Discharged soldier: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is undermining U.S. security

Taking an extremely narrow view of the War in Iraq, it could be said that one of the few positive things to arise from it has been the increased awareness of the absurdity of the U.S. military's anti-gay "Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

A recent "news" clip at the satiric online publication The Onion underscored that point perfectly. In the segment, Onion News Network Anchor Brandon Armstrong asks why gay people can't serve if the military is now allowing older veterans, convicted criminals and people with serious medical conditions to enlist - an ease in recruitment restrictions that is in fact, true. The fictional General Robert McBrayer soberly responds that, "the gays of America are the only group left untouched by war. They're special; pure and rare like a gleaming diamond or a snow-white colt. We must protect them." "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" McBrayer later reveals, was instituted because weeding out all of the gays is impossible and "to know that any of them managed to enlist and put themselves in harm's way would break our hearts. All of the top commanders know, we love them too much."

And at a panel discussion in Concord, N.H., on Aug. 17, former U.S. Army Sgt. Sonya Contreras, who served in Kosovo and then went on to be top recruiter, hit on the same theme, in a much more serious way. Her voice choked with emotion, Contreras, who was discharged in 2003 under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," pitted the oft-stated argument that openly gay service members undermine troop morale against the current recruiting reality: "As a soldier first, it affects my morale to know that a known gang member can serve alongside other service members. As woman, it affects my morale that a convicted rapist can serve alongside female service members. As a parent it affects my morale that a convicted child molester can serve alongside military families. As Americans, it should affect all of our morale to know that Congress is forcing the U.S. military to choose convicted felons over competent, qualified and capable service members."

Contreras spoke as part of the Legacy of Service Tour, which features openly gay veterans who have served during the current war, discussing the toll of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," on national security and on their own lives as part of the movement to repeal the policy. Joining her in the discussion at the Kimball Jenkins Estate Carriage House was retired Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, who holds the unfortunate distinction of being the first U.S. service member wounded in the Iraq War; Captain Antonio Agnone, a Marine who earned a commendation for leading a platoon that located and disarmed IEDs in Anbar province; Jarrod Chlapowski, a decorated Army linguist and Alexander Nicholson, an Arabic-speaking Army linguist discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" six months after 9/11. The discussion was moderated by Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese, whose organization is sponsoring the tour.

The tour hit New Hampshire, which will hold the country's pivotal first presidential primary early next year, as the issue of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" increasingly becomes a topic of national discussion amidst a troop surge in Iraq and jockeying by 2008 presidential candidates. Just last week, several of the Democratic presidential contenders, including Sen. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, reaffirmed their commitment to repealing the military's gay ban in the widely- viewed forum on LGBT issues sponsored by HRC and the Logo network. In a confirmation hearing before the Senate earlier this month, Admiral Michael Mullen, President Bush's nominee to succeed Gen. Peter "homosexuality is immoral" Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested that perhaps it's time for Congress to think about making changes to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And in separate debates in New Hampshire back in June - clips of which were aired during the Legacy of Service discussion - Democratic and Republican candidates were asked to raise their hand if they supported lifting the ban. All of the Democratic candidates raised their hands; none of the Republicans did.

Among those who attended Thursday's discussion was New Hampshire State Senate President Sylvia Larsen, an influential pol who is backing Clinton's presidential bid, openly gay Granite State Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and openly gay state Reps. Mo Baxley and Gail Morrison, and state Sen. Harold Janeway, who is backing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. Meanwhile GOP candidates Mitt Romney, who has said he thinks Don't Ask, Don't Tell is working, and Rudy Giuliani, who has said debating "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is too distracting during a war, were both campaigning in the state.

Agnone, who decided not to continue his service in the Marines in part because he was concerned that his partner, Brandon Suarez, would not be notified if Agnone was injured or killed in the line of duty, believes that Republican politicians who say "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is working are either na?ve or just pandering to the GOP's anti-gay base.

"They say thee policy is working simply because given the state of the Republican Party right now that's the only option that they have to say, that it's working, when it's clearly not." Citing activists' estimates that there are currently 65,000 LGBT troops on active duty, Agnone pointed out that the number is one-third of the active duty Marine Corps. The discharge of that many Marines on the armed services would be "absolutely devastating," Agnone asserted. "That's why we're in places like New Hampshire, that's why we've been in Iowa," Agnone told the crowd. "It's because you have the hands-on access to these candidates. And I'm asking you to let them know that when they say statements like that it's either proving that they're either completely dispassionate and have no idea what's going on the with the military or that they are just saying what needs to be said for political pandering."

LGBT activists are currently looking for a sponsor for legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the U.S. Senate. The bill, known as the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA), was introduced by former Bay State Congressman Marty Meehan in February. Despite the fact that they both support repealing the anti-gay policy, neither Clinton or Obama have stepped forward to sponsor the bill - a fact Solmonese highlighted during the HRC/Logo forum when he asked Clinton why she hasn't yet filed the bill, which Meehan first introduced in 2005. Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, replied that "we didn't have a chance with the Republican Congress and George Bush as President." Now that there is a Democratic Congress, she said, there is discussion "about what steps we can take to sort of lay the groundwork so that when we do have a change in the White House, which can't happen too soon to suit me ... we will be able to move on that." Clinton went on say that repealing the military policy is one of her "highest priorities."

In an interview with Bay Windows following the Legacy of Service discussion, Solmonese indicated that activists were more focused on finding a credible Republican to introduce the bill in the Senate. "We certainly know that both Senators Obama and [Clinton] will support whatever we do moving forward" regarding legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," said Solmonese. But he also noted that "what the comprehensive leadership of that legislation looks like really matters. ... That, as much as anything, has been the reason that we haven't moved forward on the Senate side." Unlike in the House, where there has been "healthy bipartisan support" for MREA, said Solmonese, "We haven't been able to get the Republican cosponsor on the Senate side that we would like to have."

Alva, who lost most of right leg when he stepped on a landmine during the first day of the war, said that in the interest of national security, repealing the ban on openly gay service members needs to happen sooner rather than later. "Some of us up here are linguists, some us were explosive ordnance officers, some of us were recruiters who sought out and put skilled men and women in the military and then were discharged because of who they were," said Alva, referring to his fellow panelists. "So a lot of us had valuable jobs and were very important to the armed forces. But because of that discriminatory policy, you're eliminating those factors of what is detrimental to our national security."