"I may be straight, but not narrow" said Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) at a heated review of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy before the House Armed Services Committee, Military Personnel Subcommittee. This was the first time in 15 years that the policy had been revisited since its creation in 1993.
Retired Marine Corps. Staff Sgt. and first wounded soldier during the Iraq War Eric Alva, stated that trust was the most important bond he shared with his fellow soldiers, and that when he admitted to them that he was gay, trust and cohesion in the group only strengthened.
Joan Darrah, a retired Navy Captain, echoed Alva's sentiments, saying that she was constantly forced to live a double life while serving. After leaving a room in the Pentagon that was destoryed only minutes later on the morning of 9/11, Darrah realized that her partner of 11 years would have been the last to know, had she been killed. Due to the policy, she said that she was very secretive about her life as a lesbian, not even listing her partner as an emergency contact. In addition, Darrah said that the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy actually hurts troop cohesion by mandating the immediate removal of soldiers who are found to be gay.
Brian Jones, a former Army Special Operations and current business owner and Chief Financial Officer defended Don't Ask Don't Tell by saying that certain military situations require a closeness that could be uncomfortable for heterosexual soldiers, pointing to communal showers and even the need to huddle together for warmth, which he stated can result in the sexual arousal of gay soldiers.
Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness said that by removing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, heterosexual soldiers would be pushed into a situation she called "forced cohabitation". She also stated that by allowing openly gay soliders to fight alongside straight soldiers, the government would be putting an unfair burden on Americans with religious convictions.
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), a member of congress who has served in the US military, exressed sharp criticism of Donnelly for remarks that he said implied that the US Army was not professional enough to to work alongside gay soldiers.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell effects military cohesiveness
Retired Marine Corps. Staff Sgt. and first wounded soldier during the Iraq War Eric Alva, stated that trust was the most important bond he shared with his fellow soldiers, and that when he admitted to them that he was gay, trust and cohesion in the group only strengthened.
Joan Darrah, a retired Navy Captain, echoed Alva's sentiments, saying that she was constantly forced to live a double life while serving. After leaving a room in the Pentagon that was destoryed only minutes later on the morning of 9/11, Darrah realized that her partner of 11 years would have been the last to know, had she been killed. Due to the policy, she said that she was very secretive about her life as a lesbian, not even listing her partner as an emergency contact. In addition, Darrah said that the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy actually hurts troop cohesion by mandating the immediate removal of soldiers who are found to be gay.
Brian Jones, a former Army Special Operations and current business owner and Chief Financial Officer defended Don't Ask Don't Tell by saying that certain military situations require a closeness that could be uncomfortable for heterosexual soldiers, pointing to communal showers and even the need to huddle together for warmth, which he stated can result in the sexual arousal of gay soldiers.
Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness said that by removing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, heterosexual soldiers would be pushed into a situation she called "forced cohabitation". She also stated that by allowing openly gay soliders to fight alongside straight soldiers, the government would be putting an unfair burden on Americans with religious convictions.
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), a member of congress who has served in the US military, exressed sharp criticism of Donnelly for remarks that he said implied that the US Army was not professional enough to to work alongside gay soldiers.