U.S. Military Discharged Fewer Gay Personnel in 2006 (wartime needs)

[rodeodance]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR2007031301174.html

U.S. Military Discharged Fewer Gay Personnel in 2006

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 13, 2007; 5:26 PM

The number of homosexuals discharged from the U.S. military under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy dropped significantly in 2006, according to Pentagon figures released today, continuing a sharp decline since the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts began and leading critics to charge that the military is retaining gay and lesbian personnel because it needs them in a time of war.

According to preliminary Pentagon data, 612 homosexuals were discharged in fiscal 2006, fewer than half the 1,227 who were discharged in 2001. On average, more than 1,000 service members were discharged each year from 1997 to 2001, but in the past five years that average has fallen below 730.


"It is hypocritical that the Pentagon seems to retain gay and lesbian service members when they need them most, and fires them when it believes they are expendable," said Steve E. Ralls, a spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit group that opposes the policy.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sparked an outcry among gay and lesbian advocacy groups on Monday when he said he considered homosexual acts "immoral" and therefore opposed lifting the "don't ask, don't tell" rule and allowing homosexuals to serve openly. "We should not condone immoral acts," Pace told the Chicago Tribune in an interview.

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I expect the real reason is that the purge has been successful

Those that were unwilling or unable to hide, or who were otherwise easy to out, have all been discharged already.

[aquart]

2. I'll bet they're really sad now about the 11,000 they let go.

That's half a damn surge. Gosh, they could have let the gay guys get blown up instead of the straight ones. Hindsight can be so brutal.

Saved a lotta gay lives by dumping them from the service. Perhaps a lavender thank you note...

[Warren Stupidity]

3. The Irony is Palpable.

Homosexuals, it seems, are to be tolerated when there is some serious dying to be done, just not when there isn't.