Last summer, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell suggested, and then strongly denied, that the military was considering segregating gay and lesbian servicemembers when Don't Ask Don't Tell is repealed. A look at the Pentagon's Friday appeal suggests that they really are.
In July, Morrell held a conference call with reporters to discuss accusations that the survey the military was conducting of its troops about DADT contained inappropriate questions and used he bias-engendering term "homosexuals."In the course of the discussion, he added this:
In response to questions from reporters, Morrell clarified that the survey responses could lead the military to conclude that it would "perhaps need adjustments to facilities themselves," indicating that it is not outside the realm of possibility that, in order to preserve the privacy and modesty of heterosexual service members in group showers and barracks, the military would consider segregating gay and lesbian service members in some way.
That, of course, engendered rather a lot of controversy, leading Morrell to deny that his statement implied any such thing:
MORRELL:This could be dealt with through education programs, through training programs, or it may require "facilities adjustments." But no one, no one is considering "separate but equal" bathing or living facilities for you know, gay and straight troops. That's just not ever a consideration.
Q: So that's off the table.
MORRELL: Absolutely off the table.
But in late August, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway suggested that, in fact, the military was considering segregated facilities... for straight servicemembers.
Conway said the Marines may make such housing arrangements "voluntary" to accommodate any "moral concerns." He said many Marines are "very religious" and because of their moral concerns "don't want to room" with homosexuals.
That's, like, totally different, right?
Today, the New York Times noted that both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness Clifford Stanley have suggested that some changes in housing to accommodate the more conservative elements in the military are, indeed, under consideration.
Clifford Stanley, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a court filing that ending the antigay policy would require training, and reworking regulations on issues like housing, benefits and standards of conduct. He said the Army had to consider the "rights and obligations of the chaplain corps." Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the military had to consider whether barracks should be segregated and whether partners of gay soldiers should have benefits.
So now you know: the military isn't going to create a separate-but-equal system for gay and lesbian troops. They're considering a voluntary system for straight-identified troops to opt out of certain living arrangements with the gay and lesbians among them. Because that's totally different.
Pentagon Slams Critics Of Don't Ask Don't Tell Survey [Talking Points Memo]
Pentagon Survey On Don't Ask Don't Tell Now Available: Raises Questions About Pentagon Priorities [Talking Points Memo]
Pentagon Pushes Back Against Claim That DADT Survey Could Lead To Segregation Of Gay Troops [ThinkProgress]
Marine Corps Commandant Conway Reiterates: Marines Should Not Have To Share Quarters With Gay Troops [ThinkProgress]
Don't Stay the ‘Don't Ask' Ruling [New York Times]
[H/T To Pam's House Blend]
DISCUSSION
Alright, so here's the thing. Sexual harrassment does happen sometimes. I don't care if you're gay, straight, male or female, every one of those groups is capable of sexual harrassment.
People in the military are worried about a few different things here. And no one really thinks all gay men and lesbians are creepy molestors or something - most of us know at least a few gay or lesbian people in our units, and have no problem with them, as long as they do their jobs and are good soldiers. But it's a statistical probability that when you open up the services for gays and lesbians to serve openly, you're also going to get that small sliver of the population who acts totally inappropriately.
Now, when people say "roommates" in the military, they mean people you can't get away from. There's no separate bedroom. You're in a tent with this person, or a barracks room, and have little to no privacy. Showers, while most have stalls and curtains, feature cramped group changing areas. As everyone knows, there's an unspoken code of conduct for these types of areas. Everyone keeps their eyes to themselves.
Not everyone always follows this.
In my years in the military, I've only really come across one woman who was completely rude, inappropriate, inprofessional, and stared at me lewdly in shower changing areas and our open-bay living arrangements. It was awful. But it was only a four month school, and so I let it go without saying anything, bit my lip, and never said anything about it.
I'd have no idea what to do about that if she was my roommate for a year or more, as would be common in a regular unit. Moving living arrangements in the Army is difficult - you have to prove your roommate is behaving in a threatening way, something very difficult to do in sexual harrassment changes. There are no "single" rooms, if you're not a NCO or higher. Rooms are assigned to you, you have no choice in roommate currently. Personality clashes are given the "work it out yourselves" treatment.
Bottom line, living areas are supposed to be comfort zones. If you don't want to live with someone who may be sexually attracted to you, be that a straight person of the opposite gender or a homosexual person of the same gender, I do think you should have that right in the military. But that framework doesn't currently exist. Now, the military, as it does with everything, is going about trying to change that framework in a completely fucked up and politically incorrect way. But I don't think the feelings behind it are necessarily as bigoted as everyone here makes them out to be.