“Successful implementation will depend upon strong leadership, a clear message and proactive education throughout the force. With a continued and sustained commitment to core values of leadership, professionalism and respect for all, I am convinced that the U.S. military can successfully accommodate and implement this change (repeal of DADT), as it has others in history.”Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Aye, Aye Sir !
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7 comments:
And where shall we look to find:
1. Strong leadership
2. Clear messages
3. Proactive education
I'm just curious. I am all for gays, lesbians and transgenders in the military. Perhaps they will bring 1-3 with them, because I don't see much of it in my unit.
Some things to note on repeal of DADT:
1. The current comments and predictions in the handful of Navy blogs I've checked (The Stupid Shall Be Punished; USNI; Cdr Sal; SailorBob) are very muted, certainly compared against previous discussions both on the topic and hijacked to it. This suggests that repeal was pretty well anticipated and worked out mentally well before this time, here and in the military in general.
2. Predictions of possible bad effects seem mostly based on what individuals might do to take advantage of being gay rather than of any direct effect.
3. Those whose gaydar proved correct and found they were in fact serving with a gay shipmate express easy acceptance of someone who 'thinks different.'
So I'm a lot more optimistic than Gates' cautious statement and the first commenter's comment. I say this ain't no big deal:
A. A gay shipmate will be judged the same way crews have always judged individuals, on his or her willingness to do the job well and his or her acceptance of the cultural norms in the ranks (which traditionally included giving everyone a hard time - this just expands the list of topics).
B. Straight sailors who have known or suspected gay crewmembers will be breathing easier now that one of their shipmates is no longer at risk of being hauled away for what is legal and largely accepted everywhere else in society.
C. We're going to see some really sharp people serving now move to much higher levels of leadership and professionalism now that who they do what to and what gender they prefer are no longer matters of official interest.
Best post-repeal comment I've found: "I tend to agree with those who think DADT is not going to be a big deal. I am almost certain most of us, even if you have an old SPS-10 version of gaydar know you've served with gay personnel." Amen. BFD. Get back to work.
The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, released the following statement following the vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell":
"I am pleased the Congress voted to repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" statute (section 654 of title 10, United States Code).
"This Senate action does not immediately change the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
"If the President signs the provision into law, there are still a series of steps that will take place before Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed.
"First, the Department of Defense will prepare the necessary policies and regulations to implement the change. We will also ensure that the force is provided training on the new policies.
"Second, the President, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must certify that the change can be made consistent with military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention.
"Finally, there is a 60-day period following certification before repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell takes effect.
"As we move forward our Navy's superb leaders, both officer and enlisted, will be key to a successful transition to the new policy. Navy leadership will continue to keep all informed.
"The United States Navy will remain the world's most ready, capable and professional Navy where all our shipmates will continue to be treated with dignity and respect."
Hopefully, in the lull between now and full implementation, they'll publicize how they intend to handle the questions I've seen most often discussed around the scuttlebutt and those are: does this apply to transgender? If so, what's the plan for berthing? If a gay Sailor goes somewhere (pick and state that it's legal in today) and gets married but is stationed somewhere that doesn't recognize gay marriage, what does the base/commands do about housing, medical, and all other dependent support? Civil unions? Are the services going to have to treat them the same as marriage and again, what about the bases in states that don't have civil union laws. etc.... None are insurmountable, but wow, I sure hope there is an plan. But going back to the first post, I expect not.
Rubber Ducky, while too do not expect any issues on the job side of the equation, We all served/have served with someone that was likely gay and it has never been an issue. I don't expect that to change. However, there are significant issues that have to ironed out to keep the good ship Navy and all other services from stepping in it as we move forward.
And this is just an opinion, speaking about the Navy in particular, our strong-suit is coming up with big general ideas. Our weak-suit is actually implementing those ideas.
R/
Senior
How can Gates and Mullin have testified how wonderful it would be to get rid of DADT, yet they need 60 days to figure it out. Shouldn't they have done that before they testified?
Weak, politically motivated leadership.
Where decisions are driven from the top, down, intelligent people will believe (and rationalize to themselves) what they are told to believe. You've just been told.
My concerns about the repeal of DADT have never been about morality but more of a logistics and EO problem. Currently we have separate berthing and heads. The question is why? Is it an issue of privacy, one sex not being comfortable being berthed with another, or is it due to the belief that having co-ed berthing would be detrimental to good order (i.e. shacking up). Now we throw the homosexual variable in the mix. If it's a privacy issue shouldn’t the heterosexual male be provided the same privacy as we provide to females / males today? If it's a good order and discipline issue can't the same case be made when homosexuals are berthed together? What will happen when we see the first class-action lawsuit claiming inequality in treatment coming from the other direction?
v/r
SC
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