“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell!” a More Humane Policy, Essay Example

“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is the common term for the policy about homosexuality in the U.S. military. The act prohibits any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing his or her sexual orientation or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces (Belkin & Bateman, 2003). Furthermore, with accordance to the policy superiors should not initiate investigation of a service member’s orientation in the absence of disallowed behaviors, though mere suspicion of homosexual behavior can cause an investigation (Belkin & Bateman, 2003). The newly elected President Barack Obama has stated that he plans to repeal the policy and allow gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the armed forces (Shane, 2009).

Being a military soldier, I personally disagree with the initiative of getting rid of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is important to keep in mind that the primary purpose of the armed forces is to provide safety and security for the whole country. What I am trying to put through is the idea people serving in the armed forces already have the list of priorities and duties to be fulfilled for the sake of the country and openly expressed personal concerns will definitely not add up to the overall military performance or improve the achieved results. When in the armed forces, every soldier tries to leave behind any personal issues and concerns during the service, instead concentrating all the attention on the top priority of serving the country and its citizens. It is vitally important during such times not to let any internal or external distractions interfere with the already set and thought-through plan of finding the enemy, defeating him as well as staying alive. Frankly speaking, it is definitely not the right time to disclose any personal sexuality or preference concerns, because of the high risk for others of being distracted and loosing the already established mindset, which can lead to unfortunate and sorrowful consequences.

Another reason of why I find it unnecessary to get rid of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy is the fact that the society has not yet developed a concrete and understandable position on the issue of homosexuality, so it is unacceptable to start solving such kind of an issue in armed forces – a place where national security and welfare way overweigh any kind of current social debates. One can say that the armed forces have the philosophy of their own, which is being held together by the strong feeling of patriotism and great desire to serve the country to the greatest extent. Here everything goes around in already set schemes, so when changes are to be made, they have to be already clearly stated and approved before they reach the armed forces. What I am trying to say that the issue has to be solved in the legislative and executive branches such as Congress and the White House, so that, when applied in the armed forces, they already have a certain pattern to follow. One can’t disregard the fact that the issue of gay marriages and gay family adopting children is still mind boggling in the society. So, why allow this kind of concerns to flow in the forces, where the lives of the fighting men and women are already being put at risk. Surely, we all have the right to express ourselves, but is it really worth it? There are people who don’t mind homosexuals but there are also those who are not in favor of them. So, why raise the intense in the environment where people are already being put through much more than an ordinary citizen can handle?

The raised concern in the society on the above issue is well-understandable. One argues that gay people are being discriminated on the right of free speech (Estes, 2007), other put forward the concern that “since 1994 the military has discharged nearly 12,500 troops under the policy, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network” (Shane, 2009). With that in mind I can’t but agree that some changes have to be made on the way of making the policy more humane. To my mind, the gay soldiers should not be fired from the military because they have the willingness to serve their country and no one has the right to deny that. So why not make distinct units in order, on the one hand, for them to have the chance to serve in the armed forces and to acquire the ability to express their concerns openly, and, on the other, to ensure that none of the military soldiers are being distracted with societal debates and on-going disputes.

Summing up, I would like to stress once again that as a military soldier myself, I feel that the President’s intent to get rid of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” military policy is unnecessary. The armed forces are not a ground for any social debates because here the national security and welfare are on the top of the priority list. A suitable way out is to make the policy more humane and less discriminatory, so that every citizen, regardless of the sexual orientation or any other characteristic, will still be able to fulfill his willingness of serving in the army.

References

Belkin, Aaron & Bateman, Geoffrey. (2003). Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Estes, Steve. (2007). Ask & Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out. UNC Press.

Shane, Leo. (2009). Obama Wants to End Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy. Stars and Stripes. Retrieved July 11, 2009, from http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60043