The Military is in the process of putting all American Soldiers through training in anticipation of the Governments repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The repeal will allow openly gay people to serve in the Military.
I just learned this week that the Government is telling soldiers that they no longer have freedom of speech if they disagree with gays in the military, or even if they disagree with homosexuality in general.
Specifically, just this week in one of these “gay trainings” here in Texas, an Army JAG officer instructed the room full of soldiers that they will not be allowed to personally express any opinions against homosexuality or gays in the military unless they are in a religious service that has been announced in advance so that people can decide whether or not to attend the service. There will apparently be no more sitting at the chow hall and chatting with a buddy about each others personal opinions about this important topic because it might offend someone who passes by and hears you. You can fight for freedom of speech as a soldier but apparently you will no longer be allowed have freedom of speech as a soldier. There is something very wrong when soldiers who fight for freedom of speech will have their freedom of speech restricted. Soldiers of course have to have some speech restricted obviously when it comes to revealing sensitive of classified information, but they have always still been able to have their own personal freedom of speech when talking to fellow soldiers. Until Now I suppose.
Few soldiers have come out and said anything publicly about their displeasure with the repeal because, well, what soldier wants to openly disagree with the authority in charge and risk getting in trouble or looked down upon? I can tell you that, as a soldier, most of the fellow soldiers I have talked to are strongly against the repeal and many are not re-enlisting, not to mention the majority of combat troops who said they disagree with the repeal in the survey that the military did. I will write a separate article in the future about the problems that I believe the repeal will cause and the problems that I have already seen as a soldier in the military. For now, I am very worried that we soldiers will no longer have freedom of speech in the gay debate and I am worried that this is the just beginning of what is to come. My word, it was only last month that the Navy was going to allow gay marriages on military bases even though federal law does not recognize gay marriage!
I am in the military, I love the military, and I am serving faithfully fulfilling my duties in the military even though I disagree with this repeal. I fear though that politics might be starting to chip away at the very foundation of what has made the military great and so I must express my personal opinion on the issue. That strong foundation of the military is being threatened by political correctness. This article is my own personal opinion and does NOT represent any official opinion of the Army, nor does it reveal any sensitive or classified information. I simply am exercising my freedom of speech by expressing my fear that the military as we know it might be forever changed now that the door to political correctness is going to be swung wide open.
CLARIFICATION:
Part of the repeal of don’t ask don't tell is that the military must first see if there are going to be any problems as a result of the repeal. That requires soldiers having the freedom to say whether or not the repeal will cause problems for them of their unit. At the same time the government is saying that soldiers can’t speak out against homosexuality.... see the problem. The government says they want to hear from us but then at the same time they are telling us that we cannot say anything so when they do their report they will say that no soldiers are objecting to the repeal. I am not in favor of soldiers causing problems by going around just saying anything they want to other soldiers. But in this situation they want us to talk about the problems with gays in the military and at the same time they are telling us we cannot tell anyone about our personal opinions of gays in the military...
I certainly am not advocating for a majority rule in the military where we soldiers can tell the military what we want or don't want. I like the discipline and I like the structure and rank and the commanders calling the shots. That is what has made the military run effectively and efficiently. So please do not misunderstand what I am saying. I want the military to be run by the commanders.... In this repeal the commanders are getting pushed into doing something that they do not even want. The head of the Marines openly says this will hurt the military. So I am not advocating for the military to be run by us soldiers, to the contrary, I am advocating for the military to be run by the commanders and not by the minority who want to express their gayness or a judge who strikes down don't ask don't tell. The military is about uniformity and unit cohesion and having to take a shower with a guy who likes you is all about politics and not about what is best for the military. Gay people can serve in the military but they shouldn't tell the other soldiers they are gay because it would hurt unit cohesion and cause problems on the battlefield. Men and women have to shower in different bathrooms in the military because there would be problems if they didn't. How can you say there will be no problems with making gay guys and straight guys shower together. There will be problems.
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