Justus For All

John M. Shalikashvili in the New York Times

Last year I held a number of meetings with gay soldiers and marines, including some with combat experience in Iraq, and an openly gay senior sailor who was serving effectively as a member of a nuclear submarine crew. These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers.This perception is supported by a new Zogby poll of more than 500 service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, three quarters of whom said they were comfortable interacting with gay people. And 24 foreign nations, including Israel, Britain and other allies in the fight against terrorism, let gays serve openly, with none reporting morale or recruitment problems.

I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces. Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.

General Shalikashvili was one of the strong opponents within the Military to integration, so this reversal is signifigant even though he is now retired.  He councils a bit of patience, while other details such as what to do in Iraq in the short term are worked out by congress, but certainly thinks that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell should go away.  I agree with him, and I think that there is no data that supports any non-religious objection to this change.

Of course, some will still oppose this, but I don’t think that they will have nearly as much traction as they did 13 years ago.  My expectation is that we will have a fully integrated military in a few years.

(via Dale Carpenter at the Volokh Conspiracy)