Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos has said it before and he said it again tonight: The Marine Corps will demonstrate its fidelity to the constitution of the United States by implementing the new policies that will govern the service of openly gay men and women in the military.
Gen. Jim Amos
“As stated during my testimony before Congress in September and again during hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month, the Marine Corps will step out smartly to faithfully implement this new policy, ” Amos said in a statement released Sunday evening.
He and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent, he said, “will personally lead this effort thus ensuring the respect and dignity due all Marines.”
“On this matter, we look forward to further demonstrating to the American people the discipline and loyalty that have been the hallmark of the United States Marine Corps for over 235 years,” Amos said.
The 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, which prohibits openly gay service members from serving in the U.S. military, was repealed Saturday in a 65-31 Senate vote. The measure had been passed by the House of Representatives Dec. 15 in a 250-175 vote. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law this week.
The new rules won’t go into practice for months while a plan is refined by the Defense Department. In the meantime, the law remains in effect as is.
As momentum grew to repeal the law, Amos carried a strong message for the Corps against repeal of the law, telling reporters on Dec. 14 that he didn’t want to “lose any Marines to the distraction. I don’t want to have any Marines that I’m visiting at Bethesda with no legs to be the result of any type of distraction.”
His comments drew fire from gay rights groups and political and military observers, but Amos’ words echoed those of former Commandant Gen. James Conway, who said the Corps “recruit a certain type of young American, a pretty macho guy or gal” and that openly gay Marines would not be a good fit.
In a Defense Department survey on repeal of the law, more than half of the Marines who took the survey registered opposition to its repeal.
8 Comments
I STAND WITH THE COMMANDANT
We in the infantry have very loose mouths and taking out the don’t ask don’t tell policy will probably increase the amount of “hate crimes” just because we speak how we feel. It will also more than likely undermine our effectiveness in front line combat due to not fully trusting one another on account of above said instances of so cald “hate crimes”
I will never server on a gay army. Good luck.
Now homosexual acceptance and behavior will be forced, with the full weight of General Amos behind it. Any dissent will be crushed, religious belief will be trampled. If you refuse to help or bow and scrape before the homosexuals, you will be Court martialed or receive NJP. Pandora’s Box has truly been opened. Sexual assault, rape and sexual harassment will skyrocket, gay male on straight male.
Congress has done what the Germans at Belleau Wood, the Japanese at Guadalcanal and Truman at the Interservices hearings could not do: Congress has destroyed the Marine Corps.
It’s absolute bull that people who have never served in the military have the power to force their own beliefs on those who defend this country ! For their own political gains. Why not fix the economy that you all destroyed shipping our jobs overseas? Your destroying our country and now forcing the defenders of this nation to bow to your political games. It’s sad you so called law makers have disgraced our country and what our nation was founded on the founders of this nation and the men and women who died defending it ! Is there anyone in politics willing to stand for justice and truth?
This policy will be a durastic change, and for some, it may be absurd. At first i believe everyone will have trouble adapting and embracing the reality of DADT policy, but we have to remember what is most important over it all, which is the mission at hand. We have came a long way, overcoming and accepting all that has changed just in the last fifty years, so I strongly believe that we will still do so no matter what policies are changed. When rounds are coming up range I honestly doubt that another persons sexual preference is going to be on your mind. No matter who, what, when, where and why, the bottom line is that we are all marines who follows orders and gets the job done to the absolute best of our abilities and whoever is by my side when doing so I could care less about their sexual preference as long as they do what their told and complete the mission.
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Sir,
I wrote you a heartfelt letter regarding Mare Island Naval Shipyard. It was returned to me without even a declining form letter. The Marines served proudly along with Navy on this island which was established over 200 years ago. The marines, the navy and the proud service given this country I would think a Marine of your stature could take a moment to read my letter and at the bare minimum give me a personal response.