The Journal of Faith and War reprints a well-written commentary on the repeal of the policy most commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the US military.  Written by retired Cols Al Shine* and Don Snider, “The Right to be Wrong” forwards a simple premise:  If homosexuality is to be permitted in the military, the military must have a decidedly — and explicitly — neutral stance between both opposing ideologies: 

In our opinion, to uphold the Constitution, to maintain good order and discipline, to treat all fairly and to avoid becoming a battleground for society’s culture wars, the services must take a decidedly neutral stance between the two groups; they must implement the policy in a way that respects and supports the moral views of both camps…

We are left with a situation in which two groups each consider the other to be wrong in its beliefs. We profess that the U.S. military must say to both groups: Judge duty-related performance; don’t go out of your way to raise issues of conflict; but at the same time protect the freedom of conscience of both groups. Get along and “soldier on” even through your disagreements. Indeed, each of you are to protect the other’s right to be wrong.

The authors argue the “message…must be clear” for both groups:

The message coming through training and the chain of command must be clear: Homosexual soldiers will be treated with dignity and respect. They will be evaluated based on the performance of their military duties irrespective of their sexual orientation.

Concurrently, those who believe homosexuality is wrong are not silenced; they are free to hold, express and discuss those beliefs in appropriate settings and without personally demeaning other soldiers. They, too, will be treated with dignity and respect and evaluated on the performance of their military duties irrespective of their views relating to homosexuality. This is how a military serves a pluralistic democracy.

Some would argue the push by Chaplains last year to have explicit protections put into policy for those who are morally opposed to homosexuality would have resulted in that explicit guidance.  To date, the military and its civilian leadership have demurred, saying only that religious freedoms are the same they have always been — troops just need to be “respectful.”

*Col Shine was a career infantryman.  His brother, Lt Jonathan Shine, was an infantry officer and Airborne Ranger who was killed in combat in Vietnam.  His other brother, Lt Col Anthony Shine, was an Air Force fighter pilot whose A-7 went missing in 1972.  His remains were repatriated in 1995.

The Anthony Shine Award, sponsored by the Shine family, is a Chief of Staff of the Air Force level award presented annually to an “outstanding fighter pilot for proficiency and professionalism in flying a fighter aircraft,” in accordance with Air Force Instruction 36-2807.