I don’t think it is as bad as it used to be but a lot of ex-military folks follow career paths in the defense industry where I think they may be more likely to care. A friend of mine from college...
I don’t think it is as bad as it used to be but a lot of ex-military folks follow career paths in the defense industry where I think they may be more likely to care.
A friend of mine from college went to the air force academy because that was the best place to learn about space technology but got kicked out for being trans. She got her degree at New Mexico Tech and wound up working on all sorts of defense projects including the ill-fated (and named) XM2001 Crusader before finally getting to work for NASA on sample return for Mars.
Man, best of luck to them, trying to get your personal records changed even when you're in the military is a brutal process, let alone many years after you've gotten out (especially if you get the...
Man, best of luck to them, trying to get your personal records changed even when you're in the military is a brutal process, let alone many years after you've gotten out (especially if you get the VA involved). If the records for the court martial just say "misconduct", then I'm assuming they would have to track down and interview people that had taken part in it originally? Good Lord, I don't know what the Vegas odds on that would be, but probably not awesome...
I read not too long ago that it was considered progressive back when it came into effect. Still blows my mind that this policy has become so vilified now in less than 30 years - and yet it's not...
I read not too long ago that it was considered progressive back when it came into effect. Still blows my mind that this policy has become so vilified now in less than 30 years - and yet it's not even as old as I am
It was progressive in the way it allowed gay people to serve, as long as they hid it, opposed to the old rules where ir was flat out banned. But making people hide their sexual identify, and...
It was progressive in the way it allowed gay people to serve, as long as they hid it, opposed to the old rules where ir was flat out banned.
But making people hide their sexual identify, and discharging them if they don't, is still very wrong and it's rightfully remembered as a shitty policy.
It’s all still shitty, but I can believe that having an outright ban can also be used to justify invasive screening and questioning, so while they’re both terrible, “don’t ask don’t tell” is still...
It’s all still shitty, but I can believe that having an outright ban can also be used to justify invasive screening and questioning, so while they’re both terrible, “don’t ask don’t tell” is still a small step up…
The military is in a challenging position where it is getting yelled at from all sides. Overall it faces difficult problems in recruitment and it doesn't help that military careers are more...
Exemplary
The military is in a challenging position where it is getting yelled at from all sides.
Overall it faces difficult problems in recruitment and it doesn't help that military careers are more attractive to right-leaning folks from rural areas. The truth is that the military sends lots of ordinary people out to other countries who have contact with the local population every day and cultural sensitivity plays an important role in wining wars, if only through not losing them.
Many progressives on the other hand have a negative attitude towards the military, for instance many would say the military is "racist" for recruiting poor blacks but would forget they would put a black drill sergeant in charge of recruits to challenge recruits who don't like taking orders from a black person and that Colin Powell rose to a high position in the military that has rarely been equaled in corporate America (it was in 1987 that TIAA appointed the first black CEO to a Fortune 500 corporation) and was universally seen as competent and not as "an affirmative action case."
As much as there can be an exploitative aspect of the military it can also be a path of social mobility to some as it was for a white woman I know who grew up in a hard scrabble background and eventually became established as an HR executive.
My uncle Norman served in the marines and he had many children many of whom were police and first responders, even some of the girls. At his funeral I was introduced by one of his sons, who is a college hockey coach, to his husband. And that's it, even among that kind of family there is a high level of acceptance and that's something that developed more quickly than anybody would have thought.
But that said, I hear all the time from veterans who absolutely dread dealing with veterans bureaucracy. Norman received a great deal of help from the VA in the last few years of his life when he was suffering from a terrible neurodegenerative condition and he was thankful for the help he received but getting what they deserve from the system can be tough for many.
Great place to start undoing the damage that caused. Discharges can be used on employment checks.
I don’t think it is as bad as it used to be but a lot of ex-military folks follow career paths in the defense industry where I think they may be more likely to care.
A friend of mine from college went to the air force academy because that was the best place to learn about space technology but got kicked out for being trans. She got her degree at New Mexico Tech and wound up working on all sorts of defense projects including the ill-fated (and named) XM2001 Crusader before finally getting to work for NASA on sample return for Mars.
Man, best of luck to them, trying to get your personal records changed even when you're in the military is a brutal process, let alone many years after you've gotten out (especially if you get the VA involved). If the records for the court martial just say "misconduct", then I'm assuming they would have to track down and interview people that had taken part in it originally? Good Lord, I don't know what the Vegas odds on that would be, but probably not awesome...
I read not too long ago that it was considered progressive back when it came into effect. Still blows my mind that this policy has become so vilified now in less than 30 years - and yet it's not even as old as I am
It was progressive in the way it allowed gay people to serve, as long as they hid it, opposed to the old rules where ir was flat out banned.
But making people hide their sexual identify, and discharging them if they don't, is still very wrong and it's rightfully remembered as a shitty policy.
Which is weird as it was still banned, as if they were outed they still got kicked out, like how is that better than the old policy.
It’s all still shitty, but I can believe that having an outright ban can also be used to justify invasive screening and questioning, so while they’re both terrible, “don’t ask don’t tell” is still a small step up…
The military is in a challenging position where it is getting yelled at from all sides.
Overall it faces difficult problems in recruitment and it doesn't help that military careers are more attractive to right-leaning folks from rural areas. The truth is that the military sends lots of ordinary people out to other countries who have contact with the local population every day and cultural sensitivity plays an important role in wining wars, if only through not losing them.
Many progressives on the other hand have a negative attitude towards the military, for instance many would say the military is "racist" for recruiting poor blacks but would forget they would put a black drill sergeant in charge of recruits to challenge recruits who don't like taking orders from a black person and that Colin Powell rose to a high position in the military that has rarely been equaled in corporate America (it was in 1987 that TIAA appointed the first black CEO to a Fortune 500 corporation) and was universally seen as competent and not as "an affirmative action case."
As much as there can be an exploitative aspect of the military it can also be a path of social mobility to some as it was for a white woman I know who grew up in a hard scrabble background and eventually became established as an HR executive.
My uncle Norman served in the marines and he had many children many of whom were police and first responders, even some of the girls. At his funeral I was introduced by one of his sons, who is a college hockey coach, to his husband. And that's it, even among that kind of family there is a high level of acceptance and that's something that developed more quickly than anybody would have thought.
But that said, I hear all the time from veterans who absolutely dread dealing with veterans bureaucracy. Norman received a great deal of help from the VA in the last few years of his life when he was suffering from a terrible neurodegenerative condition and he was thankful for the help he received but getting what they deserve from the system can be tough for many.