One of the most glaring omissions in the Pentagon’s new “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell” survey is whether U.S. military personnel believe
a change in policy is necessary, desirable or advantageous. That
is, should we repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?
The Pentagon never asked that question, and for an obvious
reason: It doesn’t want to have to tell the White House what the
White House doesn’t want to hear. Which is that most U.S. military
personnel — and certainly most Marines and most infantrymen —
believe we should leave well enough alone and retain the current
policy.
Because in truth, that policy has worked out quite well.
Gay men and women can serve, albeit discreetly, and without
incidence or disruption.
Of course, that’s not what you hear from the media and the
gay lobby; however, it happens to be true: Most servicemen and
women who are drummed out of the military have brought their
expulsion upon themselves. They have made an issue of their
sexuality, thus forcing the hands of their superiors.
And so, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” survey had to be
manipulated in order to convey the politically correct message,
which is: “Everyone’s for repeal! Do it now!”
In yesterday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing,
Sen. John McCain rightly seized upon this manipulation to argue
that the Pentagon’s survey is fundamentally flawed. This created
one of the most dramatic tension points in the hearing; and McCain
won this round big-time.
“I can’t think of a single precedent in American history
of doing a referendum of the American armed forces on a policy
issue,” declared Defense Secretary Robert
Gates. “Holding a referendum of members of the
armed services on a policy matter,” he added, “is a very dangerous
path.”
Are you going to ask them if they want 15-month tours? Are you
gonna ask them if they want to be part of the surge in Iraq? That’s
not the way our civilian-led military has ever worked in our entire
history. The should question needs to be decided by the Congress or
the courts, as far as I’m concerned.
Notice the sleight of hand by Gates. He raises
the question of who should decide policy matters. But
that’s not in dispute. No one’s ever questioned the legal
authority of Congress to establish criteria for military
service. (And as for the courts, they have no jurisdiction here.
The criteria for military service is a political, not a judicial
question.)
Moreover, military personnel decisions that affect
families involve a very different set of policy questions from
those involving the deployment of forces in overseas contingency
operations. Surely it is reasonable to expect that Congress will be
more indulgent of what troops think about personnel decisions that
involve their families than it will be of what troops think about
when and where to fight our nation’s wars.
Historically, Congress has decided when and where to go to
war because that affects American foreign policy, which is a
congressional responsibility. However, Congress has tended to defer
to the military on the criteria for military service, because it
rightly views these criteria as an internal military matter for
which the military has special expertise.
In any case, it certainly makes sense to have policy
decisions informed by the thoughts, views and observations
of our troops. That, after all, as McCain observed, is the essence
of good leadership.
Everything I ever learned about leadership, everything I ever
practiced about leadership, every great leader I’ve ever known
always consulted with his subordinates for their views — no matter
what the issue. And certainly an issue of this magnitude deserves
that leaders take into consideration the views of their
subordinates.
It doesn’t mean that they are dictated [to] by the views of
their subordinates. But I never made a major decision in
the military without going around and talking to the enlisted
people — the ones that would be tasked to carry out whatever the
mission is [emphasis added].
So I’m almost incredulous to see that on an issue of this
magnitude we wouldn’t at least solicit the views of the military
about whether it [the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy] should be
changed or not.
Now, those views may be rejected, those opinions… may be
discounted. But to somehow say, “Well, we’re not going to have a
referendum.”
It’s not a referendum. That’s not what leadership is.
Leadership is soliciting the views of your subordinates — and
the[n] you’re able to carry out your mission because you have to
rely on them…
So to say, “Well, we didn’t need to ask their opinion on whether
it should be repealed or not” violates, in my view, one of the
fundamental principles of leadership.
McCain has it exactly right. It is precisely this type
of
stellar leadership that I witnessed in the Marine Corps
while serving in Iraq, and which I wrote about recently
here at The American
Spectator. Marine captains and majors, I noted, sometimes
deferred to more junior corporals and sergeants.
The captains and majors, obviously, had controlling legal
authority; and no one, least of all the Marine corporals and
sergeants, ever doubted or questioned this. But everyone recognized
that, because of their combat savvy and experience, the corporals
and sergeants had a certain moral authority which had to be
acknowledged and respected.
Yet when pressed on this issue, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, insisted that “it’s an incredibly bad
precedent to ask them [your people and your subordinates] about,
you know, to essentially vote on a policy.”
Ever the fighter pilot, McCain honed in on his target and
delivered a devastating and irrefutable strike:
It’s not voting, Sir. It’s asking their views. It’s asking their
views, and whether they would agree or disagree with a change…
Whenever a new policy or any course of action were contemplated,
you would ask the views of others. You wouldn’t necessarily accept
them.
But for you to sit there and say, “Well, we wouldn’t want
to ask their views.” I mean, that to me is – [It] makes this whole
exercise here, [which] took so much time and effort and money, a
bit… unrealistic…
Why didn’t we simply just ask them how they felt about it
[retaining or repealing the current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy]
— just as you would [when contemplating] any other course of
action? Again, every great leader [that] I’ve known has said: “What
are your views on this issue?”
Indeed, that was the key question in yesterday’s hearing.
That was the dog that never barked. That was the smoking gun. And
of course, we know the answer to that question even if our senior
military and political leaders won’t say so. Facts, after all, are
stubborn things.
For these reasons, then, Congress should refrain from
taking any precipitous action over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Find
out what our troops really think; and ascertain whether a change in
policy is even necessary. Don’t believe the media and activist
spin; and do right by our troops.
