Focus on smooth transition
Published 12:01 am Friday, September 16, 2011
While a general said Wednesday that the repeal of the ban on gays in the military next week won’t even register a blip on the radar, he also predicted some civilians who strongly oppose the move will protest.
Gen. Carter Ham may or may not have expected those “civilians” to be members of Con
gress, but that’s who popped up this week seeking to delay the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” on Tuesday because several paperwork questions are unresolved, Stars and Stripes reported.
In a letter to the Defense Department, House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., the committee’s personnel chairman, said lawmakers still have not received copies of all policy changes connected to the repeal, the paper reported.
Gen. Ham said the debate is over. “My hope, my expectation, my belief is that it will be pretty inconsequential,” he said, reflecting the prevailing view among senior U.S. military and civilian officials at the Pentagon, the Associated Press reported.
McKeon’s and Wilson’s time would be better spent making sure the system runs smoothly for those veterans who may want to rejoin the military after being booted out under the ban.
Service members discharged under DADT do not have a right to rejoin, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Those wanting to rejoin must apply through a recruiter and be assessed using the same criteria as other prior service applicants. It’s an imperfect system, as any would be. But with the ban gone, the military will be stronger.
The recent confluence of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the repeal of the 18-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” brings to mind Lt. Col. Victor J. Fehrenbach, the highly decorated F-15 fighter pilot from Idaho who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, earning the Meritorious Service Medal, nine Air Medals — including one for heroism — the Aerial Achievement Medal, five Air Force Commendation Medals and the Navy Commendation Medal.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Fehrenbach was hand-picked to protect the airspace over Washington, D.C.
In 2008, the Air Force informed him he was being discharged after being outed by a civilian tipster.
After a two-year legal battle, Fehrenbach was able to retire from the military after 20 years of service, along with Maj. Margaret Witt, a highly decorated flight nurse whose case paved the way for his legal challenge, The Advocate reported.
Fehrenbach and Witt were known for their courage during their service, and it’s to our country’s great benefit that they bravely took on the military that they loved, honored and served. Even as it kicked them out.
