Bathhouse of Babel
Fox News reports that a bunch of Arabic translators have been sacked from the military for being homosexuals.
What's the Fly's take? Well, I'll start off by saying that, as a former and semi-current military guy myself, gays don't belong in the military. Period, end of story. The military is not equality, the military is not about changing society or changing the ideas of Americans. The military is about carrying out a required, crucial task at any cost. The way American society stands right now, and particularly the society of a very conservative and masculine institution like the U.S. military establishment, homosexuals in military units serve to reduce unit cohesion and morale. Add to this the fact that being a serviceman and being openly homosexual are legally incompatible, and the situation seems to me to be fairly clear.
So what's the solution? The interpreters are obviously needed, and everyone should be able to serve their nation if they so desire. Instead of just cutting these folks loose, why can't they be administratively discharged and farmed out to the CIA or any number of other government intelligence organizations with comparable pay and benefits arrangements? They get to serve their country in almost exactly the same way as they were before, with the same perks, and they're not breaking the law or diminishing the effectiveness of a military unit.
Makes sense to me.
SAN FRANCISCO — The number of Arabic linguists discharged from the military for violating its "don't ask, don't tell" policy is higher than previously reported, according to records obtained by a research group.
The group contends the records show that the military — at a time when it and U.S. intelligence agencies don't have enough Arabic speakers — is putting its anti-gay stance ahead of national security.
Between 1998 and 2004, the military discharged 20 Arabic and six Farsi speakers, according to Department of Defense data obtained by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military (search) under a Freedom of Information Act request.
What's the Fly's take? Well, I'll start off by saying that, as a former and semi-current military guy myself, gays don't belong in the military. Period, end of story. The military is not equality, the military is not about changing society or changing the ideas of Americans. The military is about carrying out a required, crucial task at any cost. The way American society stands right now, and particularly the society of a very conservative and masculine institution like the U.S. military establishment, homosexuals in military units serve to reduce unit cohesion and morale. Add to this the fact that being a serviceman and being openly homosexual are legally incompatible, and the situation seems to me to be fairly clear.
So what's the solution? The interpreters are obviously needed, and everyone should be able to serve their nation if they so desire. Instead of just cutting these folks loose, why can't they be administratively discharged and farmed out to the CIA or any number of other government intelligence organizations with comparable pay and benefits arrangements? They get to serve their country in almost exactly the same way as they were before, with the same perks, and they're not breaking the law or diminishing the effectiveness of a military unit.
Makes sense to me.
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