Panetta to lift ban on women in combat

It was "don't ask, don't tell" when I was in but we had a few guys that we knew were gay and was later confirmed after they checked out. After leaving the service and coming out as gay one guy i knew kept in touch, attended the marine corps ball and various other functions with his marine buddies and everybody was like "dude we knew you were gay" joking around. We had a good laugh with him about it and then it was cool, back to being marines. There never was a problem in my units. They were our brothers just like everybody else. I think the special bond you form in combat and by relying on each other during the lowest of lows supersedes sexual preference. With that being said, they weren't openly gay so guys only had their suspicions and would forget about it. Showering with an openly gay man? A lot of guys would probably have a problem with that. A couple of gay guys in a platoon talking about the sex they have with each other or random guys? Would probably freak out some guys. Homophobic, violent soldiers/marines verbally and physically abusing the openly gay guys? Likely. There are a lot of young, naive and wild guys away from home for the first time in the military. They still have the "pick on the person who's different than me" high school mentality. Can openly gay men in a unit affect cohesion? I believe so. I think it can divide the unit between those who refuse to accept them and those who aren't bothered by it. I witnessed all walks of life...the rich and poor, blacks and whites, hillbillies and city slickers come together as one. The military has work to do in handling the situations with women in combat roles and openly gay people. Only time will tell... Originally Posted by bully

Agreed. "Don't ask don't tell" worked. Overt homosexuality will be disruptive.

Actually, we knew as early as the late 80's that Bin Laden was dangerous. Furthermore, we knew that it was impossible to peacefully co-exist with Muslims are far back as the late 1700's. We should blame our current circumstances on our gutless Founding Fathers for not acting to wipe out Muslims way back then. Then we wouldn't be dealing with all this terrorism today. Originally Posted by SinsOfTheFlesh

Disagree. The Founding Fathers were more concerned, and justly so, about Britain, France and Spain. The Barbary pirates were an inconvenience they had to deal with, but the real threat to the nascent nation came from Europe. The U.S. is not at war with Islam; it is at war (whether Odumbo wants to admit it or not) with the Mohammedans who seek to kill and maim Americans.

What could go wrong?

Unintended pregnancies on the rise in servicewomen

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...90N1B820130124

Agreed. "Don't ask don't tell" worked. Overt homosexuality will be disruptive. Originally Posted by I B Hankering

Yeah I thought "don't ask don't tell" was brilliant. It basically means keep your sex life private and do your damn job. But on the other hand, gay people had a problem with it because if they announced they were homosexual they got kicked out but if someone announced they were heterosexual they were fine. The military is trying to stay attractive to new recruits by somewhat mimicking society's changing view on homosexuality. It doesn't want its numbers to drop because it refuses to evolve. Similar to an article I read about the Catholic Church and its "outdated" views causing a decline in numbers every year.

What could go wrong?

Unintended pregnancies on the rise in servicewomen

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...90N1B820130124 Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Having a woman in a predominantly male infantry platoon during a year long deployment in a combat zone is like throwing a chicken leg into a pack of starving hyenas!

Yeah I thought "don't ask don't tell" was brilliant. It basically means keep your sex life private and do your damn job. But on the other hand, gay people had a problem with it because if they announced they were homosexual they got kicked out but if someone announced they were heterosexual they were fine. The military is trying to stay attractive to new recruits by somewhat mimicking society's changing view on homosexuality. It doesn't want its numbers to drop because it refuses to evolve. Similar to an article I read about the Catholic Church and its "outdated" views causing a decline in numbers every year. Originally Posted by bully

Heterosexuals also "came-out" as a way to escape deployment to a combat zone. Now, that option as a way out is no longer available to anybody.

Heterosexuals also "came-out" as a way to escape deployment to a combat zone. Now, that option as a way out is no longer available to anybody. Originally Posted by I B Hankering

I didn't know that. Interesting...

As long as the physical requirements are the same then I see no problem with it. That means women must meet the same PT requirements, the same lifting requirements, endurance tests, etc. Just like with men, if someone can't cut the requirements they are reassigned to some other duty. And women must also be required to register for the draft just like men. Originally Posted by satexasguy

I have been a huge supporter of women's rights since the 70's, when women started trying to bust through the "glass ceiling" and reach equal status with men in the workplace. I also expected, even back then, that women should be equal with men in areas such as military service. As satexasguy stated so well, if a woman is physically able to perform combat area duties, then she should do it. Equal is equal.

Heterosexuals also "came-out" as a way to escape deployment to a combat zone. Now, that option as a way out is no longer available to anybody. Originally Posted by I B Hankering

OK IB you can stop wearing women's garments now It won't work anymore.

Really? Because it wasn't Democrats that got us into the two wars we're in right now. In fact, it seems to be that Democrats are actually trying to get us out of them... Originally Posted by jbravo_123

I have to consider the hypothesis that you are too young to remember the Clinton Administration and Madeleine Albright's utterly preposterous 1993 quote: "What's the point of having this superb military that you're always talking about if we can't use it?".