I'm prior military, so I get a
legitimate opinion on this - as opposed to all the crap-bags in life that like to tell the military how to run itself but wouldn't have the sack to enlist, or have their child enlist.
By the way, I'm a hetero. Let me borrow your wife or your girlfriend and I'll prove it.
Anyway... Let's move on.
No one has to pretend to be heterosexual, they don't have to go around having sex with women or talking about girls. They just have to put sex aside and serve there country.
The Hell they do. The military is amazingly stressful and tense. No one should have to compound the considerable strain being placed on them physically, emotionally and intellectually by having to be celibate during their tour as well. That's asinine.
What about the heterosexual men that would be uncomfortable with a homosexual showering with them and bunking with them?
They need to grow the Hell up. We showered with blacks, Hispanics, ugly people, stupid people, smart people, and those that were arguably insane.
At times and under certain circumstances, we showered with the women in the field.
_get_ _over_ _it_.
It's got no place in a combat zone. You have better crap to worry about, and most people would realize that if they had ever actually
been in a combat zone, rather than telling the rest of us what
we feel when we're there.
Seriously, the only priority we ever had was making it through our tour. I don't care if that meant taking a shower with a pig and sleeping with a porcupine. You did it, and no, you didn't really care if it wanted to have sex or not. That wasn't
our problem. If someone wanted to do that crap and they found the time and place for it, more power to them.
Frankly, I didn't care if they were fantasizing about me, my girlfriend, themselves or a chihuahua. I was just trying to make sure I didn't get myself or someone else killed.
Everything else.... Was
gravy.
I support homosexuals being allowed to serve, but I also think they should not disclose their sexual orientation nor should they be asked about it. One's orientation is irrelevant to military service.
Their orientation may not be anyone's business (and I agree it isn't), but their mental health
is everyone's business. No, they should not have to be afraid of being found out.
That's just a sacrifice they will have to take if they want to serve.
BS.
Because soldiers don't sacrifice enough, right?
Stick it. Seriously. Stop sitting safe at home and telling soldiers what their obligations are. If it's that damned important to you to meddle in the business of other people, go get your enlistment papers and head on over and
then speak about your opinion - because I guarantee that if you were actually in Iraq right now, you
would not give a crap what orientation the guy next to you was. You'd
only care that he was competent.
On the flip side, should heterosexuals have to shower and bunk with someone who is attracted to them sexually?
Hello, caveman. We already do that. I shared bunks with females. I shared combat positions with them too. When you're deployed if there's a female in your unit, guess what? You most certainly do not dig a separate foxhole.
No, there really aren't gender specific showers out in the field either. Guess where you go (should you get the luxury of a shower).
Straight guys and gals already deal with this all the time - admirably I might add.
We also already deal with homosexuals in the military.
I know precious few soldiers that
actually care. There are exceptions, but most of the soldiers I know would rate this somewhere beneath the importance of believing in Santa in terms of their survival.
It would be the same as having males and females showering and bunking together.
Which we
already do.
Or did when I was in at least.
I don't like that homosexuals can't bring their partners to functions or talk about them, but it's just a sacrifice that must be made for the greater good.
No, the sacrifice for the greater good is when soldiers understand that being a soldier is first, and that everyone that serves is already making a sacrifice.
The problem people fail to look at is that it will create divisiveness amongst units
That's either a bunch of crap or you're in the Army. Not sure which. The Army is the only branch of the military that still uses racist terminology in common conversation as well.
It would
not divide the unit.
Here's a shocker:
we know who's gay anyway. Just because the politicians are pandering for homophobic votes doesn't mean we give two craps.
I served with homosexuals (at least two that I know of).
NO ONE gave a crap aside from the people back home that tried to get on a political high horse about it.
We
already knew they were gay, and we didn't care.
especially in combat arms where only men are allowed to serve, and often have to share hygiene facilities.
There are women on the battlefield now too. There's no getting away from that. We
already share space. If a soldier is trained right, has self-discipline, character, and is mission oriented it's not a problem.
If they can't do that, then they already screwed up anyway.