When my
father was stationed at the
Pentagon in the 1970’s he used
to joke that the Department of
Defense (DOD) had contingency
plans for everything, even the
invasions of Canada and the
United Kingdom!
My father, Colonel Dalton
Carpenter, USA, administering
the oath of office to me as a
Marine Second Lieutenant.
Memorial Hall, US Naval Academy,
Annapolis, Maryland, June 6,
1970.
Now that we
finally have certification, what
is the DOD’s contingency plan to
manage any questions or issues
that arise post repeal? While we
all anticipate this will be the
same “non-event” experienced by
our allies, we would be naïve to
think that there will be no
problems. Just look at the
ongoing efforts by conservative
fundamentalist Chaplains and
their civilian supporters to
derail implementation by using
the fictitious argument that
their exercise of religious
freedom is being somehow
limited. Over and over
again the military leadership
has told them that they won’t be
required to violate the tenants
of their faiths. Not good
enough. Several weeks ago
we learned that two soldiers
based at Fort Carson, Colorado,
were the victims of a
hate crime while leaving a
restaurant in Colorado Springs.
Who will address the other
issues the Comprehensive Review
Working Group(CRWG) report
stated would be dealt with after
repeal?
I have heard
rumors that the DOD is
considering establishing a Gay
Lesbian and Bisexual (GLB)version
of the Defense Department
Advisory Committee on Women in
the Services(DACOWITS).This
committee was first established
in the early 1950’s by then
Secretary of Defense General
George Marshall. The committee
is made up of “civilian women
and men who are appointed by the
Secretary of Defense to provide
advice and recommendations on
matters and policies relating to
the recruitment and retention,
treatment, employment,
integration, and well-being of
highly qualified professional
women in the Armed Forces.”
Because of
the many practical challenges
that were faced by the military
in integrating women into the
force, I would submit the
establishment of DACOWITS was
appropriate and very prescient.
History shows that until the
passage of the
Women's Armed Services
Integration Act (Public Law
625) on June 12, 1948, women
were in separate female only
reserve divisions of each
service. We have seen a
major welcomed change of the
role of women in the military in
the past 60 years. They have
been able to move into
nontraditional fields and with
the exception of the combat arms
are fully integrated into the
force. This was all made
possible with the advice and
assistance of DACOWITS.
The situation
with the repeal of DADT is
completely different. Gays,
Lesbians and Bisexual service
members have always been part of
the force. The CRWG made it
clear in their report that LGB
troops will be treated, as much
as legally possible, the same as
their straight counterparts.
There will be no separate
billeting for LGB service
members, no need for separate
uniforms, different Physical
Training standards or any of the
myriad of accommodations
necessary for the integration of
women.
I would
submit there is no need to
create a GLB committee similar
to DACOWITS because there
already exists a structure to
assist the DOD address these
issues internally within the
military. It is instructive to
look to the experiences of our
allies. The British, arguable
our closest ally, have in place
a low cost, simple system that
seems to work perfectly for
them. Initially, a group of
actively serving soldiers and
their partners set up a
privately funded website they
named
Proud2Serve. About a year
later, the individual service
groups,
Proud2Serve Forums, were
unofficially established. When
the MOD saw how effective and
successful the Forums had
become, they were bought into
the official MOD organization by
being recognized by the three
services and given official
status and funding. Through use
of the Forums, troops and family
members can discuss various
issues, ranging from service
careers, family housing, medical
issues, bullying and harassment.
Each of the three services has
established their own Terms of
Reference (TOR) for their Forum.
The Naval Service (Royal Navy
and Marines)
TOR is endorsed by the
Second Sea Lord, the senior
Naval Officer responsible for
personnel matters.
Royal Navy contingent in the London
Pride Parade on July 2, 2011
(photo courtesy of official MOD
photographer)
The Army and
Royal Air Force TOR’s are also
endorsed by their service’s
senior personnel Officer. Those
who participate in the
individual Service Forums are
volunteers and this is a
secondary duty for them.
Royal Air Force contingent
salutes the Cenotaph, war
memorial, in Whitehall
during London Pride parade on
July 2, 2011(photo courtesy of
official MOD photographer)
I have
discussed how this works on a
practical level with
representatives of all three
services. A British Army officer
observes, “One of the key areas
where we can really sell
ourselves is by being able to
assist informally in complaint
resolution. Inevitably in
the Army we occasionally have
instances of bullying and
harassment- some of it from time
to time is gay related. By being
seen as an alternative and
informal source where soldiers
can raise their concerns we can
often offer advice to the
soldier and if necessary pass
their complaint on to the
appropriate authorities.
On a number of occasions we have
been helpful in heading off
individual problems early, by
use of this informal network and
avoided problems getting to the
really serious stage. However,
we are keen to ensure we are not
seen as an alternative to the
official Army welfare services-
we are not trained counselors.”
Representatives of the Royal
Navy and Air Force had similar
experiences.
Army contingent at London Pride
parade, July 2, 2011(Photo
courtesy of official MOD
photographer)
Fortunately, our service members
are ahead of the curve. Last
year a group of active duty
troops created an online
organization,
OutServe. In just 12 months,
this group has grown to over
3800 members with chapters at
major military installations in
the states and over seas,
including Afghanistan and Iraq.
They have demonstrated their
professionalism by filing with
the IRS to establish themselves
as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization, creating a user
friendly
website, using social media
to dramatically increase
membership, publishing a high
quality
magazine, as well as
organizing the first OutServe
Armed Forces Leadership
Summit to be held on October
13-16, 2011. The DOD
should use this group in the
same way that our British
cousins are using the
Proud2serve Forums. They
are an off the shelf
organization, made up of
actively serving LGB troops,
ready and willing to assist the
DOD in the transition to open
and honest service. As my father
also taught me, “Don’t re-invent
the wheel.”
©
2011 Tom Carpenter