Hi! I’m Caitlin Russell, and I’m honored to be a new contributor to the Out Front blog. A little about me: I’m the youngest girl in a staunchly conservative family. I grew up on a farm in the Bible Belt, a place where discussions of LGBT issues are unheard of, if not nearly taboo. In addition to being a farmer’s daughter, I’m straight. I’m a registered Republican…and I am an LGBT ally.
I put all of that out there only because it is my hope to show that allies can come from all walks of life. It is my sincerest belief that the future success of LGBT communications hinges on the vocal support of those who may be able to convert the unreachable, educate the unwilling and demonstrate that human goodness is not tied to any political party or agenda, sexual orientation or financial standing. Hey, if I can convince my wonderful 65-year-old, Rush Limbaugh-loving father to openly support the LGBT community, then I’m confident I can provide a thought-provoking, interesting perspective on the world of LGBT communications.
Ok, I’m off my soapbox – now on to the real reason I’m blogging today.
Yesterday morning, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, announced that gays should be allowed to serve openly in uniform, arguing that it is “the right thing to do.” He also explained that he “cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.” This is the strongest statement ever released from the Pentagon, and coming from the U.S. military’s top ranking uniformed official, it’s nothing short of extraordinary.
Almost immediately, opponents to lifting DADT, such as Senator John McCain, began issuing statements proclaiming any number of reasons to why lifting DADT is a bad idea. My favorite explanation is that allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve would create havoc in the system and discord among the troops. It seems impractical to me that, as the U.S. continues to fight wars in two different countries with our military stretched thinner and thinner, the topic of sexuality would even be an issue.
But apart from my personal beliefs, I feel that LGBT communicators must look beyond discussions of discrimination and moral convictions to educate the public on tangible reasons that DADT is a bad policy for our nation. Let’s take a look at what DADT is costing our nation. The Christian Science Monitor points out here that:
About 66,000 gay men and lesbians, including about 13,000 on active duty, are serving currently in the US military, according to a study released last week by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since the policy’s implementation, DADT has cost the military between $290 million and $500 million to pay for the discharge of individuals known to be homosexual and to recruit new service members, the report concluded. It costs the military between $23,000 and $43,000 to replace a service member who has been discharged, according to the Williams Institute.
In addition, I would like to add that U.S. and Turkey are the only two original NATO countries that still have DADT policies in place. Since 1994, the U.S. has dismissed nearly 14,000 troops under DADT – 14,000 men and women who were willing to give their lives for our nation. In the last five years alone, almost 800 mission-critical troops, including Arabic linguists (one of the most difficult to fill and mission-critical positions in the entire military), have been dismissed.
My point is simply this. We need to look past our personal beliefs and begin informing the public about why repealing DADT is essential to the good of this nation, not only because it is wasting taxpayer money, but because it is denying our troops of vital servicepersons in a time of war.
To help assuage any remaining arguments, I’d urge everyone to read this article announcing that the U.K. is celebrating the 10th anniversary of allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the armed forces. In the article, the BBC points out that while officials expected havoc and chaos to erupt once gays and lesbians were allowed to openly serve, these fears were unjustified and in reality, the change was a welcome one. See? No havoc, no chaos…
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Great post Caitlin! Sometimes I wonder if the people voting on issues like this are so far removed from reality to even make an informed decision. I bet most people who are of age to actively serve in the military are probably fine knowing someone’s sexual orientation, be it gay or straight. It’s just not taboo in the same way it was for our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. It all comes down to civil rights at the end of the day, at least in my opinion. I hope for the sake of those serving in the armed forces that a decision will be made on DADT ASAP. In the meantime, way to get your opinion out there for people to see!
Well said, baby girl.
It has been ten years since the UK lifted the ban on lesbian and gay people serving in the armed forces. As you rightly say there has been no chaos, and indeed many thousands of excellent service men and women have been saved humiliating and wasteful dismissal at a time when we need them most.
We even have organizations that proudly support our LGB troops (http://www.proud2serve.net), and since 2008 they have been permitted to attend pride events in uniform (there are some great images at http://www.flickr.com/groups/hmarmedforcesinpride/).
We are proud of our LGBT soldiers, sailors and airmen and the work they do. It is time for President Obama to stop hiding behind a promise to repeal DADT “when the time is right”. It was right 10 years ago!
Well done Caitlin! Of course, I am proud to say you are a part of my Circle of friends in this journey of life!