Britain's Navy Is Encouraging Gays and Lesbians to Enlist | NYT

[Ediacara]

Britain's Navy Is Encouraging Gays and Lesbians to Enlist
By SARAH LYALL

Published: February 21, 2005

ONDON, Feb. 21 - Five years after Britain lifted its ban on gays in the military, the Royal Navy has begun actively encouraging gays and lesbians to enlist and has pledged to make life easier for them when they do.

The navy announced today that it had asked Stonewall, a group that lobbies for gay rights, to help it develop better strategies for recruiting and retaining gay and lesbian sailors. It said, too, that one such strategy may well be to advertise for recruits in gay magazines and newspapers.

Commodore Paul Docherty, director of naval life management, said the service wanted to change the atmosphere in the navy so that gays would feel comfortable working there. The current situation, where gays are not prohibited but where some feel intimidated nonetheless, does not go far enough, he said.

More at the New York Times

[paineinthearse]

1. As a fomer Coastie

...who was aboard the first cutter to have women as permanent members of the crew, I am supportive of integration and openness.

But having been home ported in NYC at the time "Go West" was released, all that comes to mind is...


In The Navy

Where can you find pleasure, search the world for treasure,
learn science, technology?
Where can you begin to make your dreams all come true
on the land or on the sea?
Where can you learn to fly, play in sports or skindive,
study oceanography?
Sign up for the big band or sit in the grand stand
when your team and others meet.

In the Navy, yes, you can sail the seven seas.
In the Navy, yes, you can put your mind at ease.
In the Navy, come on now people, make a stand.
In the Navy, can't you see we need a hand.
In the Navy, come on, protect the motherland.
In the Navy, come on and join your fellow, man.
In the Navy, come on, people, and make a stand.
In the Navy, in the Navy.

They want you! They want you! They want you as a new recruit!

If you like adventure don't you wait to enter
the recruiting office fast.
Don't you hesitate, there is no need to wait;
they're signing up new seamen fast.
Maybe you are too young to join up today
but don't you worry 'bout the thing
for I'm sure there will be always the good Navy
protecting the land and sea.

In the Navy...

They want you! They want you! They want you as a new recruit!
They want you! They want you! They want you as a new recruit!
..But..but..but I'm afraid of water!
..hey..hey..look, men...
I get seasick even watching it on the TV!
They want You! - Oh my goodness!
They want you! - What am I gonna do in a submarine?
They want you! They want you!
In the Navy.

In the Navy... (fade out)

[ruggerson]

2. New Course By Royal Navy: A Campaign To Recruit Gays

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/international/europe/22britain.html?hp&ex=1109134800&en=d438de6df228030b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

A blueprint for the US Military, if there ever was one.

<snip>

By SARAH LYALL

Published: February 22, 2005


LONDON, Feb. 21 - Five years after Britain lifted its ban on gays in the military, the Royal Navy has begun actively encouraging them to enlist and has pledged to make life easier when they do.

The navy announced Monday that it had asked Stonewall, a group that lobbies for gay rights, to help it develop better strategies for recruiting and retaining gay men and lesbians. It said, too, that one strategy may be to advertise for recruits in gay magazines and newspapers.

Commodore Paul Docherty, director of naval life management, said the service wanted to change the atmosphere so that gays would feel comfortable working there.

"While some gays were confident to come out, others didn't feel that the environment was necessarily accepting of them," Commodore Docherty said in an interview.

The partnership with Stonewall, Commodore Docherty said, will help "make more steps toward improving the culture and attitude within the service as a whole, so gays who are still in the closet feel that much more comfortable about coming out."

Gays in Britain have benefited from a number of new laws, including one that makes it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of workers' sexuality.

Last year, Parliament passed the Civil Partnership Act, which gives marriage-style rights to British gays who have registered as couples. The entire military is subject to the legislation, and starting in the fall, gay couples in the military who have registered under the act will be allowed to apply for housing in quarters previously reserved for married couples.

The new effort continues a pattern of changing official attitudes in the navy - once derided as running on rum, sodomy and the lash, in a phrase usually attributed to Winston Churchill. And while most European militaries have lifted bans on gays, none have been as active as the Royal Navy in encouraging their service.

Until a European court ruled in 1999 that Britain's ban on gays in the military violated European human-rights laws, the navy, along with the rest of the country's military, followed a no-exceptions policy of dismissing service men and women who were found to be gay, often after long and intrusive investigations.

