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major_clangerI'm very pleased to see that President Obama has done the decent and right thing and pledged to end the ban on gays serving openly in the US military.
For the first half of my service in the RAF it was illegal to be gay. Suspected homosexuals were investigated by the RAF Police (a degrading process for all involved, as well as a gross waste of time and effort) and summarily discharged if found out. The policy was not only offensive but was counter-productive on a range of levels, not least in terms of inducing gay service personnel into the worst behaviour possible in anyone with a security clearance - hiding an aspect of one's life.
Then a combination of Labour winning power and an ECHR ruling brought not just the end of the ban but an enforced positive duty on the chain of command to foster tolerance and tackle discrimination. And, the military being comprised largely of people trained to do as they are told, it worked. I served alongside openly gay personnel, including fairly senior officers, and in a step unthinkable fifteen years ago the MOD sponsored personnel in uniform to take part in Gay Pride.
The US Armed Forces like to think that they are the best in the world. So presumably if the Limeys can make this work, so can they. I just hope it's not spun out or done via half-measures; the British experience is that a quick about-turn - pardon the pun - is the way to make it work.
For the first half of my service in the RAF it was illegal to be gay. Suspected homosexuals were investigated by the RAF Police (a degrading process for all involved, as well as a gross waste of time and effort) and summarily discharged if found out. The policy was not only offensive but was counter-productive on a range of levels, not least in terms of inducing gay service personnel into the worst behaviour possible in anyone with a security clearance - hiding an aspect of one's life.
Then a combination of Labour winning power and an ECHR ruling brought not just the end of the ban but an enforced positive duty on the chain of command to foster tolerance and tackle discrimination. And, the military being comprised largely of people trained to do as they are told, it worked. I served alongside openly gay personnel, including fairly senior officers, and in a step unthinkable fifteen years ago the MOD sponsored personnel in uniform to take part in Gay Pride.
The US Armed Forces like to think that they are the best in the world. So presumably if the Limeys can make this work, so can they. I just hope it's not spun out or done via half-measures; the British experience is that a quick about-turn - pardon the pun - is the way to make it work.
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Date: 2009-10-11 08:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2009-10-11 12:54 pm (UTC)Whether by pushing Congress on the matter, or by executive order halting such discharges "indefinitely": I'm not giving points for reiterating a campaign promise while the military continues to discharge competent gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers.