One message was loud and clear from yesterday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law: Secretary of Defense Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mullen care very little about what our combat troops think about the repeal of the law or its immediate harm to our national defense.
The actual survey numbers of the Pentagon study show that allowing gays to openly serve in the military would be a national security disaster. According to the survey and study, titled “Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (Report):
- Nearly 60% of those in the Marine and Army combat units thought repealing the DADT law would harm their unit’s ability to fight on the battlefield.
- Up to a half-million service members may not reenlist should the ban be repealed (A disaster for our all–volunteer army that would require re-institution of the Draft).
- 91% would reject homosexual leaders.
- 71% would not share showers with homosexuals.
Senator John McCain spoke out on behalf of our combat service members. He continued his strong opposition to repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, and questioned Gates and Mullen on why they were not paying more attention to the negative impact a repeal of DADT would have on our combat troops.
Three Reasons Not to Repeal DADT
Senior Military Leaders are Opposed to Repeal
Earlier in the year, both the Commandant of the Marine Corps General James T. Conway and the incoming Commandant, General James Amos, informed the Senate Armed Services Committee that their best military advice was to keep the ban in place. Army Chief of Staff, General George W. Casey, told the Senate Committee that he had serious concerns about the impact of the repeal on a force engaged in two wars.
It is important to note that Gates and Mullen have muzzled other combat commanders from publicly expressing their opinion opposing repeal of the ban. Both Gates and Mullen publicly reprimanded three-star General Benjamin Mixon, Commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, for publicly expressing his objection to repeal.
To overcome these constraints on active duty senior officers to honestly express their opinion, 1,167 retired flag and general officers, 51 of them former four stars, signed an open letter to President Obama and Congress expressing great concern about the impact that a repeal would have on morale, discipline, unit cohesion and overall military readiness.
Health Risks are Perilous
AIDS would increase in the military once homosexuals were openly admitted into the military and restraints on their sexual behavior are removed. Heterosexual service members would be more likely to contract AIDS through injuries and battlefield transfusions. Drug abuse and suicides would increase as well, resulting in a dramatic increase in medical care costs. Ironically, the repeal would come at a time when Secretary Gates is seeking to cut and contain health costs in military.
A Radical anti-Christian Policy
To go along with repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, the Department of Defense recommended elimination of longstanding military laws prohibiting consensual sodomy and adultery.
An overwhelming majority of America’s Armed Forces are Christian. Yet the Report brushed aside the religious and moral objections to homosexuality by service members. Admitting that a large number of military chaplains believe that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination, and are required by God to condemn it as such, the Report argues that their objections can be overcome by education and training (brainwashing?).