Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue: A Compromise That Works

Lately, the debate over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue has been heating up— letters from retired generals on both sides of the issue have been printed in national newspapers, and Defense Secretary Gates has been questioned regarding it. To the joy of the policy’s opposition, President Obama appears ready and willing to fulfill a campaign promise to overturn it.

This issue is of particular interest to me, both as a former college student and current member of the Army National Guard. I first became interested in the issue because of a forum at my university, but it was my experience in the National Guard that really formed the basis for my opinion on the matter.

Regarding my military service, we had a homosexual in one of my old units, and it was widely known that he was gay. Most of us in the unit were against gay marriage and not fans of the gay lifestyle - but you wouldn’t have known it from the way we treated him. For example, one of the least pro-gay guys in the unit had to be in a tent with the gay soldier, and he bought a Playboy magazine and taped it above the guy’s bed as a joke. According to the gay soldier, all parties had a good laugh. Also, when he decided not to re-sign his contract, almost everyone in the unit practically begged him to come back.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a good policy because it is designed to keep relationships and assaults to a minimum so the mission will be complete, no matter when or where the mission. We separate males and females in barracks because of the threat relationships pose to unit cohesiveness — where would we put gay people?

Many civilians misunderstand Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The policy has very stringent guidelines designed to protect soldiers. For example, a soldier may go to a gay bar and participate in gay parades on his or her private time. The policy also prevents unit harassment by soldiers against those accused of being gay, and the policy can only be enforced by company commanders- all of which means there is a lot more protection for homosexuals than the gay activists would want to hear about in the military.

In short, the military thrives on its ability to have a single mission and a single mind. To get rid of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would compromise the military’s mission to protect this country, but not for the reasons many on the left think.