This from a man who forgets that my father served in the Navy for 16 years.
Bush's strategies couldn't wrap up either war he started. Do you deny that? Iraq is thankfully winding down (in part, thanks to Bush shedding Cheney's terrible influence and hiring Patraeus - and hopefully, the man will do the same thing in Afghanistan).
And, from my father's direct words, he served with several guys he knew were gay and they were just as good a sailor as anyone else on board and he didn't really care about their sexuality as long as they left him alone...and they did.
Don't deign to know what I know. I also have several close friends who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan who think the ban is utterly senseless - and they also think that going into Iraq (not so much Afghanistan) was utterly ****ed up.
In my lifetime, I've yet to meet a single person straight guy was physically/sexually assaulted by an openly gay guy. I have met several gay people who were physically/sexually assaulted by people who identify as straight (not a ton, but a few). I HAVE met straight guys who were unwantedly hit upon by a gay guy, but in every case they said, "Not interested" and the matter came to an end.
So what's honestly to worry about? Israel, Canada, the UK, all of Scandinavia, nearly all of Europe, a LOT of South America allow gays to serve equally. I've yet to read that their militaries have been torn asunder. Have you? Now, some nations who disallow gays to serve: Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba. So, do you enjoy being on the side of Ahmadinejad, Jong-il, Chavez, Castro? Because that's the company you keep.