Despite vigorous resistance from the heads of each of the military's
branches, President Obama is determined to overturn the ban on open homosexual
service before a survey of rank and file members of the military is completed on
December 1.
If this ban is overturned, it will have a catastrophic effect on
military morale, unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and
readiness.
The Senate intends to repeal the existing law as early as next
week. Moving ahead without receiving input from the men and women who
wear the uniform tells them that their opinions don't matter. This is
the ultimate sign of disrespect for the military members who put their lives on
the line to protect our freedom. It's inexcusable and
unconscionable.
Yet on April 19, at a fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer, the president said,
"We need to repeal don't ask, don't tell."
It is urgent that we instruct President Obama to listen to his
military commanders, who are putting their careers on the line to challenge the
commander-in-chief.
Please take a moment to read the following
excerpts from letters written to Congress by the men in charge of the armed
services.
- "[T]he value of surveying the thoughts of Marines and their families is
that it signals to my Marines that their opinions matter." ~ Gen. James T.
Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps
- "I...believe that repealing the law before the completion of the review
will be seen by the men and women of the Army as a reversal of our commitment to
hear their views before moving forward." ~ George V. Casey Jr., General,
United States Army
- "My concern is that legislative changes at this point, regardless of the
precise language used, may cause confusion on the status of the law in the Fleet
and disrupt the review process itself by leading Sailors to question whether
their input matters." ~ G. Roughead, Admiral, U.S. Navy
- "I believe it is important...that the Secretary of Defense commissioned
review be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the DA/DT law.
Such action allows me to provide the best military advice to the President, and
sends an important signal to our Airmen and their families that their opinion
matters." ~ Norton A. Schwartz, General, United States Air Force
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