Gays can serve, they just can't tell. Felons need to tell in order to advise their superiors of possible problematic behavior.

Yes, we stepped through the looking glass at least 8 years ago.

PS -- General: Army needs 'stop-loss' until late 2009

Not only is this worse but it's the very reason they are taking felons.

Double-Standards

Slick Willy needs to be tarred and feathered for his 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy on gays. I'd rather go to combat with an openly gay troop than a convicted felon, especially if the felon is a sex-offender or a murderer. A person's sexual orientation should have NO bearing on their ability to perform their job. I also remember the Army's policy on adultry and adulterers are still allowed to serve. The Military needs to shitcan this homophobic attitude, NOW.

Talk about double standards, sexual orientation should have NO bearing?? Lets see homosexuality....bestiality....S&M....pedophile....lets let everyone be a solider. How about no standards, does that fit your little pin head better?

Is there the possibility that the taking of violent felons might be for (besides the more obvious reason that very few want to sign up) other, more insidious, reasons? The recent ‘martial law’ drills and the situation after Katrina (how the military came in to take guns and not to bring supplies, and how Blackwater was running and gunning much like they do in IRAQ) show a need for these forces to be made up of people less likely to balk at orders to impose an aggressive military authority over the citizens of the US. Just a thought…

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When you find yourself among the majority, it is time for pause and reflection - Mark Twain

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You never know

But, then again, I think about all the folks in the U.S. that own an arsenal of weapons, have large land plots, with big fences, in rural areas, and are pretty much self-contained. I think Martial Law would be the stick that breaks the Camel's back and how effective are a bunch of Blackwater punks going to be against angry, and armed, U.S. voters? You do make a good point though, Johneboy.

Thnk you Jenifer. I have a wonderful gay grandson who is a kind and great man. People like Tim are in the minority except in the GOP Social Conservatives. It would be nice if they all moved into one place behind a fence.

Whatever the reason, whether rational or not, homosexuals tend to make the troops nervous. The IDF tried "mainstreaming" both women and homosexuals and had to change policy; women tended to distract the men from their mission, and the regular troops were not comfortable with them.

Yes, it's grossly unfair, but it is a reality...and the military is primarily a system not intended as a vehicle for social experimentation.

Most sincerely,

T. J. Flapsaddle

I served with both kinds - law-breakers and homosexuals. Based on personal experience I'll stand by the statement that they make the troops generally nervous. The first time I was assigned to Fort Sill, two troops caught in flagrante in one battery of the 2/2d FA were defenestrated from the second floor of the barracks.

One of my battalion commanders, a West Point graduate, retired as an O-5, divorced his wife and came out of the closet. He was an outstanding soldier. The "felon" I remember most, who had served three years probation for burglary of a liquor store, was the finest scrounger I ever knew.