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In a recent New
York Times
Op-Ed,
“Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell,
Don’t change,”
General McPeak
suggests that
repeal of the US
military’s Don’t
Ask Don’t Tell
policy would be
imprudent,
especially
during a time of
war.
I will be the
first to
acknowledge that
we are at
war, and that
everything we do
should first aim
to support the
infantryman on
the front lines.
But General
McPeak is wrong. Things have
changed.
First – Being
around gays and
lesbians isn’t a
big deal
anymore. A
person’s sexual
orientation
doesn’t
determine their
professional
ability - so why
should I care
who they date
when they are
off duty?
Actually, I do
care - from a
leadership point
of view. I care
because I was
taught from day
one of officer
training to take
care of my
Marines, and
that I could
only take care
of them if I
knew them. I was
taught that I
should know
their parent’s
names, their
hometown…..even
know their
favorite color. But how can I
know them if I
am prohibited
from asking
certain
questions? And
how can I be
fully aware of
my unit’s
capabilities if
certain members
of my unit are
forbidden from
keeping me fully
informed?
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Hat Reading,
one thing leads to another,
and a surprise handshake |
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The spry old vet, in his 80s, was
wearing his dusty old WWII vet baseball cap as he calmly
moved through the supermarket aisles pushing a shopping
cart while his dear ill wife rested at home. The
cap had the usual assortment of little metal miniature
replicas of campaign ribbons and medals, a few military
icons, his combat infantry badge, and his final rank;
the sort of thing any vet understands when 'hat reading'
a fellow vet's cap. If you know what you're
looking at, you can 'read' the story of a vet's time in
the service from the pins on his cap. It's not
exactly a secret code; there are some 26 million living
vets in America. At VA hospitals, in particular,
it's a common experience to realize someone's looking at
the top of your head, reading your hat, and perhaps
puzzling over some of the more obscure icons. So,
as I stared at his hat for a few seconds more than a
casual glance, he 'knew' I was a vet reading his hat.
He gave a friendly grin and nodded. As he was a
WWII vet, he got an automatic salute from me, and a
"thank you for serving" greeting.
Unlike those who've endured just
two or three years of service, senior NCOs tend to have
their rank insignia on their hats along with the other
pins. His had a Sgt First Class insignia.
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OPERATION GOLDEN EAGLE
American Veterans For Equal
Rights
20th Anniversary DC Event in
June
Honors LGBT WWII Vets
by Danny Ingram, AVER
President |
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This June,
American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
celebrates 20 years of working for LGBT
equality in the US Armed Forces with
Operation Golden Eagle, a series of events
planned in conjunction with Capital Pride in
Washington DC, the city where AVER was born
in 1990. AVER members from across America
will gather in the nation's capital Jun.
11-13, 2010, to commemorate the founding of
AVER, the oldest nation-wide LGBT Veterans
Service Organization in the United States.
The focus of the celebration will be LGBT
World War II veterans, those men and women
of the 'greatest generation' who defeated
the forces of tyranny in the largest
conflict the world has ever known and
returned home to the United States to found
the modern Gay Rights movement. The
anniversary event has been named Operation
Golden Eagle in honor of the 'golden years'
of these first generation LGBT Americans,
many of whom wore on their uniforms the
famous golden eagle patch (nicknamed the
'ruptured duck') to distinguish their status
as a returning WWII vet.
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