the misleading impression that they wanted to serve their country's intelligence needs, which they had no intention of doing.

If the authorities were smart, and themselves masculine men, they would take a closer look at this Ralls guy. He might need to be outed for attempting to undermine the military.