Don't Ask

...unless we are severely low on numbers and then we don't care WHAT you do.
via Petulant:

The Navy returned an openly gay sailor to active duty last year in what gay rights advocates say is an example of how some military commanders — stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — are turning a blind eye to the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning gays and lesbians from revealing their sexual orientation.

Petty Officer Jason D. Knight, a Hebrew linguist who says he had officially informed his superiors that he was homosexual, was discharged in April 2005 after completing his four-year tour of duty, according to a summary of his Navy personnel file.

Nine months later, the Navy recalled him to active duty, even though he was openly gay, and sent him to Kuwait, where he served as a translator and received multiple awards for exemplary service.

You can read the rest of the story over at Boston.com

Of course, if you ask the Navy...

The Navy stressed yesterday that Knight was dismissed in 2005 simply because his service commitment was over, not because he was gay, as reported in Stars and Stripes. The assertion "is not consistent with our records," said Commander Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman.

But other military officials who declined not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the press said it was possible that the Navy simply waited for Knight's commitment to end rather than dismiss him for being gay. In fact, Knight's personnel record was coded RE-1, allowing the Navy to recall him if needed.

This is true, he was dismissed in 05 because his commitment was over, but only because it was done before the DADT paperwork would have even been close to being completed. They know now and...they're doing nothing. This is how bad it has gotten, we all remember at the start of the war when the Army discharged a great deal of linguists because they were gay. I can only shake my head at this story, what a wondrous world we now live in.

Sick To My Stomach

Via Kileen Daily Herald:

History will be made today when Copperas Cove resident Bill Thomas and his wife, Georgia, present President George W. Bush with a Purple Heart at the Oval Office.

Thomas said he and his wife came up with the unprecedented idea to present the president with the Purple Heart over breakfast one morning a few months ago as they discussed the verbal attacks, both foreign and domestic, the commander in chief has withstood during his time in office.

"We feel like emotional wounds and scars are as hard to carry as physical wounds," Thomas said.

The medal was awarded to Thomas on Dec. 18, 1965, following injuries he sustained while serving in heavy combat with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam.

Excuse me?! A man who hid from Vietnam thanks to DADDY and has done more harm to this great country then Osama Bin Laden is being given a purple heart by some senile old man for "emotional woulds and scars"? Does this man not read the news about how this man does not care about mental health of our troops what so ever?

Someone needs to remind sparky that we appreciate that he suffered three wounds resulting in purple hearts, but this man is not Eisenhower, hell this man isn't even LBJ. This is a man who forces the military to send soldiers to Iraq who have suffered brain damage. When one looks at LaVena Johnson, Pat Tillman, Walter Reed and the numerous suicides that is happening to our veterans of the Iraq War how can you not be physically ill?

A Reason I Got Out Of The Military

The Marine Corps has decided to limit tattoos more then they already do. They are not going to allow tattoos that are past the elbow and knee...wow. These men can go into combat, but can't do what they like with their bodies. Half the recruits may go into another service since they won't be allowed in the Marine Corps with those tats.

This is my problem with the military today and from what I understand, it has been a problem since Desert Storm. The military cares more about appearances then it does about performance. The person who looks the part gets the promotion over the person who can actually accomplish the job. Promotion is out-dated in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. I think, though I could be wrong, that Air Force is the only service where your knowledge of your ACTUAL job affects if you get promoted or not. In the Army how competent you are at your job has no effect, you're only tested on general army knowledge.

Over half the military winds up with tattoos, it's a foregone conclusion. You know what you will find outside almost every military base in the US? Tattoo parlors and car lots. I'm not talking down the road either, we're talking a few hundred feet from the gates. In Germany you can replace the car lots with red light districts. I began getting my tattoos when I was in training and it has continued on to this day. I understand banning gang, racists and the like tattoos, but to ban ink that is almost always covered, fucking ridiculous.

For educational knowledge, here is my latest ink which was mentioned in yesterday's post.