The military had agonized for years over the issue, in the way the United States has, and always concluded that allowing gays and lesbians to serve would prove prohibitively disruptive and would ruin discipline and cohesion.

But after the court ruling, it had no choice but to reverse its policy. Beginning in 2000, the military said gays would no longer be prohibited from serving. It also stopped monitoring its recruits' sex lives, saying that sexuality, as long as it did not intrude into the workplace, should not be an issue one way or another.

Recently, gay men and women in the British services have lived and fought in Iraq alongside heterosexuals without problems, according to military officials.

"I would say that before the European court ruling, it was difficult to see this policy happening or working," said Lt. Cmdr. Craig Jones, a gay naval officer who often speaks publicly, with the navy's approval, on gay rights issues.

"People were quite hot under the collar about it; the admirals, generals and air marshals were really concerned," he added. "I'm quite sure that these folks look now and think, 'What was all that fuss about?' "

<snip>

[Ellen Forradalom]

3. In the Navy!

[Richard Steele]

4. There is _NO_ cannibalism in the Royal Navy!!

"And when I say 'None', I mean of course that there is SOME.

But we in command expect to soon have the problem relatively under control..."

(badly-remembered Python flashback)

[SweetLeftFoot]

5. Rum, sodomy and the lash

have always been the basis of the British Navy.

[BiggJawn]

6. New recruiting campaign: "We don't use the Lash anymore...."

And "Buggery on the High Seas" will no longer be a crime....:D

[megatherium]

7. Wasn't it Churchill, who when someone mentioned the traditions

of the Royal Navy, suggested that these were "rum, sodomy and the lash"?

Heartening news, at any rate, putting to the lie the claims of the homophobes who run our military.

[rayofreason]

8. Nelson at Trafalgar, 2005

'Order the signal, Hardy.'

'Aye, aye sir.'

'Avast there, that's not what I dictated to the signal officer. What's
the meaning of this?'

'Sorry, sir?'

' "England expects every person to do his duty, regardless of race,
gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability." What
gobbledygook is this?'

'Admiralty orders, I'm afraid, sir. We're an equal opportunities
employer now. We had the devil's own job getting 'England' past the
censors, lest it be considered racist.'

'Egad, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco.'

'Sorry sir. All naval vessels have been designated smoke-free working
environments.'

'In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the mainbrace
to steel the men before battle.'

'The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. It's part of the
Government's policy on binge drinking.'

'Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we'd better get on with it. Full
speed ahead.'

'I think you'll find that there's a 4 knot speed limit in this
stretch of water.'

'Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in
history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the crow's
nest, please.'

'That won't be possible, sir.'

'What?'

'Health and safety have closed the crow's nest, sir. No harness. And
they said that rope ladder doesn't meet regulations. They won't let
anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected.'

'Then get me the ship's carpenter without delay, Hardy.'

'He's busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the fo'c'sle Admiral.'

'Wheelchair access? I've never heard anything so absurd.'

'Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free
environment for the differently abled.'

'Differently abled? I've only one arm and one eye and I refuse even
to hear mention of the word. I didn't rise to the rank of admiral by
playing the disability card.'

'Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under-represented in the
areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency.'

'Whatever next? Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons.'

'A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won't let the
crew up the rigging without hard hats. And they don't want anyone
breathing in too much salt - haven't you seen the adverts?'

I've never heard such infamy. run out the guns and tell the men
to stand by to engage the enemy.'

'The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral.'

'What? This is mutiny.'

'It's not that, sir. It's just that they're afraid of being charged
with murder if they actually kill anyone. There's a couple of legal
aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks.'

'Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?'

'Actually, sir, we're not.'

'We're not?'

'No, sir. The Frenchies and the Spanish are our European partners
now. According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn't even be in
this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim for compensation.'

'But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil.'

'I wouldn't let the ship's diversity co-coordinator hear you saying
that sir. You'll be up on disciplinary.'

'You must consider every man an enemy who speaks ill of your King.'

Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age.
Now put on your Kevlar vest; it's the rules.'

'Don't tell me - health and safety Whatever happened to rum, bum
and the lash?'

As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu. And there's a ban on
corporal punishment.'

'What about sodomy?'

'I believe it's to be encouraged, sir'

'In that case, kiss me, Hardy.'

[brooklynite]

9. Guess we'll be drumming them out of the "Coalition of the Willing"...

After all, we couldn't possibly risk having our troops fighting alongside acknowledged homosexuals, could we?