Well, there goes the Military ...

[togor]

This was explained years ago.

"We cannot put America's homosexuals in danger."

[Mark in Ottawa]

I have enough faith in my masculinity not to worry about who or what was in my foxhole as long as he is competent. Of course, at my age and with my physical handicaps, I could never get into or out of a foxhole, much less dig one, so its really easy for me to talk.

[blackhawknj]

Yes, obesity is a bar to military service, yet in years gone by Basic Training was one of the most effective weight reduction programs, the DI following the overweight recruit down the chow line-or simply putting them in a fat boys company, restricted diet, extra PT.
The US military's ban on homosexuals was formalized after WWII as a result of bad experiences during WWII.Problems with sexual harassment, obnoxious behavior, and especially in the Navy, predatory officers and NCOs. In the words of WWI veteran Harry S. Truman "Homosexuality and military service are incompatible."

[Vern Humphrey]

The point is, military service is SERVICE -- not an entitlement. Now I don't care about someone's sexual orientation. But I DO care about their ability to perform their service. If someone needs special surgery, medications and so on, the military is not the place for them.

[togor]

https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/a-mixed-military-bag-for-people-with-diabetes#1

Subject is....serving with diabetes or other disabilities. There are people advocating to let those with blood sugar issues be on active duty. Gotta wonder about the wisdom of that, for obvious reasons.

As for gays, many keep themselves in pretty good shape. And seriously, always there from the beginning anyways....so the question isn't whether they can serve or not (they have been) but rather can the non-gays handle the knowledge of gays openly serving? So it isn't about the homosexuals, never has been. It's about the rest.

[blackhawknj]

In WWII the Wehrmacht had units of men with similar ailments-the "white bread" battalions,e.g., grouped together for ease of treatment, IMHO a unit of diabetics-proper diet, exercise, command influence, peer pressure and support-could function properly, a unit of those who are HIV positive, same thing, other service members wouldn't have to worry about close contact with them.

[Vern Humphrey]

In WWII the Wehrmacht had units of men with similar ailments-the "white bread" battalions,e.g., grouped together for ease of treatment, IMHO a unit of diabetics-proper diet, exercise, command influence, peer pressure and support-could function properly, a unit of those who are HIV positive, same thing, other service members wouldn't have to worry about close contact with them.

The Germans did that because they were desperate -- they were scraping the bottom of the barrel for manpower. And those units were a net loss -- it cost more to maintain them than they were worth.

[blackhawknj]

They freed up more fit men for more strenuous duties. And there's something to be said for using the less desirable elements of society in combat-helps to clean the gene pool.

[dryheat]

This was explained years ago.

"We cannot put America's homosexuals in danger."

Oh,boy. I thought, I'm going to have to read this then I see it's the onion. Rarerer(sp) than Unicorns. No

I've been in "foxholes" with gays(or horny young guys who never "got the talk"). They are polite if anything. They make, ah, overtures, no, invitations. You decline and that's that.

[blackhawknj]

If there were any when I served 1967-1971 they were far more discrete and low keyed than the braggarts and loudmouths of today, allowing those who test HIV positive to escape overseas deployments creates a lot of bitterness and resentment.
And those of us who have served now that soldiers are generally not that sentimental or sympathetic, if something happens to someone whose politics or sexual orientation you don't like, if you think they have received favored and preferential treatment because they're part of an "in" group.......

[Major Tom]

In early '66, we had 2 (snip) in our barracks. They would play at night when they thought the rest of us were asleep. They disappeared pronto.

[Vern Humphrey]

They freed up more fit men for more strenuous duties. And there's something to be said for using the less desirable elements of society in combat-helps to clean the gene pool.

But it didn't -- the resources needed for those units outweighed any benefit they brought. It was a net loss to the German Army.