I have written in length about how the US military decision to quickly expand the army will make meeting recruiting goals difficult in the year ahead.  I have also written about the military’s attempt to measure enthusiasm in order to target new recruits.  However, I never expected this from the US military in order to target a new pool of recruits:

Now that the U.S. Army is over its ill-advised “Army of One” campaign, perhaps it’s time to switch to an “Army of Three.”

After all, it takes three people to swing both ways. I refer to the U.S. Army Reserve’s unfathomable decision to advertise on MTV’s sleaze fest, “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila.”

The show’s premise, if you can call it that, is MySpace.com celebrity Tila selecting a “love” partner from 16 men and 16 women contestants. The first episode, Oct. 9, was predictably full of skin, booze and sexual references, and promises of more to come. It was rerun all week, even in the afternoon, when younger kids are likelier to watch.

Most of the advertisers are movie companies and MTV’s own programs. But amid the voyeuristic fare pops up a taxpayer-funded pitch from the U.S. Army Reserve touting “a Different Kind of Strength” and being “Army Strong.”

Keep in mind that the law Congress enacted in 1993 bars homosexuals in the military, period. And the Clinton-era policy watering down that law, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” still bars open homosexuality. So why is the Army advertising on a program that promotes lesbianism and also takes shots at male “homophobia?” How does that fit into “Army Tough?” [Robert Knight - Washington Post]

The Army claims it is a mistake because they bought a package deal with an advertising company that filled the MTV spot with the commercial without their knowledge.  I have to wonder about that explanation, but at least the Washington Post article accurately conveyed that the ban on homosexuals in the military was enacted by Congress not the military.  Every time I hear someone say that the military is anti-gay I have to chuckle because the ban on gays is not a policy of the military but a policy established by the US Congress.

Anyway the next time you hear someone say the US military is anti-gay tell them to watch A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and be Army Strong.

HT: Milblogs