News Release
For Immediate Release: December 18, 2010
Contact: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355
Congress’ Christmas Present to Troops: Destruction of High Morale, Good Order and Discipline, and Unit Cohesion
(Harrisburg) – Today 65 United States Senators voted to ignore our military history and allow homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. On Wednesday 250 Congressmen chose to send the same Christmas present to our troops. Homosexuals have been prohibited from serving since before the founding of this nation with one clear incident of a homosexual soldier being drummed out of the Colonial Army in March of 1778 during the height of our War for Independence against the world’s super power of that day. The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide traditional values group, is appalled that Congress has chosen to ignore history, to ignore what the November 30th Pentagon Report actually said and to bow to pressure from homosexual special rights groups whose chief concern is to further their agenda and not what is good for the nation.
“Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says lifting the ban will take time — the President and Pentagon must first certify that lifting the ban won’t hurt troops’ ability to fight. What a ludicrous statement! The President and Pentagon, up to this point, have chosen to ignore warnings from their own report, warnings from the VFW and American Legion as well as the statement opposing appeal signed by more than 1,050 retired flag and general officers. Additionally, they have chosen to ignore the direct warnings from the Army and Marine Chiefs who have said it will adversely affect our troops’ ability to fight. Apparently the goals of the White House and the Pentagon are to score points with homosexual activists and not do what is best for our military,” warned Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.
During the two hearings held by the Senate Armed Services Committee, both Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen repeated the same arguments that gay activists have recycled for many years, but they failed to make the case for repealing the law making homosexuals ineligible for military service. Neither Gates nor Mullen cited a benefit to the military to be realized from repeal. Additionally, the Air Force Chief of Staff did not want changes made until 2012 and the Chief of Naval Operations predicted many highly trained combat sailors such as Navy Seals would not reenlist in protest.
The two hearings held earlier this month did not refute the ‘findings of fact’ resulting from the numerous hearings held prior to passage of the 1993 law banning homosexuals from serving in the military and which are included in the actual law. Those fifteen findings include: (2) There is no constitutional right to serve in the armed forces; (6) success in combat requires military units that are characterized by high morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion; (7) one of the most critical elements in combat capability is unit cohesion, that is, the bonds of trust among individual service members that make the combat effectiveness of a military unit greater than the sum of the combat effectiveness of the individual unit members; (8) military life is fundamentally different from civilian life in that- (A) the extraordinary responsibilities of the armed forces, the unique conditions of military service, and the critical role of unit cohesion, require that the military community, while subject to civilian control, exist as a specialized society; and (B) the military society is characterized by its own laws, rules, customs, and traditions, including numerous restrictions on personal behavior, that would not be acceptable in civilian society; (12) the worldwide deployment of United States military forces, the international responsibilities of the United States, and the potential for involvement of the armed forces in actual combat routinely make it necessary for members of the armed forces involuntarily to accept living conditions and working conditions that are often spartan, primitive, and characterized by forced intimacy with little or no privacy; (13) The prohibition against homosexual conduct is a long-standing element of military law that continues to be necessary in the unique circumstances of military service; (15) the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.”
“Until those fifteen findings of fact are refuted, homosexuals should not serve in the military – no matter what members of Congress may think, their politically motivated decisions over the past few days are not in the best interest of our country,” further commented Gramley.
General George Washington’s general orders issued on October 21, 1778 in Fredericksburgh noted that “an Army without order, regularity, and discipline is no better than a commissioned mob.” Thus according to the Father of Our Nation, the United States Congress has just turned our military into a commissioned mob.
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