By I actually like this policy because in my opinion many people say they are gay in order to get out of the military. With a one star general approving all discharges now it will be tougher to be discharged this route:
Discharging a gay person for violating the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will draw unprecedented scrutiny under new orders from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is already pushing to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military.
Guidelines to be announced Thursday call for testimony from third parties to be given under oath. The discharge of enlisted personnel must be approved by officers who hold a rank equivalent to a one-star general or above, according to military and defense officials familiar with the plan. They spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.
The goal is to ensure that the law is applied fairly and consistently across the military and that flimsy testimony from third parties is eliminated, the officials said. The plan is considered a stopgap measure until Congress decides whether to repeal the 1993 law.
To get discharged now someone would have to be a flaming gay activist wanting to be discharged. There is no witch hunt going on in the military to kick out gays despite the media and political claims there is. This new policy will make it harder to claim there is a witch hunt now. However, I do know people who do have a witch hunt out against them:
President Barack Obama has said the ban unfairly punishes gays and has called on Congress to lift it. Gates agrees but says he wants to move slowly and has ordered an internal assessment, due Dec. 1, on how the Defense Department could lift the ban without damaging morale or hurting recruitment. [Associated Press]
But, Mr. President when is the policy that unfairly punishes obese people going to reviewed by Congress and have a Pentagon assessment? I have never been in a unit that had a gay soldier discharged. I have seen non-gay soldiers try to get discharged this way and fail. However, where I have seen good soldiers discharged is for being overweight. I have seen guys score high on the physical fitness test and still get discharged for being overweight. This is an area where soldiers in my opinion are getting a much more raw deal than gays.
4:52 pm on March 25th, 2010 1
CPL Klinger said to be inconsolable.
5:03 pm on March 25th, 2010 2
"The discharge of enlisted personnel must be approved by officers who hold a rank equivalent to a one-star general or above"
If I understand this correctly, generals are going to be busy…
"Sir, we have another stack of discharge requests for you to sign."
"Read 'em off."
"Let's see. There is one here who plans to sleep with the barracks ho this Friday night after curfew. A guy plans to rub one off on Wednesday night as soon as he gets home from work. One wants to to sleep with his wife. The usual stuff."
"O.K. Bring 'em over. I'll sign."
"Uh, sir, and one other thing. There was a guy who got touched under the table by a juicy and, uh… well, sir, uh… his discharge was not approved."
"What! Court-martial that criminal NOW!"
6:36 pm on March 25th, 2010 3
Kick ass spam! You turd ball.
6:40 pm on March 25th, 2010 4
Since you like spam so much, govedo.seo@gmail.com – prepare yourself. I'm going to square you away.
9:23 pm on March 25th, 2010 5
There was one general, if he were still serving, who would be more than ready to sign off on the discharge of anyone suspected of being gay.
While it didn't get much attention in the US media, but got a lot of notice in Europe and elsewhere, former NATO commander, retired Gen. John Sheehan said at a Senate hearing that the <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/general+blames+Dutch+soldiers+killings/2705632/story.html" rel="nofollow">Netherlands had weakened its military but allowing gays to serve openly.
I don't know what kind of mandate or rules of engagement they were under, but I presume they were more likely there to be a security presence rather than a security force; much like Marine Corps detachments at U.S. Embassys. As a Marine, would Gen. Sheehan accept any criticism of the Marines allowing the overrun of the U.S. Emabssy in Iran?
I am now awaiting some general to come forward and proclaim that the Israelis have weakened their military by allowing gays to serve openly.
9:26 pm on March 25th, 2010 6
correction: 'but allowing' -> 'by allowing'
10:27 pm on March 25th, 2010 7
I sent it to the spam que.
10:31 pm on March 25th, 2010 8
I don't know what General Sheehan was talking about because the problems with the Dutch military is more of a overall cultural issue than a gay problem.