Community | December 11, 2010 | 46 comments

Petraeus Aide: If Troops Can't Deal With DADT Repeal, They Should Leave The Service

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/marvin-hill-petraeus-aide-dadt_n_795189.html

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TimALoftis
WASHINGTON -- A senior aide to David Petraeus, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, is out with a strong statement in support of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), saying that servicemembers who can't adjust to the change should think about leaving the military.

"If there are people who cannot deal with the change, then they're going to have to do what's best for their troops and best for the organization and best for the military service and exit the military service, so that we can move forward -- if that's the way that we have to go," said Command Sergeant Major Marvin Hill in an interview with Roland Martin on Washington Watch, set to air on Sunday.

Indeed, one of the arguments put forth by many critics of repeal is that integrating the forces will result in a loss of large number of servicemembers opposed to the change.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen addressed this concern during his recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, stating, "Should repeal occur, some soldiers and Marines may want separate shower facilities. Some may ask for different berthing. Some may even quit the service. We'll deal with that."

Also in the interview with Washington Watch, Hill said that he believes "the troops are ready for something like this."

"We know that if there is a change, that that change will have to be led, and it's going to have to be led by senior leaders such as myself and -- and others across the battlefield. Senior leaders are the ones [that are] going to set the tone in the unit and enable the unit to move forward."

In March, Petraeus told Congress that he believed the time had come to repeal the military's ban on DADT. He has also said that in his personal experience of serving with openly gay and lesbian CIA officers, "after the 10 seconds of awareness wore off, the focus was on the professional attributes of these individuals."
  1. groups:
    Community,   Politics,   Gay,   Don't Ask Don't Tell
  2. tags:
    LGBT,  Gays,  DADT,  Gays In The Military
  3.     
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46 comments // Petraeus Aide: If Troops Can't Deal With DADT Repeal, They Should Leave The Service

  • donkeyfly69
  • donkeyfly69
  • MoonLoon
    • +1
      MoonLoon  

    • I am open to correction as usual, but if I remember correctly about 15%-20% of men are homosexual. I am fairly certain based on my intense research that females also are homosexual in roughly the same percentages, if not higher. I have never understood what the problem is with working, serving in the military, or having close friends that are homosexual. They are them and I am me and nothing can drive a wedge between friendship. Homosexuality is not a choice, usually, but rather a biological imperative delivered to the fetus while still in the Mother's womb. It is like hating a baby for having blue eyes or brown eyes. The baby did not chose the eye color, it was just a biological fact.

    • 1 year ago
  • hammywill
    • +1
      hammywill  
    • MoonLoon:

      Even if it is a choice, who cares? Seriously, I don't HATE my male friend because he goes out with a tall woman...I agree that it is biological, but really, let's say it were proven to NOT be biological...my question is still.."And?" What business is it of yours?

    • 1 year ago
  • MoonLoon
    • +1
      MoonLoon  
    • hammywill:

      Sorry Hammy, I am having trouble following your train of thought and agressive response. You and I have been at odds on several issues. But in this case, I thought that we were in agreement. A man or woman that stands shoulder to shoulder with me in life, deserves respect, whether heterosexual or homosexual, and I will freely give them my loyalty, without regards to their sexual orientation.

    • 1 year ago
  • hammywill
    • +1
      hammywill  
    • MoonLoon:

      We are in agreement on this issue. I was just trying to expand upon the thought. I agree that it is biological, that it is not a choice to be homosexual. I was trying to say that even WERE it a choice, this person risked ridicule, they risk being "hazed" and assaulted, by their own allies, by their fellow soldiers, yet they STILL chose to climb in the foxhole in order to defend liberty. They put themselves on the firing line with me despite the fact that the person right next to them may be a violent homophobe. Those people deserve NOTHING but respect. My point was, even WERE it a choice, they STILL deserve nothing but respect...:)..

      I'm sorry if that got lost in translation. I am behind you 100% on this issue Moon!

    • 1 year ago
  • MoonLoon
  • hammywill
  • bike10
  • XasthurNortt
  • darkmerkaba
    • -3
      darkmerkaba  

    • People are so stupid these days, you cannot run an Army the way you run a kingdom. plain and simple. the rules are completely different and the situations are completely different. to think otherwise means you have not served in the armed forces and are just following a political trend.
      let me ask you this, why are there seperate male and female showers? and tents?
      because in the military we are exposed to everyones personal business. to allow gays in the military is like saying we are permitting unisex showers similar to that of the movie Starship Troopers.
      Also, to all you people who dont know better, there is a law, an actual law, because we are not governed by the Constitution, but of the UCMJ, that any sexual act that is not missionary is illegal. you get/give a blow job, that 5 years in jail. you have her on top, that 5 years in jail.
      so now you let the gays in, and then what? they all get 5 years in jail? now amend that law simply because they are gay? what about every other straight service member who suffered under that rule because they were straight?
      thats discriminating on the straight community.

      You.
      cannot
      rule
      an
      army
      the
      same
      as
      you
      rule
      a kingdom

    • 1 year ago
  • UtopianSky
    • +2
      UtopianSky  
    • darkmerkaba:

      Well, the first line of your comment was correct- people are so stupid these days. The rest of your comment just proved that point.

      If you WERE in the military, you would know there is a shortage of people signing up. It is STUPID to exclude people who are capable of doing the job because of outdated bigotry- in other words, it is stupid to STILL be "just following a political trend" against gays when we now know it is irrational.

      And yes- you are being irrational for following that outdated political trend.

