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Vendaval -> "Gay soldiers don't disrupt U.S. military" (3/23/2007 12:49:00 PM)
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"Gay Soldiers don't disrupt U.S. military"
Deb Price
Monday, January 08, 2007
" English's message: Gays can serve openly without endangering themselves or their unit's effectiveness. A year ago, English told his story to someone extraordinary -- and something extraordinary happened.
Hearing it helped turn retired four-star Gen. John Shalikashvili, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993-97 was the nation's high-ranking officer, into an advocate of ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
On Jan. 2, just hours after Shalikashvili (pronounced shah-lee-kash-vee-lee) called for the law's repeal, former Defense Secretary William Cohen, a Republican on whose watch the policy unfolded, said "it's time to start thinking" about ending "a policy of discrimination." Cohen is the first defense secretary to call for reconsideration.
Spc. English and four other gays who've served openly -- two soldiers, a Marine and a Navy submariner -- met in late 2005 with Shalikashvili. In a column in the New York Times, the general, who oversaw implementation of Don't Ask, credited that meeting with helping his views evolve:
"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces. Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."
Calling Don't Ask a "useful speed bump," the general noted that foreign militaries have successfully let open gays serve and that a new Zogby poll shows troops are comfortable with gay people. "
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070108/OPINION03/701080317/1008/OPINION01
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