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Senior defense officials tell NBC News that the Pentagon will announce tomorrow that both Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and all of the Joint Chiefs have certified that the military is ready to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell."
Each member of the Joint Chiefs had to submit a recommendation to Secretary Panetta, indicating that they are far enough in their training to repeal DADT, and that it will not have an impact on military readiness.
The next step is for President Obama to certify the repeal, which then begins a 60-day waiting period to implement the repeal -- before "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is officially a thing of the past.
The number of Arabic linguists discharged from the military for violating its "don't ask, don't tell" policy is higher than previously reported, according to records obtained by a research group.
The group contends the records show that the military — at a time when it and U.S. intelligence agencies don't have enough Arabic speakers — is putting its anti-gay stance ahead of national security.
Between 1998 and 2004, the military discharged 20 Arabic and six Farsi speakers, according to Department of Defense data obtained by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military under a Freedom of Information Act request.
“Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple,” he told a group of Marines at a base in South Korea. “It says, ‘Raise an army.’ It says absolutely nothing about race, color, creed, sexual orientation.
“You all joined for a reason: to serve,” he continued. “To protect our nation, right?”
“Yes, sergeant major,” Marines replied.
“How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honorable and noble?” Sgt. Maj. Barrett continued, raising his voice just a notch. “Right?”
I'll keep this one in mind when the wingnuts start ranting about how the "common soldier" doesn't approve of this. Quite frankly I'm sure that a lot of them didn't approve of integrating the military back in the day either, but the military is not run democratically.
I think there will be a multitude of sexual harrassment claims from both hetero and homosexual men and womn.
Right.
Because that's what happened in Canada and the UK and France and Australia and Israel and Germany and the dozens of other countries that allow gays to openly serve, right?
Oh, wait... that didn't happen...
It's nice to see that the United States military will be conducting itself the way those countries I listed -- progressive, first world, free allies -- conduct themselves, and not like countries that ban gays from serving openly -- like Cuba and China and North Korea and Iran and Venezuela and Libya.
You give the servicemen and the servicewomen of the United States armed forces far too little credit.
No one asks for who will get the bunk next to them, who will be riding next to them on patrol, who will be their squad leader, who will be their First Sergeant. That person could be of either gender, any race, could have been born in any country, might not even be a U.S. citizen, is who knows what religion (if any at all), or of what political beliefs. Doesn't matter. They have jobs to do and they do them.
Because that's what happened in Canada and the UK and France and Australia and Israel and Germany and the dozens of other countries that allow gays to openly serve, right?
Oh, wait... that didn't happen...
It's nice to see that the United States military will be conducting itself the way those countries I listed -- progressive, first world, free allies -- conduct themselves, and not like countries that ban gays from serving openly -- like Cuba and China and North Korea and Iran and Venezuela and Libya.
You give the servicemen and the servicewomen of the United States armed forces far too little credit.
No one asks for who will get the bunk next to them, who will be riding next to them on patrol, who will be their squad leader, who will be their First Sergeant. That person could be of either gender, any race, could have been born in any country, might not even be a U.S. citizen, is who knows what religion (if any at all), or of what political beliefs. Doesn't matter. They have jobs to do and they do them.
I will be so happy to learn that you are right. You do know that the United States is a highly litigious country?
Considering sexual assault against female servicemembers is often swept under the rug from the media, I doubt that'll happen.
That is because it was sexual assault against a mere woman. Wait until men cry rape and/or sexual harrassment.
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