Letters - Army Community - Army Discussions - Army Times

Letters

THE DECEPTION MUST END

As one of 10 noncommissioned officers selected to compete in last year’s Armywide Best Warrior Competition, the NCO of the year for one of the Army’s major commands and a decorated veteran of two deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I have, by all accounts, served my country honorably and well. I am writing because, as an open and avowed homosexual, I cannot, under current policy, continue my service any longer.

I am not alone. A recent study by the General Accountability Office found that over 10,000 members of the armed forces have been discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” since 1993. This number does not include those like myself who kept their sexuality a secret and simply declined to re-enlist.

Many of these service members had mission-essential skills, the Arabic linguists among them being the most recent and notable example. At a time when branches of the military change entrance standards to meet their recruiting goals, when we are engaged in a global struggle with no foreseeable end, it is senseless to bar otherwise highly qualified men and women from service for reasons which, as I and many others have demonstrated, have no bearing on their ability to perform their jobs and accomplish their missions.

The arguments about homosexuality being incompatible with the military lifestyle and its presence being “prejudicial to good order and discipline” are demonstrably false. Homosexuals continue to serve selflessly and with distinction.

On a unit-level scale, many of them serve openly, as well, when their commanders deem them valuable enough to ignore their sexuality, by doing so defying the policy that would otherwise require their immediate discharge.

Service members are encouraged to draw support from their spouses and families.

While all those who voluntarily enlist in today’s military accept a certain amount of sacrifice, homosexual service members lack the opportunity for this support entirely. Furthermore, because we must keep our relationships a secret from our comrades, and because the opportunity of starting a family is unavailable to us, the casual camaraderie between military families, an important informal channel of support, is lost to us, as well.

Because of this, because I am tired of deceiving my fellow soldiers to keep my honor and protect my career, because I can not stand to abandon all hope of a fulfilling and open relationship forever, and because I believe that the policy that would force me to do so is fundamentally wrong, I respectfully decline to continue in the profession of arms.

End this divisive policy, and in doing so, proclaim to our enemies and all the world that we, the people of the United States of America, still stand together for our inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that this we’ll defend.

Former Sgt. Joseph M. Krafft

Somerville, Mass.

Don’t cheapen sacrifices

As an Army, we have many mandatory gatherings, once or more annually, that require a command presence.

Because there are idiots out there who like to profit from their government roles and sell secrets about the armed forces, we have SAEDA [Subversion and Espionage Directed Against the Army] briefs. Because some people exploit their positions over others for sexual favors, we have consideration-of-others training.

Because some people are racist, bigoted and ignorant, we have dozens of cultural awareness events, emphasizing how people of all backgrounds, creeds and colors have contributed to our armed forces. And because people would rather surf MySpace and Yahoo personals at work, we have procedural training for how to properly use government IT property.

All of these programs have command presence. Many take up to a full workday to accomplish. So why is the Army having so much difficulty with memorial services? Now some posts wish to consolidate mourning our loved ones who have paid the ultimate price.

The need to set aside time for many of these aforementioned programs is ridiculous. People shouldn’t need the Army to tell them how to act like mature and responsible adults. Command groups set aside entire days for training that should have been a part of one’s upbringing, but they cannot make room in the schedule for more than one memorial for multiple service members that have died believing in their mission, and for their comrades?

What kind of message is this sending to our lower enlisted? Remember Gen. Matthew Ridgeway’s words: “All roles are important on the battlefield, and a dead rifleman is as great a loss, in the sight of God, as a dead general.”

Capt. Brian Ellis

Cameron, N.C.

Fit for varmint hunting

PEO Soldier figures prominently in the Army’s failure to acquire a reliable, hard-hitting, accurate, flat-shooting, modern service rifle.

Perhaps it has been preoccupied over its self-contrived dress blues, “white-versus-gray-shirt” conundrum. For 40 years, we have fired toy 5.56mm rounds — suitable for woodchucks, not combat — from high-maintenance, carbon-fouling, dust-jamming M16 and M4 rifles.

More reliable gas-operating systems exist, and have existed, for decades. Let’s get a highly accurate rifle that utilizes one, of foreign or domestic design. Next, either re-adopt the 7.62mm NATO round for general use, or swallow some pride and adopt another excellent military cartridge, such as the 6.5x55mm Swedish, which has superior ballistic coefficients. Perhaps we are due a European cartridge after compelling NATO allies to use our 5.56mm varmint loads for decades.

Capt. Jim Gettens

Sterling, Mass.

Senior NCOs lack standards

While some may think that murder charges against service members in Iraq, the situation at Abu Ghraib prison, conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and other incidents of misconduct or neglect are aberrations or are due to a lack of leadership in isolated units, I believe they are only the worst indicators of a much larger and growing problem in the Army.

