European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 07, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Military clinging to Gay myths which War shoots Down Clarence Page maybe a Good War is what we need to solve the controversy Over homosexuals in the much As Gen. Colin Powell an others complain that lifting the 50 year old ban would jeopardize Good order discipline and morale it is interesting to note realities like How the numbers of discharges the military hands Down for reasons of homosexuality appear to decline precipitously whenever we have a War. I first noticed it when i was drafted into the army in 1969.1 found contrary to my military beliefs homosexuals not Only had been let into the military but also some were allowed to stay in after their sex Ual preference had become common knowledge among their heterosexual friends. The rest of us did t always Call them Homo sex Barracks jargon was a bit More crude than that. But like marijuana smoking and other common minor misdeeds of that Era homosexuality was one of those things commanders conveniently ignored if they needed the Soldier or Sailor s services enough. After All there was a War on. I was amazed to discover this since in the civilian world a simple declaration of homosexuality True or. Not was a Well known Dodge. According to legend All you had to do was Wear women s underwear to your draft physical to be declared ineligible. The War meant As one of my platoon leaders in formed me you d have to wrestle the recruiting sergeant to the ground and give him a big kiss before you d get a 4-f these in Short iras behaviour not preference that counted the same As it did for heterosexuals. That apparently has t changed much. When army reservist Donna Lynn Jackson told her commander she was a lesbian during the persian Gulf War Call up she says her commander told her she would have to go to saudi Arabia anyway and have to be Dis charged after the War. Only after Jackson sch t to the Media was she quickly discharged. Many similar stories have been collected by Best Selling and openly Gay journalist Randy Shilts for his forthcoming Book conduct unbecoming a and lesbians in the , military. He writes in the feb. 1 Newsweek that the de sense department s anti Gay regulations in the Early 1940s were no More than two years old before Secre tary of War Henry Stimson ordered a review in 1943, at the height of the final european offensive of All. Gay discharges with an Eye toward a conducting those who had not committed in service homosexual acts Gay related discharged plunged during the to. Rah War and again during the Vietnam War Shilts found. Navy undesirable discharges for example fell from 1,100 in the late 1940s to 483 in 1950, then shot up to 1,363 after the armistice was signed in 1953. During the Vietnam action the Navy s 1,708 Gay related discharges in 1966 fell to 461 in 1970. Along the Way Shilts collected numerous acc dotes of commanders soldiers and sailors who found out about the homosexuality of unit members but for one reason or another covered it up. I Call it the Klinger effect in Honor of Cpl. Klinger the character in the m a of movie and television series. His efforts to get out of the service by wearing women s clothing were unsuccessful be cause his commanders needed his talents too much. It is perhaps too crude a caricature to compare Gays and lesbians in the military to Klinger but it is not too cruel As a Way to describe the military s in consistency or our society s inconsistency. When a Federal judge in los angles ruled in the Case of Navy Petty officer Keith Meinhold that the military s ban on homosexuals was unconstitutional he cited the Pentagon s own studies going Back to the 1950s. The studies showed no foundation to the commonly held belief that Gays and lesbians disrupt morals Good order or discipline. Judge Terry Hatter dismissed such beliefs As cultural he s right although it is fair to note they arc some of society s most deeply held myths. For that reason sen. Sam Nunn a a offered a helpful suggestion when he called for hearings before president Clinton signs a full executive order to lift the ban. The radio Call in shows have been filled with questions raised by callers about what will happen when the ban is lifted. They asked what happens if Gay soldiers walk around holding hands or seek to dance Check to Check in the enlisted men s club or seek benefits for their Gay marriages or make a pass at fellow gis or sailors in the Shower actually us Ross Perot might say the answer is Gen. Colin Powell is not ready to Salute Gays. Very simple. On the whole homosexual troops want what others do accomplish the Mission make rank and avoid harassment. They have no incentive to deliberately provoke straights no matter How much some imagine they will be ogled in the Shower. And the military need fee no obligation to recognize Gay marriages since no state docs. Yet after years of mythology the questions Many ask arc quite real and deserve Good answers. So i Hope Sam Nunn conducts his hearings and invites experts on All sides of the Issue to testify openly. No need to wait for a War. He can Start by looking into the Klinger effect. He might be Uma cd at what he finds out. Tho Chicago to fluno Ion military Gays hateful fraternities religious rumbling Andy Rodney. Sure would t want to be Hill having to decide about homosexuals in the army. Al the brass Ami the majority of the american Public oppose allowing homosexuals in the military. Most people feel a sense of Ravul Sioui thinking about homosexual acts but there have always been Gays in the military. Did t seem to Hurt anyone. Had More trouble myself with first against the ban talk about close quarters on Board ship. Shower rooms. I was in the army four years. Never heard of any problem. It in t like Gay men go around harassing straight men the Way some men harass women. Men and women in the military Don t sleep in the same Barracks or use the same Shower rooms. Maybe they la have Barracks for four varieties of soldiers one for straight men one for straight women one for homosexual men and one for lesbians. While they re at it they might build a separate one for first sergeants. Kind of funny about Gen. Colin Powell chairman of the joint chiefs by far the highest ranking Black american Ever to serve in the military. You d think he d be sympathetic to another minority but he indirectly threatened to quit if president Clinton insists that homosexuals be allowed in the military. Listen Hill wanted to be president. He can wrestle with it. How come a lot of kids seem Bright in High school then get to College and Start acting stupid. Mean what s this thing at the fraternity at rider College. Nigger night How come these Nice kids turn into crude ignorant jerks colleges Luing out the worst in some of our Best kids and fraternities bring out the worst in the worst of them. They turn into monsters. It s some collective evil spirit that prevails in a fraternity. Guys do things they would t do if everyone weren t doing them. Fraternities offer Sanctuary for Boorish behaviour. Colleges would be better off without them. The next big War s going to be a religious one. You can Sec it coming. They hate us in the Middle Hast. Most people in the Middle East arc . Most americans arc Christian so it carries Over that mus lims hate christians. Christians arc not so aware of muslims although they re getting More so. They Don t hate Back quite so bad. Not yet anyway. There Are a billion and a half christians in the world 900 million muslims and growing. There arc 700 million hindus and 300 million buddhists about Horn americans know almost nothing. After those the numbers drop Tiff. There Are 1h million jews and about the same number of sikhs. It s strange that people who believe in god can t agree about him. I Ven about whether to Call god "him.1 the communist soviet Union threat seems Over. Now i m nervous about this Sharp and threatening religious division in the world. That s a lot of mus lims to have hating that Many christians. To Burio Media stir Vicos Andy Rooney i3 a Lorr Nof stars and stripes reporter. February 1993 sunday Page 9
