Group wants Gen. Pace apology for calling gays ‘immoral’
Senator John Warner (R-VA) says General Pace wrong to call gays “immoral”
Pace “clarifies” homosexuality remark
Gen Pace: I Should Have Kept Anti-Gay Views To Myself
Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made his remarks in an interview Monday with the Chicago Tribune. He was responding to a question about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve if they keep their sexual orientation private and don’t engage in homosexual acts. Pace said he supports the policy, which prohibits commanders from asking about a person’s sexual orientation….”I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts,” Pace said in the interview. “I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.”
I can appreciate the General Pace, being an intelligent and articulate person, has some strong opinions concerning the issue of the place of homosexuals in the military. Here’s the thing, though: why should anyone CARE about Pace’s opinion…about anything? Pace’s job as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is to carry out policies designed to protect this country. It’s not to opinionize about issues concerning the military. I don’t begrudge Pace his opinion; I just think it’s highly inappropriate and prejudicial for a senior military officer to be weighing in on a public policy issue. His job is to ensure that public policy on military issues is carried out. Period. End of story. While Pace is free to think and formulate opinions as he sees fit, he should know after a long and distinguished military career that Americans don’t expect or want soldiers weighing in on policy issues. We expect soldiers to carry out their duties, which revolve around protecting the Homeland. When you wear the uniform of our Armed Services, your job is to follow orders and do your duty. That’s it.
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pace’s job description does NOT include being the ultimate moral arbiter to the US military. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the law of the land and the official policy of the US military. Whether or not you agree with it (and I most certainly do NOT), DADT is the way things are done. Part of Pace’s job is to enforce DADT, not to issue pronouncements on the relative morality (or amorality) of homosexuality.
(This just in: Pace will be heading off to rehab in 3…2…1….)
Pace, a native of Brooklyn, New York, and a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, said he based his views on his upbringing.
“As an individual, I would not want (acceptance of gay behavior) to be our policy, just like I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else’s wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior,” Pace was quoted as saying.
Yes, I understand that the military is by nature and design a decidedly Conservative culture. I was an Army Reserve officer myself, so I understand that reality from being a part of it. I would argue, though, that while adultery can and does most definitely adversely impact readiness and morale, homosexuality need not. If a gay soldier conducts themselves professionally and capably by effectively performing the duties of their job, then why should it matter who someone sleeps with in their off-duty hours?
The newspaper said Pace did not address concerns raised by a 2005 government audit that showed some 10,000 troops, including more than 50 specialists in Arabic, have been discharged because of the policy.
Of course he didn’t address these concerns, because that would mean having to admit that DADT is an abject failure, in that it has materially degraded readiness. It’s much easier to spout simple moralisms and ignore the impact they have on operational readiness. Yep, it’s exactly what you’d expect a DUMB@$$ to…we’re hip deep in the war against terror, and Gen. Peter Pace is channeling Jerry Falwell. Nice job, DUMB@$$….
