Six months after the repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving in the US military, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta claimed success:
“It’s not impacting on morale. It’s not impacting on unit cohesion. It is not impacting on readiness,” [Panetta] said.
Panetta was commenting on a report, though its Read more
A Congressman’s idea to name a Navy ship after homosexual activist Harvey Milk has received opposition from a seemingly unlikely group — homosexuals:
Some of the strongest opposition appears to be from the gay community…Some gay activists, at least one city supervisor and others have said Milk was anti-war and wouldn’t want a ship named after him.
The normally non-controversial process of naming vessels after cities and Presidents takes a scandalous turn every now and then when the Navy suggests, or receives a suggestion to consider, naming a vessel after a controversial figure.
President Obama’s administration has registered its objections to several portions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the US House (which also includes another attempt to ban NASCAR sponsorships).
The Obama administration “strongly objects” to provisions in [the bill] that would prohibit the use of military property for same-sex “marriage or marriage-like” ceremonies, and protect military chaplains Read more
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, concerned over instances of “misbehavior” that have shed negative light on the US military, issued a “personal plea” for US troops to “honor their military values:”
“These days, it takes only seconds — seconds — for a picture, a photo, to suddenly become an international headline,” Panetta said. “And those headlines can impact the mission that we’re engaged in, they can put your fellow service members at risk, they can hurt morale, they can damage our standing in the world, and they can cost lives.”
The sentiment was reportedly echoed by the top commander in Afghanistan:
Marine Gen. John Allen…believes that a number of major setbacks in the past six months have resulted from moral, Read more
US Rep Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) introduced the Military Religious Freedom Act (HR 3828), which aims to prevent chaplains and other troops from being “penalized” for failing to support homosexuals in the military.
It would exempt chaplains from functions that violate their Read more
Juan Garcia, an assistant to the Secretary of the Navy for manpower, says Secretary Ray Mabus wants a service where opportunities are “gender blind.” To that end, the Navy is floating the idea of ending gender-specific hats.
“It’s a small thing, but separate covers was in some ways emblematic of a two-tiered sea service force,” Garcia said in an April 10 interview, speaking about Mabus. “He wanted to take a look across the force…to send a signal that our Navy … reward[s] and keep[s] the best talent, regardless of gender.”
Unisex uniforms are nothing new. In fact, the Air Force recently Read more
As predicted, it didn’t take long for Chris Rodda to read last week’s write-up on the VMFA-122 Crusaders and manufacture some outrage. She called the renaming of the unit from the recent “Werewolves” back to the “Crusaders” “sheer stupidity” and a “constitutional issue.” Of course, everyone is aware of the clause in the Constitution that prohibits military units from having a cross on their patches. It must be in there somewhere…she said so.
Michael Weinstein was in regular form. Eliminating the unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, which constituted about a third of his statement:
“This…action…is…unconstitutional[] and…stupid[]. It [is]…propaganda…for our…Islamic foes and…a…national security threat…It will…hasten the maiming and deaths of our armed forces members…We’ll be seeing you in Federal Court, chump.”
“See you in court” from Michael Weinstein is about as threatening as “see you on the field” from the 2011 Indianapolis Colts. Being a perpetual loser kind of undermines your credibility.
Michael Weinstein, again, says that America’s extremist adversaries — not the US Constitution nor “Nature” nor “Nature’s God” — are the barometer by which Read more
According to FoxNews, the US military is investigating allegations a US servicemember erected a “gay pride” flag on a tent pole on an American outpost in Afghanistan.
“We are aware of the photo of the gay pride flag being flown by U.S. service members and we are investigating,” a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force told Fox News.
Hidden in some internet comments was another interesting piece of information on the military environment in the post-DADT world. A military officer wrote: Read more