Troops attending the first meeting of its kind on ending the ban on gays in the military said Tuesday they want to know what changes were in store for them if gays were allowed to serve openly.
Picked at random and assembled in the Pentagon auditorium, about 350 rank-and-file troops asked the leaders of a new working group whether bunking arrangements would change and if the spouses of gay personnel would be given military family benefits, among other issues.
The answers to those questions aren't expected until the end of the year, when the working group releases its findings on the impact openly gay service might have on the force.
Officials say they will spend the next several months reaching out to troops and their families in focus groups and meetings like the Tuesday forum to determine what concerns they'll have to address.
Attendees of the Tuesday session said that one female Marine stated that bunking with a lesbian would be the same as being told to share a room with a man. A soldier said he didn't want to wade into the political debate and that he would follow orders.
Another service member asked if a gay service member who gets married — now forbidden under law — would receive military family benefits.
At one point, a moderator asked how many troops believed they have served with a gay person. About half the people in the audience raised their hands.
The other half weren't paying attention, either in the session or in their units.
By: Brant
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1 comment:
Pure comedy - Let's hold a group of people hostage and peer pressure them into not sharing their honest feelings about this - 350 people in an auditorium - we should do all surveys this way. Nice fail. DADT will be here long after 2012 - a shame but a truth - because no one has the sack to simply sign the executive order.
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