      If you were actually "exposed to everyones personal business" you would know this is not about gays being IN the military. They are already there. Yes, you shower with gay men NOW. When were you last in a group shower? How many men were there? Yep, chances are, one of them is gay. Or at least bi. Did that change your showering experience in any way? They are there for the same reason you are- to be clean.

      As far as unisex showers are concerned, if you showered with women every single day, you would eventually get used to it. You would be there for one reason- to get clean.

      It's a skill gays learned in High School.

      Chances are one of the men you trust your life to IS gay, and you just don't know it. The issue is them being able to serve openly and honestly, NOT about them being able to serve at all.

      One way this is not like the military's discrimination against blacks (which, I gather, you would have supported) is that being gay is more easily hidden.

      Are you aware that a huge number of Arabic translators were dismissed for being gay, thus diminishing our ability to gather intelligence? Do you actually think that makes SENSE?

      As far as outdated archaic rules about sexual positions, yes, they should be stricken out. There is no rational reason for such a rule for anyone. The concept that you would think that it somehow justifies your position- or that anyone would assume it should be used as a double standard against straights- just shows how irrational you are.

      You are stuck in a rut of "do it because it has always been that way" instead of actually thinking about WHY things are done, and make changes that improve the situation for everyone.

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • +4
      Saladin  

    • Change really can happen, this is pretty shocking.

      Imagine someone saying this 10 years ago, they would have been considered a left-wing extremist and been forced to resign.

      It's great to see another bigoted old system finally collapsing. It's even better to see military officials come out as the ones against it.

    • 1 year ago
  • PzLuvHappeniz
  • donkeyfly69
  • nanac
    • +1
      nanac  

    • I agree, and if you are in opposition to DADT, volunteer..If you are too old, send your love-ones..It is extremely hard to get people to volunteer to put themselves in harms way...So whoever is ready/willing/able, should be allowed to serve their Country..Put up or, shut up..

    • 1 year ago
  • corndog67
    • -1
      corndog67  

    • If you can't keep your sexuality to yourself, either gay or straight, maybe you shouldn't join the all volunteer military. You don't join to pick up sexual partners, well, most people don't. Keep it to yourself.

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • +2
      Saladin  
    • corndog67:

      That has not and never will be what this is about.

      This is about the thousands of individuals who have been discharged from service because they are gay.

      There were gays in the military before DADT and the issue was largely ignored. DADT was brought in as a compromise to an old stupid rule that gays should be kicked out.

      But it's been a complete failure, more gays have been kicked out under DADT then ever before.

    • 1 year ago
  • div
    • +2
      div  
    • corndog67:

      So folk with significant others really shouldn't join. In fact, there should be a ban against married folk from joining, especially if they have a whole family that lives with them. They clearly aren't keeping their sexuality to themselves, right?

    • 1 year ago
  • good_stuff
    • +3
      good_stuff  

    • I don't know why anyone questions the fact that soldiers will be oK with repeal. It is standard practice for soldiers not to think for themselves. They are always told what to do and how to do it. Why would anyone think this is any different?

    • 1 year ago
  • Silverstreak
    • -5
      Silverstreak  

    • Petraeus (BeTrayUs) should leave! He can't win a war in 10 years, that should be embarrassing ENOUGH! According to Kay Griggs (SHE NAMES NAMES), the wife of Marine LtCol Griiggs, Chief of Staf to Gen Gray, he names names), the weak rise to the top and push perverted behavior on the young officers. it's no wonder we're still spending TRILLIONS FOR INCOMPETENCE! Petraeus wouldn't know STRATEGY if it hit him in the face! Seems like Gen Petraeus would have a little more on his mind these days than GAYNESS.

      http://kaygriggs.blogspot.com/
      The Kay Griggs Interviews re: Top Pentagon Homos (Parts 1 thru 4)

      http://theblotch.com/wordpress/?p=986
      The Weak Effeminate Pathetic Excuse that Passes For An American Man

    • 1 year ago
  • FtheBULLSHT
  • freecrack
    • +10
      freecrack  

    • it really is just that simple.
      they tell you when to eat,sleep,and shit, so this isnt exactly a stretch.
      just grow up and move on.

    • 1 year ago
  • Aaron_Brutus
  • oppressed1
    • +2
      oppressed1  

    • A real soldier will do as he is told even if he doesnt agree. I think DADT worksm but if it ends its my duty to just shrug it off. Its not like you cant already tell who are gay.

    • 1 year ago
  • UtopianSky
    • +4
      UtopianSky  
    • oppressed1:

      BTW- you CAN'T already tell who is gay.

      Pretending to look and act straight is a survival skill we all learn very young.

      Plus, any man who would chose a life in the military would conform to THAT stereotypical "machismo" behavior a whole lot more than any other.

    • 1 year ago
  • hammywill
    • +8
      hammywill  
    • UtopianSky:

      That may be the case a majority of the time, but I served with a couple of gay men who, while they did not come out and SAY they were gay, they certainly did not hide the fact. They even wore rainbow pins on their shirts when they went off duty, and frequented gay nightclubs in the downtown area. I was honored to serve with them, and can not for the life of me fathom why this is such an issue. In fact, NO one I knew had an issue with these men.

      I almost have MORE respect for a gay/lesbian service member. These men and women enter the military KNOWING they will most likely face ARDENT homophobia. In fact, their is a constant REAL fear that they could be assaulted, yet they did not FLINCH when they signed up to serve and possibly die to defend their country. They fight foreign enemies, and they fight the DOMESTIC enemies who serve in our very military...Kudos to the Gay and Lesbian men and women in the United States Armed Forces!

    • 1 year ago
  • oppressed1
  • ozoneocean
  • CarlosIsDown
  • MoonLoon
  • UtopianSky
  • oppressed1
  • TimALoftis
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