If anyone should know how to run the military, it is those who have years of experience at leading men at every echelon in both peace and war. It is these proud Americans who have served our country with honor who are now petitioning the President and members of Congress to keep our military free of the politically-motivated agenda of homosexual right activists and their allies.
Among the 1,115 signatures can be found a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, several Service Chiefs, a number of combat command, theater, and other major U.S. and allied force commanders, together with a Medal of Honor recipient and a thousand other flag and general officers.
The distinguished retired leaders have formed a special association called Flag & General Officers for the Military opposing the opening of military service to avowed homosexuals. It enjoys solid support among active duty military men and women who recognize its positive effect on recruiting, morale and readiness.
Elaine Donnelly of The Center for Military Readiness is spearheading an effort to stop the repeal of Section 654 of U.S. Code Title 10 that recognizes how homosexuality is incompatible with military service. It recognizes that the military is a “specialized society” that is “fundamentally different from civilian life” that requires a unique code of personal conduct and demands “extraordinary sacrifices, including the ultimate sacrifice, in order to provide for the common defense.” It points out how conditions of military life are often “characterized by forced intimacy with little or no privacy.”
In an April 15 op-ed piece in The Washington Post, four high-ranking retired military officers questioned the repeal of the law claiming: “Our past experience as military leaders leads us to be greatly concerned about the impact of repeal on morale, discipline, unit cohesion, and overall military readiness.”
Responding to arguments that the American military should be modeled after the Danish, Dutch or Canadian military services that admit homosexuals, the officers pointed out that it is the American military that is the model for the world and the envy of its adversaries, largely because of its cohesiveness, discipline and morale.
“As former senior commanders, we know that the reason for this long-standing envy is the unsurpassed discipline, morale and readiness of our military. The burden should be on proponents of repeal to demonstrate how their initiative would improve these qualities of our armed services. This they cannot do.”
The imposing of a pro-homosexual agenda upon the military would do more than just allow homosexuals to service in the military. Legislation introduced to repeal Section 654 (H.R. 1283) would impose on commanders a radical policy that mandates “nondiscrimination” against “homosexuality, or bisexuality, whether the orientation is real or perceived.”
According to the letter to President Obama and Congress, repeal of this law would also prompt many dedicated people to leave the military. Polling by the Military Times revealed in its most recent survey, 10 percent said they would not reenlist if that happened, and 14 percent said they would consider leaving.
In term of numbers, that means a minimum of 228,600 people in the nation’s active-duty, reserve and National Guard forces would be lost. Especially crippling would be the lost of thousands of sergeants, petty officers and experienced mid-grade officers. Recruitment and retention difficulties are also foreseen.
The nation’s security is too precious to be left in the hands of politicians with an ideological agenda. Rather, it should be left to the people who know what it takes to defend the nation.
Those who want more information about the many things that supporters of the law can do can go to the Center for Military Readiness by clicking this action link: Action Items to Oppose Repeal of Law on Homosexuality in the Military.