In a recent Pentagon briefing, outgoing US Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway repeated his earlier statement that logistic issues like billeting would immediately be a problem should the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” be repealed.

Based on his information from Marines, he said, “I can tell you that an overwhelming majority would like not to be roomed with a person who is openly homosexual.” But because some Marines do not object, he said, perhaps having those Marines share rooms voluntarily with openly gay service members “might be the best way to start, without violating anybody’s sense of moral concern or perception on the part of their mates.”

Asked what he meant by moral concern, General Conway said, “We have some people that are very religious.” He added: “I couldn’t begin to give you a percentage, but I think in some instances we will have people that say that homosexuality is wrong, and they simply do not want to room with a person of that persuasion because it would go against their religious beliefs.”

To date, the General is the only person who has voiced concern or seemed to validate the “moral concerns” of some servicemembers.  In fact, some have advocated punishing servicemembers if they take issue with a DADT repeal.

While one article emphasized the thought that DADT is only a “passionate” issue for older generations, Conway seemed to disagree:

General Conway explained during today’s news conference, “My own surveys indicate that it’s not age-dependent, it’s not rank-dependent, it’s not where you are from, it’s … pretty uniformly not endorsed as the ideal way ahead, but I just think all those things have impact on the Marines, and we’d just as soon not see it [the law] changed.”

The General’s comments have reignited a similar vein of questioning:

If the military will not allow an 18 year old heterosexual male to billet two-to-a-room with an 18 year old heterosexual female — for what are obvious reasons — why is there no issue with putting an 18 year old homosexual in a room with a person of the same gender?