Gays in the military? Good, bad, or just damn fabulous?

Gays in the military. Thank you to Denea’s husband Sam for this one. Please feel free to submit a topic for me if you haven’t already.

Please read at least most of this, otherwise you may be confused.

Gays in the military is a problem because, according to some, the unit cohesion could be compromised. For example, if a father and son were in the same unit, biased decisions might be made based on their relationship. A gay relationship in a unit could cause soldiers to veer away from the “cog in the machine” mentality to a more individualized one, causing potential actions contrary to military objectives.

That is the best “reasonable” argument I can find on the reason gay people should not be allowed into the military, or at least not to serve openly, whatever that may mean. I doubt we will be seeing any pink M-16s anytime soon. This issue would have a lot more traction if it weren’t an issue among straight men as well.

You can’t tell me that if you became great friends with someone in your unit, you wouldn’t keep an eye on him and his safety as a general matter of concern for a friend. The only way that differs from a sexual relationship (militarily speaking) is that additional parts of the body are involved. The initial, and arguably dangerous thought, has already taken it’s toll. If you care for someone, it doesn’t matter to what degree, you are going to look out for them.

Seems a strange argument, however, that we need to have men in the trenches that don’t give enough of a crap about each other that they focus only on the mission while disregarding his fellow soldier’s welfare in the process. If I’m not mistaken, aside from basic training, soldiers are taught to think on their feet for the ever changing landscapes of today’s (and tomorrow’s) battlefield. I think leaving a man behind is also bad juju, if I‘m not mistaken. I’ve never served, and I would hope someone will correct me if I am off base.

I would imagine that having someone looking out for you, regardless of the motivations, would be a universally good thing. I would also imagine that caring for those in your unit makes you that much more motivated to keep them alive. To look at it from another angle, would you want to be in a unit with people you could care less about? I wouldn’t.

I really don’t care for political motivations when it comes to the military. The military is there to do a job, and anything that might compromise it’s ability to do that job should be avoided. Drill sergeants should be able to insult your mother and beat the shit out of you, its an important part of conditioning. You need to become a killing machine, stripped to the bone and rebuilt. It worked for Jeffery Dahlmer, and he was gay. Though maybe he shouldn’t have gotten through the screening process? But he was a killing machine for sure.

Had you asked me, back when I was afraid of the whole “gay” issue, I’d have likely had problems with the notion of gay people serving. Ridiculous thoughts of, “Would they be able to throw a punch?“, or “I wouldn’t want them trying to have sex with me all the time…” would have likely been my response. But as I grew up, and got to know some normal people that happened to be gay, I realized they are just normal people with a wide range of attributes, just like everyone else.

Sure, there are gay guys I wouldn’t want by my side if I were in a brawl, but those guys wouldn’t be likely to even attempt to serve; or make it through boot camp for that matter. Those guys come in the straight variety too. I guess that’s the kicker. Why would you want to stop anyone who is willing to fight for our country, so long as they are physically and mentally able? We could use a boost in recruitment, yet we keep a sizeable segment of willing and able candidates out when they already have a proven track record of serving with distinction.

Some could argue that being gay disqualifies them mentally, as though being gay means you’re “sex crazy and retard strong“. That’s fear and bigotry talking, with rationality having taken the train a long time ago. The truth is that we have a system in our military to determine worthiness to serve. Physical and mental assessments, along with boot camp, will keep the unworthy out.
To further pacify the homophobes, we should make their sexual preference fair game in boot camp. As if it’s a choice anyway. Very few straight guys get excited about shoe shopping, and the ones who do are suspect. By all means, let them serve, but take off the politically correct “kid gloves” and abuse them like any other potential soldier. If they can make it through boot camp under those conditions, then by God they deserve to fight for our freedom. We should be so grateful that they would even consider the notion with the lack of respect they get.

One other reason that gays in the military is a problem is that it is an “out card“. However, this is an issue of bad policy. If “don’t ask don’t tell” were replaced by “serve openly if you feel like it so long as you can make it through boot camp”,(title needs work) there would no longer be the issue of invested time and money lost because a person is now openly gay or otherwise “outed“. This isn’t a gay issue alone, however it is unique to those who are gay and serve. I’m almost certain someone who was not gay has tried to use sexual orientation as an out card, like on the TV show Mash. Eliminate the “out card“, eliminate the issue.

If I were to hear a single military purpose that truly identified being gay as an issue unique to gays alone, I might change my tune. I’ve even heard that giving the green light to homosexuality will weaken our military on the issue of intimidation. I doubt it. If someone has a gun to your head, do you question their sexuality? I’m guessing that firepower is firepower when it comes down to it.

Though my opinions may seem strong on the issue, I am very open to any logical, military reasons that openly gay people should not serve. I honestly can’t find any, but if they exist I‘d like to be made aware of them so I can consider them in my ultimate opinion of the matter.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to tell me what you think.