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The summer of 2010 seems to
be a time which will be remembered in American
military history for its anachronistic lack of
insight. LT Dan Choi, a Korean American and
LT Robin
Chaurasiya, an Indian American were
discharged under DADT for being gay. And West
Point Cadet Katherine Miller, a Japanese American,
resigned rather than endure further homophobia.
They are hardly the only minorities hounded out of
our armed forces because of who they are; but the
profound loss of these three happened within a few
weeks this summer, at a time when the policy of
exclusion should be in its last days. I have
the sense that the vital importance to our armed
forces of their diversity was not even
considered in the deliberations leading to their
dismissal. The deliberations seem to have
focused simply on whom they happen to
love.
All three devoted their final
high school years to preparing themselves physically
and academically to qualify to enter our officer
service academies. Like our president, they
were determined to overcome ignorant stereotypes
about who can lead. Like our president, they
sacrificed the usual teenage fun times in order to
study and work out, to excel to achieve a goal.
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Duty - Honor -
Country
by
Former Cadet
Katherine A. Miller |
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I thumbed through the myriad
of college information packets I received in
the mail. I was 16 years of age, preparing to enter
my junior year of high school, and completely
directionless when it came to my post-secondary
education plans. That is, until I stumbled upon a
pamphlet with a strong woman standing before - and
very apparently commanding - a sea of men and women
dressed in grey uniforms. I was not simply
intrigued; it was much more than that. I felt that
in glancing at that picture I had learned something
deeply personal about myself. In retrospect, I can
say confidently that my directionless, teenage self
was awe-struck and inspired. I opened
the packet and studied the featured content.
"Duty - Honor - Country. These
three hallowed words reverently dictate what you
ought to be, what you can be, what you will be."-
Douglas MacArthur, 1962
The words echoed in my head
long after I was done reading them. I suddenly
appreciated the concepts of personal, holistic
development that would benefit a cause far greater
than myself.
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HIV / AIDS
and the Issue
of Gays in the Military
By
Alan M. Steinman, MD, MPH
RADM (Ret), USPHS |
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The issue of HIV and AIDS is occasionally raised as
a reason for maintaining the current Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. The underlying assumption
in this reasoning is that allowing gay, lesbian and
bisexual (GLB) troops to serve in the military would
increase the number of HIV+ service members and
create an unacceptable risk for HIV- (and presumably
heterosexual) service members. A corollary to this
assumption is that a significant number of current
and future GLB troops are or would be become sero-positive
for HIV, and the risk of transmission of HIV through
emergency battlefield transfusions of fresh whole
blood would increase if GLB troops were allowed to
serve. So strong were these assumptions in the early
years of DADT that the FY96 Defense Appropriations
Act included legislation that required the discharge
of any HIV+ troops; but Congress repealed that
provision the next year as unnecessary. Since that
time, none of the dire assumptions about GLB troops
has been supported by factual evidence.
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