DAY 18: DADT Update

Last month in TIME magazine, Marine General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is quoted from an interview he did with the Chicago Tribune, telling the paper that "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts." Well then, that’s that!

No, I’m sorry – it isn’t! There is more to say now for sure. First, when did General Pace become the morality police?
In that same issue of TIME there is this: "General Pace1s comments are outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serving in our armed forces," says C. Dixon Osburn, who heads the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a gay advocacy group in Washington (the 65,000 estimate is a UCLA study's estimate, the group said). "Our men and women in uniform make tremendous sacrifices for our country, and deserve General Pace's praise, not his condemnation.”

Check out the entire article. I really cannot do it justice here, and that isn’t even my intention. There is tons of information just about every day now. This is a good thing. More and more men and women are coming out and they need information. They need support. Most of all, they need to know that they are not alone.

This is where you come in once again. Help spread the word. Talk to people. Folks this kind of communicating will not only help end DADT, but it will also help make same-sex marriage a reality from coast to coast!

Congress and the President need to hurry up and take action to repeal Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell, so that gay and lesbian Americans who want to serve their country can get out of the unemployment line and back out on the front lines.

Here (below, from the knightsout.org website) is a list of out West Point Alumni who identify as LGBTQ. As members of the Long Gray Line from West Point, they are a living example of the cadet prayer: "...not to be content with a half truth, when the whole can be won."

Name, West Point Class, Highest Rank Held, Branch of Service
Dandridge Hering 1947 LTC AR
Nicholas Carlson 1958 H-3 MAJ Air Force
Robert Finkenaur 1958 LTC
Stewart Bornhoft 1969 COL EN
Lucian K. Truscott, IV 1969 2LT MP
Howard Voland 1972 CPT FA/QC
Robert Machado 1973 CPT IN
Greer Puckett 1974 CDT N/A
Edmundo Colchado 1976 CPT FA
John Holbert 1977 MAJ IN
Mike Shannan 1977 A-3 CPT IN
George Cuesta 1978 CPT MP
Earle Kirkland 1978 CPT FA
Carol Barkalow 1980 LTC TC
Brenda Sue Fulton 1980 CPT SC
Andrea Hollen 1980 MAJ SC
Regina Todd 1980 LTC EN
Magdaline Caradimitropoulo 1981 CPT EN
Thomas Wuchte 1982 LTC EN
Susann Miguel 1984 CPT OD
Marjorie Rudinsky 1984 MAJ BMO
Tracey Stewart 1984 CDT
Charles Cushman 1986 CPT AR
Lissa Young 1986 LTC AV
Kenneth (Mark) Landes 1987 1LT AR
Clayce Rodamer 1987 2LT ADA
Jeffrey Voigt 1987 LTC IN/AC
Rhonda Cook 1988 CPT MI
Laura Slattery 1988 1LT MC
Roxanne Fox 1989 MAJ OD/CA
Teresa Haering 1989 1LT TC
Sandi Hassett 1989 CPT AV
Ed Urbaniak 1989 CPT AR
Darryl DeMag 1991 CDT
Becky Kanis 1991 CPT SC
Beach Pace 1991 CPT OD
Todd Feemster 1992 2LT AG
Jeffery Freitas 1992 CDT
Deneil LoGiudice 1992 CDT N/A
Scott Melendez 1992 CDT N/A
Brad Sherrill 1993 CPT QM
Jincy Pace 1994 1LT MP
Allyson Robinson 1994 CPT AD
Steven Thornton 1994 CPT AD
Bridget Altenburg 1995 CPT EN
Richard Dickson 1996 CPT OD
Jenn Oliva 1996 CPT MP
Megan Scanlon 1997 CPT TC
Beneka Bali 2000 G3/H3 CPT EN
Gordon-Michael Cox 2000 CPT SC
Patrick Cunanan 2000 2LT
Melissa Lawton 2000 2LT TC
Star Hy 2001 CPT MP/AG
Greg Ogborn 2001 CPT OD
David Moore 2002 CPT EN
Ian Shipps 2002 CPT MSC
Booker Young 2002 1LT AD
Daniel Choi 2003 1LT IN
Sarah Haag 2003 2LT SC
Jeff Oster 2003 CPT
Anthony Woods 2003 CPT AR
Dan Manning 2004 1LT FA
William Johnson 2005 CDT Cook
Harry Leak 2005 CDT N/A
Joseph Simenic 2005 2LT IN
Nicholas Brown 2006 CDT