The breakdown of values, integrity and leadership throughout the NCO Corps started years before Sept. 11, 2001. Over many years, I have sadly witnessed that many posts have changed from a safe, wholesome, respectful environment in which to live and work into ones that have become less than ideal for family members and soldiers.

The attitude of senior NCOs (first sergeants, brigade, battalion, garrison and post command sergeants major) seems to be that regulations do not apply to themselves, their family members or their friends. They frequently ignore quiet hours and curfews, as well as vandalism and damage to private and government property caused by negligent behavior. Even those senior NCOs who follow rules and policies turn a blind eye to many who routinely break them, and will not stand up for what is right.

Leadership by example, and setting the standard, used to be the mantra for senior NCOs. However, the example being set now seems to be “do whatever you want, rules don’t apply to me,” or “look the other way, everything’s fine, I do not see anything.” Is it any wonder that on many posts, there are gang fights, stabbings, shootings, drug dealing, drug use, speeding through school zones and housing areas and underage drinking — many of these occurring in broad daylight?

Town hall meetings have become a joke to many residents in post housing because they have learned from past experience that no real help will be given.

Until real leaders stand up and demand accountability for the actions of their superiors, peers and subordinates, these problems will only escalate, as will the loss of respect given to senior NCOs by soldiers who are witness to the lack of personal and professional values in their leaders.

James R. Dickson, spouse

Fort Richardson, Ala.

It’s worth more than $3.25

In response to the article posted in the July 2 letter, “Badges? Don’t need ’em,” my initial reaction was one of personal fury. This is a perfect example of why our seniors have classified the “new Army” as lacking discipline and traditional Army values and standards.

The wear and appearance of our military uniform is a time-honored tradition and should bring with it a sense of pride and accomplishment. Badges, of which I have a mere two, are much more valuable than the $3.25 spent at military clothing sales. The sight of soldiers displaying their various accomplishments has a subconscious way of motivating others, including myself, and takes nothing away from those without badges.

The writer mentions he no longer wears his badges as if this was not mandatory, with the exception of being deployed to a combat zone. NCOs should acknowledge the significance of military awards and decorations, be proud of the uniform and adjust their attitude to reflect that of an NCO, not only to silence the critics of the “new Army” but mainly because it is the Army standard.

I have not forgotten we are professionals and leaders, and should act accordingly.

Sgt. Errol W. Cumberbatch

COB Speicher, Iraq

Just because you don’t feel like pinning on badges is no excuse.

I’m a senior NCO with 22 years in service, and I’m authorized several skill badges and multiple combat patches. If you didn’t want to get promoted, you wouldn’t go to the appropriate school to better yourself.

It doesn’t matter if you are maxed on military awards and points. It doesn’t matter if you’re impressing anyone. If you’re an NCO in the U.S. Army, act like it. I’ve earned the Combat Infantry Badge and Combat Medical Badges as a special operations medical NCO. That makes you stand out as a leader.

If you don’t want the job as a leader, step down and let someone else take your place.

Sgt. Maj. Willie L. Christian Jr.

Baltimore, Md.

Is time right to pull out troops?

Several readers wrote to Army Times in response to the July 12 vote in the House of Representatives to begin pulling soldiers out of areas of Iraq next spring and have most out by April 1. Here is a sample of responses:

Perhaps the answer to troop withdrawal from Iraq lies not in how successful the “troop surge” performs or the hope that the Iraqis will unite and settle their differences so they may govern themselves. The answer lies in the length of the no-bid contracts that were awarded to the corporations that are profiting from war. Companies like Halliburton, DynCorp, KBR, Bechtel and Blackwater have multimillion- to multibillion-dollar no-bid contracts. The length of the contract is how long our troops will be in Iraq. These corporations need troops to protect their personnel and equipment.

Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Knowles

Aiken, S.C.

As an Army wife, I support bringing them home. We have lost many friends, and it’s not only hurting our military soldiers but the families, as well. It’s just not worth it to us anymore. It’s their holy war, not ours.

Randi Kelly

Fort Campbell, Ky.

I think the vote is selfish. We went into this country and destroyed it. It is our responsibility as Americans to fix it. I think it is selfish to want to pull out and leave the sheep to the wolves.

Spc. Dustin Rowland

Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

I would have to say that the idea of bringing the troops back from Iraq by April sounds great, but is not practical.

We need to have some type of strategy in place instead of just simply packing up and leaving Iraq altogether. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken their toll on the American public, and no one has felt it harder than the service members in the war zone and their family members.

Yet to make such a drastic move and have a total withdrawal would do a great disservice to our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives here, as well as show the Iraqi people that America could not finish what it started.

2nd Lt. Paul C. White

El Paso, Texas