'Bring back DADT' post: Personal update. See below

SGT Christopher Mackison we celebrate annually all types of events, so are you suggesting "the time for celebration is over" for Asian/Pacific Islander, Black History, Women's rights, Month of the Military Child, Hispanic Culture, etc...? Surely as an NCO in the US Army you support diversity and your unit's EEO? Surely you foster a culture that is free from SHARP incidents? Perhaps I'm just misinterpreting your statement...

I do believe you misunderstood my statement. What I was trying to say really is that it's time to move on from this, and onto other things that need to be done. I'm all for diversity, and strongly support it.

If my wife gets into a car accident, and the hospital or the cops call me, I can get off work in a flash, just by telling my supervisor. What does a male with a boyfriend do in that case? What does a female with a girlfriend do in that case?

PO1 Jacob Dronzin
I won't say I felt comfortable being in the same shower area with any of several individuals that I showered with. One in particular was the hairiest, nastiest smelling SOB that existed on the planet - bar none. Another individual I hated showering with - much less standing in the same chow line with was a hyper-religious proselytizing know-it-all that just flat out irritated the living daylights out of me just knowing I had to let the ass continue to live. Another one that really pissed me off was the guy who continually sang (waaaaayy off key) psalms and various religious hymns and couldn't start off on the correct key, much less sing with the right words - plus he was the worst darn maintenance tech onboard - I was continually forced to have him re-do even the simplest tasks. Then there was the JA who simply couldn't remember to make his bunk every day.....and I got chewed out daily for his "forgetfulness". Oh yeah...then there was the guy I wasn't sure, but probably was gay, but I never had any trouble from him. He was always on time, did his work properly, looked good in uniform, never bitched or complained (well maybe, but not as much as the others previously mentioned). Personally, I would have rather pitched the hyper-religious freak overboard - I would have called "man-overboard".....two days later.

Trust me - there were things you did or didn't do that just irritated somebody all the way to the far bulkhead.

Well stated PO1 (Join to see) and directly to the point. Someone's sexual preference should have no bearing, hence why DADT was repealed. DoD isn't condoning any type of sexual behavior, the repeal just stops them from being punished because of it.

Well, what can I say, great inputs. As I said before, I have my view. I'm sharing it. I agree with some and disagree with others. I pledge not to down vote anyone unless of course you become straight up abusive, and I haven't witnessed that yet.

Ultimately our creator judges us one day I believe. I created this post due to witnessing way too much questionable behavior in my opinion and hope the military and the country overall will not divide as a result as it did during Vietnam era for different reasons, of course. Again I have my views and appreciate your perspective on those views. You all been great!

Would you feel weird having to cuddle with a gay woman for heat? Would it be less awkward if you were showering with a gay woman? I get it, you don't like the openess of it all and apparently that they get the same benefits that a man and woman, whom are married get. I bet if you ask a gay man or woman serving, they wanted to be able to put up a picture of their loved one or to not have to wait till the car to get a hug and a kiss at a redeployment ceremony. They simply wanted the same thing you have had for the last ten years with your wife.

1LT McCarthy - as I've been pointing out, there are both genetic and epigenetic data supporting heridibility of same sex preferences. As for your twin studies, this could easily be explained by minor variations in the x-chomosome among twins or due to post conception, epigenetic modifications in one zygote vs the other.

I appreciate your insight SrA William Diamond and thank you for educating the rest of us on some true history.

Back before DADT I was stationed at the Pentagon (before woman could ride ships) and privy to message traffic classified and unclassified. There was a time that a west coast based carrier group went out on a Westpac cruise. Before the battle group was out a week or so, someone began performing sex acts on sleeping sailors yes tight space but it was official message traffic. Sailors started sleeping with clubs and/or knives and started to look at each other wondering who it might be. Discipline quickly deteriorated to the point that the mission could not be accomplished so the entire battle group was ordered back to port. Without an air craft carrier there really is no point in the rest of the battle group going anywhere. The Navy had to reassign almost everyone on the ship. Granted this was during a much less accepting time for alternate life styles in the military but still cost the taxpayers millions of dollars.

1LT Shawn McCarthy I’m sorry you feel the way you do, but I sleep soundly knowing that my wife is taken care of, I don’t have to lie to superiors when asked about my life at home (spouse, kids, hobbies, etc), and I can kiss my wife during a promotion ceremony. EVERY service member deserves equality, simple as that.

Also, I absolutely love being accompanied by my wife to Army/holiday balls. I’m a dedicated, outstanding, and law-abiding Soldier. Your personal feelings, driven by your beliefs, don’t have a place regarding this matter.

It isn't just about "talking about ones' sexual preference", Senior Master Sergeant. If I'm working for you, and my wife gets in a car accident, and my buddy, who happens to be gay, has a boyfriend who gets in a car accident, which of us gets to get off work to go to the emergency room? That's just one of a whole HOST of issues.

Hmm, good question. I notice you didn't ask about your girlfriend getting into a car accident but compared your wife to your buddy's friend. Technically speaking, it's an apples to oranges comparison.

SMSgt, Actually, No it isn't. during the time of DADT, it was illegal for gay unions to be recognized by the military. and for most of its tenure, it was illegal in the country. by its very existence it imposed a disparate world of inequality in the military. A service member could NOT state that his or her same sex partner was in a vehicular accident and needed to go to the ER.

And you know what, before I married my wife she'd had an accident at work and busted some ribs, and I was allowed to get off work early to go see her in the hospital, so that blows your spurious argument right out of the water.

But that's okay, I see you avoided my question anyway.

I prefer the phrase "gone down the rabbit hole." And that's what happened here. Actually, I had scrolled some other topics, just the other day, and was amazed at how brutal some of the commentary was!

Look at this way to, Lindsay: military is NOTORIOUS for herd mentality. When a member's trustworthy source says something, he or she goes into zombie surge without realizing, and free-thinking is out the door. And as we have witnessed, no different in this public, seemingly hands-down forum. But it's OK, hope we learned a thing or 2 here. I know I did. About people's personal vs. herd reactions. Nice pic by the way ;-)

Well, yes. And the irony of being a freethinker and enlisting as a member of the military "herd" has never escaped me. To put it bluntly, the military is the ultimate of uniformity in thought and action, or at least that is the perception. In theory, sounds about right, but...(and thanks)

SGT (Join to see), another great Einstein quote.

I admit, I underestimated the impact of the post and how I phrased it. I also admit that prior to repeal I had more respect for gay service members who truly kept it to themselves than straight trash talkers, and I knew there was something wrong with the stigma of getting separated just by opening one's mouth and confessing.

I was frowning at first when increasing number of public celebrations started to emerge to the point of near-outrage. DADT from what I saw had good intentions and it worked somewhat. It lasted over a decade for God's sake, so something about it had to be right.

And again, though I may not fully understand that side completely, I don't think it should be a reason for dismissal, but furthermore I still do not want to hear about your intimate encounters, gay or straight. Mission first!

Sexual relationships shouldn't be discussed, agreed. But there should be nothing wrong with talking about relationships in general while at work; after all, one's leadership should know how you're getting along at home, so they understand how your work can/will be affected.

I'm with you on your intent, PO1 Dronzin. :-)

Great, I guess we'll wait and see how it will work out in a long run. And I'm sure our leadership is monitoring the situation closely. I don't particularly anticipate major repercussions after repeal, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see, and trust our leadership to make well thought-out decisions on this matter