Another WTF? Moment

From Stars & Stripes:

On his wedding night in July 2004, then-Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Knight finally accepted a truth he had fought against for years: he was gay.

Almost immediately, he moved to get his marriage annulled. He apologized to the woman he’d married. And when it came time to explain his changing circumstances to the Navy, he left nothing out. Under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, he was quickly discharged from the service.

But now — whether through a clerical oversight or what some claim is an unwritten change in policy to keep more gay servicemembers in the ranks at a time of war — Jason Knight is back on active duty.

Since promoted to petty officer second class, Knight is finishing a scheduled one-year tour in Kuwait with Naval Customs Battalion Bravo. And, already kicked out of the Navy once, he sees no need to hide his sexual orientation.

In light of events such as this, McCain's rationalizations are a real hoot:

“I believe polarization of personnel and breakdown of unit effectiveness is too high a price to pay for well-intentioned but misguided efforts to elevate the interests of a minority of homosexual servicemembers above those of their units,” Sen. John McCain, a presidential candidate and former Navy officer, wrote in an April 16 letter explaining his support of the policy.

“Most importantly, the national security of the United States, not to mention the lives of our men and women in uniform, are put at grave risk by policies detrimental to the good order and discipline which so distinguish America’s armed services.”

This can just as easily be taken as a condemnation of DADT as support: the policy itself creates polarization and breakdown of unit effectiveness. It's the result of a bunch of generals with their knickers all twisted because of prejudices they've never bothered to examine. The lightbulb goes on when you realize that most personnel serving with gays know they are serving with gays and don't care.

As far as Peter Pace and his support for the policy, he's a yes-man, otherwise he wouldn't be chairman of the Joint Chiefs -- not in this administration.