Air Force punishes colonel over marriage views

U.S. Air Force officials have suspended a decorated officer and revoked his recommendation for promotion to brigadier general because he would not sign an unofficial document affirming a retiring subordinate's same-sex marriage. Col. Leland B.H. Bohannon, Air Force Inspection Agency commander at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M., signed all the requisite documents for a senior noncommissioned service member's May retirement ceremony except for one: a letter of "spousal appreciation" for the gay serviceman's partner.

Bohannon's Christian convictions about marriage put him at odds with the request to sign the unofficial, optional letter, and he sought counsel from his chaplain and judge advocate general. While awaiting guidance, and with the retirement ceremony days away, Bohannon asked a two-star general who did not object to sign the document instead.

But the retiring serviceman filed a complaint, alleging Bohannon discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation. An investigation substantiated the claim and found Bohannon guilty of unlawful discrimination, according to attorneys with First Liberty.

“... the retiring serviceman filed a complaint, alleging Bohannon discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation. An investigation substantiated the claim and found Bohannon guilty of unlawful discrimination...”

Uh, what “law” dictates that? There is no federal law against discriminating based on “sexual orientation,” whatever that is.

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The forces of “totalitolerance” strike again. That subordinate isn’t certainly showing any so-called “tolerance” or “live and let live” attitude here. Incidents like this one prove that Anita Bryant was right and we all owe her a apology for what happened to her when she tried to warn our society about the direction we were headed in 40 years ago.

Mattis has been the biggest disappointment of the Trump administration, IMHO. I know there is a monumental amount of work to be done, much of it behind the scenes, but as of yet the military doesn't seem significantly more focused on effectiveness and less focused on left-wing politics than it did under Obama -- this incident being case in point.

That's just not true. The President and Secretary of Defense have undertaken significant measures to enhance effectiveness in the field.

One of the most important steps was a complete rewriting and repudiation of the absurd Obama-era rules of engagement, allowing our warriors to take the fight to the Enemy without being hamstrung by impractical, tentative, and dangerous limits on their activity.

Another thing that has been done is to place much more authority and discretion in the hands of commanders on the ground, instead of having bureaucratic brass higher up micro-managing everything.

So, while some of the PC elements you're complaining about do still persist, it's simply inaccurate to claim that tangible measures haven't been taken to increase both the effectiveness and security of our soldiers on the ground.

Just look at the progress that has been made against ISIS in the nine months since President Trump assumed office. The improvement is unmistakable...

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