Military: How do YOU feel about gays in the military? I am asking those who have military experience.?

Question

At a recent gathering of members of the gay community, Hillary Clinton told them that she does NOT agree with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that was implimented during her husband's administration. She said that if she became President gays would be able to join the military without hiding the truth of their sexual orientation. To quote:

"This policy doesn't just hurt gays and lesbians, it hurts all our troops and this to me is a matter of national security and we're going to fix it,"

What experience is she speaking from? How much time has she spent in the trenches or onboard a battleship in close quarters? I find that the people who speak as she does have never done any time in the military and have no clue how it may or may not affect the soldiers and sailors.

So if you are current or past military, please voice YOUR feelings.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/3/5/151004.shtml?s=ic

Thank you for all the answers so far. I feel I have recieved some real opinions for once, not the spouting of a person with no experience in the military. I have grown so tired of that type of vote pandering (along with the plain crap) on TV today that I cancelled my cable. Those in the military I have spoken to personally were not pro "open sexuality" (my term).

Answer 1

Hillary needs to shut her damn mouth. They have accepted the don't ask don't tell and she needs to leave her lesbian agenda where it is. I am sick to death of the gay ***** and her agenda and her quest to destroy the military which she loathes.
USAF Veteran

Answer 2

Hillary Clinton doesn't have any military experience that I know of. So, how can she say if the don't ask don't tell policy hurts our troops or not? She doesn't support our military so how can she say if this policy effects national security?

As for gays in the military...I am a retired Marine Corps Gunny. I won't push my religious beliefs down your throat. You don't push your sexual preference down mine. I don't care if your male, female, gay, straight, white, black, red or yellow. If there is a job to be done you better be GET ER DONE or we're going to have problems.

As for segregate them into their own units...NO. We did that with blacks during the Civil War and orientals in WWII. Are we turning back the clock?

Answer 3

As usual, The ***** (yes, she has achieved proper noun status, she is THE *****) is dead wrong. Here are some real-world examples of just how bad gays in the military are, not just for the military but for the gay community:

(1) An Army soldier at a Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri admitted his homosexual orientation to a fellow squad member while they were undergoing specialty training. The next morning the soldier was found in his bunk, badly beaten, after he didn't report for morning muster. His injuries were so severe that he was medically discharged. No charges were brought -- investigators believe most of the individuals in the barracks were involved in the beating, but since they could not produce any proof this guy's attackers go unpunished to this day.

(2) A female airman assigned to Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, who was a stellar performer and had been awarded the Airman's Medal for extraordinary bravery when she rescued a woman and her child from a burning building, was discharged involuntarily for homosexual conduct. Why? None of the NCOs in her unit wanted to supervise her and many of the airmen didn't want to work with her because her openness about her sexuality (e.g., looking at magazines with female models and saying "Yeah, I'd do her) made the other members of the unit uncomfortable. There was no evidence that she had ever made advances toward any members of the unit, but the mere fact that they knew she was a lesbian made them uncomfortable to even be around her.

I could go on and on, but the point is this: You can't understand the military unless you're IN the military. We have to be able to trust the person standing next to us with our lives, and as such we have to be able to perform the mission under the toughest of conditions. As professionals, we have to be able to put our differences aside and work together. We've seen time and time again that homosexuality is one obstacle that cannot be overcome, and the safety of the American public (not to mention the safety of our troops) is more important than allowing people of a certain sexual orientation to take part in an all-volunteer force. That needs to be stressed above all else -- our military is an all-volunteer force, and as such the military should be allowed to place any rules or restrictions on service as necessary to ensure proper mission accomplishment, good order, discipline, and morale (Example #2 shows you how homosexuals in the military can harm morale).

Answer 4

I am in the Army and i am currently on my 3rd tour in Iraq... The guys and I have had this conversation before and I consider myself left-wing...

It's a great IDEA, equality and all that... but it would NEVER work. In the Army you rely to much on trust and closeness, public showers, close quarters living and all that stuff. If you cant trust the guy on your left and right 110%, then you cant bee 100% mission ready. If you dont know if this guy might think you're attractive, and you have to go shower in the same room with them, no matter how open minded you are, that is not a comfortable situation. I'm a fan of the dont ask dont tell policy because a homosexual can do anything i can do physically and mentally. As long as i dont know that you're gay i can trust you in close situations like that. It sounds very biggotry-ish, but it's not. Most people dont rely so much on trust in the workplace so it's not a big deal. In the army it's everything.

If they were allowed to be openly gay, than the shouldn't be allowed to do combat arms, just like women aren't allowed to.. I'm not saying they CANT do it, i know gays and women that are 10 times faster, stronger and smarter than me. I'm saying that all it takes is one biggot soldier in an Infantry company (in reality it would proabably be more like 75% of them) to make that Soldier's life hell. Racsism used to be a huge issue, but it's not anymore, and maybe in 20 years it'll be the same with gays and lesbians, but for now, for the most part, straight people aren't comfortable with that kinda of closeness with a homosexual... it may not be RIGHT, but it's the way it is.

Answer 5

Gays are already in the military. All this bulls**t about them hanging around showers, hitting on other soldiers, etc., is just an excuse. If a person is prone to that sort of crap, then they're going to do it anyway -- regardless of the current rules concerning gays in the military.

The truth of the matter is that the gay soldiers will continue to hook up with other gay soldiers the same way heterosexual male and female soldiers will continue to hook up with opposite sex soldiers. It's been that way for years and it will continue to be that way.

Answer 6

The military live in close quarters and while I do have some reservation about females on fighting ships, flying combat aircraft, I have more issue with gays in the military.

There is no co-ed showers but if someone is suspected as being gay and lingering around the showers watching others, could be trouble for them. The only difference between them and heterosexuals is sexual preference and I don't like the idea of being " checked out" in the shower cause someone "likes same sex" partners.

Answer 7

Personally, I don't want to know. The other guys in my outfit depended on me just like I depended on them.
A group of men who have been in combat together form a special kind of bond. Some of those guys may have been gay, I don't know. I didn't ask and they never said. That is the way it should be. We took care of each other's back and that was that.
Shrilliary should jolly well keep her ugly face out of it. She doesn't know squat about anything military anyway.

Answer 8

Well, I served for ten years. I worked closely with gay men, though their numbers were very small. I never had a problem with their service nor did anyone else who had to work with them. These gentlemen did their jobs, did them very well indeed, and earned promotions and took on additional responsibilities regularly. In all those years, I only saw one gay removed from the service, and that was during basic training and at his request...he turned out to have a physical disability that made it exceptionally difficult to keep up with the rest of us. His disability had nothing to do with his sexual orientation, but admitting his orientation openly made it possible for him to get out quickly and smoothly. He kept in touch with a couple of us, and actually became a county sheriff later...

Answer 9

My boyfriend is on active duty in the military and he has no issues about gay people serving in the military along side of him. When our people are out there fighting in the trenches, I doubt any of the gay folks are thinking about hitting on one of the other troops. And I'm always amazed by comments such as, "I don't want another guy checking me out in the shower"- we have some big-headed guys on here who think that gay men could not possibly resist their hotness... Seriously now, reality check.

Answer 10

Well, I know when i was in the USAF, I would not have wanted a gay roommate.

There is no difference putting a gay man in a room with a straight man, than if you put a straight man and a straight women in the same room.

And you hear no one saying we should billet men and women in the same rooms.

As to Hillary Clinton, shes just pandering for the gay vote.

Answer 11

Tell you the truth if I was on a boat, or in a fox hole and I was dying I would gladly take the help from a gay man or woman. Just like life it really doesn't matter to me either way.