Editorials

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 IN OUR VIEW Let our willing citizens serve our country first The Pentagon must be trying its hand at parody with last week's news, as reported by the Associated Press: Struggling to find enough doctors, nurse and linguists for the war effort, the Pentagon will temporarily recruit foreigners who have been living in the United States on student and works visas, or with refugee or political asylum status. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps to recruit certain legal residents whose critical medical and language skill are "vital to the national interest," AP reported. The services can now start a one-year pilot program to find up to 1,000 foreigners who have lived in the U.S. legally for at least two years. This "solution" is so maddening. Why? Don't ask, don't tell. The counter-productive and embarrassing law continues to hurt our military efforts as it discriminates against those who would honorably serve our country. According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, since the law's 1994 implementation, more than 12,500 women and men have been discharged. According to a 2005 Government Accountability Office report, nearly 800 of those discharged were "mission-critical" specialists -- including pilots, intelligence analysts, medics and linguists. A Blue Ribbon Commission Report found that the taxpayer cost to replace and train service members discharged from fiscal years 1994 through 2003 exceeded $363.8 million. So the recruit-the-foreigners program hopes to find 1,000 eligible recruits "vital to the national interest," while the skills and patriotism of 800 American "mission-critical" specialists will go untapped because of our national anti-gay military policy. Not to mention all the service members filling other military roles. Because the shortage of military recruits is real, repealing the law is critical. According to a 2007 Williams Institute report, "don't ask, don't tell," has discouraged nearly 45,000 Americans from joining and remaining in the armed forces. Meanwhile, as the Pentagon launched its foreigner-recruitment plan, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week kept alive a challenge to the law by Maj. Margaret Witt, a highly decorated former Air Force flight nurse who was based at McChord Air Force Base. An anonymous tipster told the military that Witt had been involved with a civilian woman, which led to her honorable discharge in 2007, two years short of what she needed to receive retirement benefits. Witt's sterling and inspirational record of service is just one story out of 12,500. By reversing the "don't ask, don't tell" travesty, Congress and President-elect Obama have the opportunity to boost our military ranks with highly qualified American citizens, and to honor all those who served, but were kicked out. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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