Analyst's note:  You guessed it -- another absolutely must read article.  And I woke up wondering what would I write today.  As pointed out in a previous article, I feel a ground-swell coming on this most recent issue of DADT.  As some have said, "War is hell" and this will be a "war" unlike any seen for some time in our political arena.  Those who voted for and otherwise supported this attempt to destroy our fighting forces from within are going to discover the negative impact of their position at the voting booth. 

Some will soon spend the rest of their lives unable to make eye contact with the majority of their fellow Americans as a result of their support on this bill.  This may be a little strong, since we are talking about politicians here.  Shame on you Adm Mullen, you must know that a detrimental effect on the state of morale and effectiveness will be across the board.  I can only think that the hope for eventual sr. civilian position and influence will ultimately be denied to you as a result of what you have done. 

We are likely to have to keep our young children from seeing parts of the evening news.  I don't even like to have to report this material, let alone ponder the real associated issues.

You can rest assured that your Marines are in the attack on this matter.  The lives of our fellow Marines and our very national survival  are at stake.  As always, we Marines can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  I like John's words when he says, the  "... Marine Corps squares off with danger - and destroys it with men genetically pre-disposed for the rigors of intense combat."  This bill represents just another form of intense combat.

The choice has been made by the politicians.  As John Bernard points out, "... almost every vote, and every signature given to repeal this policy have been given by men - and women who have never donned a uniform in defense of this nation; Men and Women who on the low end of the scale receive $174,000.00 a year to safeguard not only our physical security but our moral underpinning as well." Semper Fidelis.

"Since first enacted, under Bill Clinton in 1993, the policy known as 'Don't Act, Don't Tell' has governed the way the Services have handled the inevitable inclusion homosexuals and lesbians. Essentially, the policy recognized what all of us have known, that some in uniform have not been as forthright about their sexual proclivities as others. On the surface, the policy was there to promote order and discipline in an environment where these are not just hallmarks but crucial to mission success. It also gave silent consent to those practicing homosexuality to continue to serve as long as that practice was kept in private.

Gleaning any number of politically engineered surveys with specifically crafted questions aimed at people in uniform has provided a seemingly mixed accounting of perceptions of these sexual practices and both sides of the argument have used the data to sway the argument one way or the other.

While I am sure this engineering of craft gives some sense of power to the ideologues using the results, literally everyone in the argument seems to not have understood the ultimate price that will be paid for this gaming.

Societies throughout time have struggled with this issue. It is not new and we are not more advanced because President Obama will be signing a piece of paper this morning that will put us on par with the likes of Sodom, Gomorrah, Sparta, Pompei, the Roman Empire, ancient Greece, et al. But once again we are witnessing our government's failure to consult the annals of History to see the fruit of their decisions. Each of these aforementioned societies fell into ruin after having followed the same course of action our Congress and the White House just took. It is also worthy to note, that almost every vote, and every signature given to repeal this policy have been given by men - and women who have never donned a uniform in defense of this nation; Men and Women who on the low end of the scale receive $174,000.00 a year to safeguard not only our physical security but our moral underpinning as well.

The surveys given to the Warrior community that seemed to suggest the vast majority will welcome this policy change have been ever so cleverly crafted in a way that caused the respondent to consider whether or not he hates the person rather than the practice. Adm Mullen refused to answer Senator McCain's question on this issue because the Admiral knew of the deviously designed disingenuous structure of the questions. These questions were specifically designed to produce a result that upper echelon leadership could live with and to persuade proponents of DADT to 'move over'.

In their rabid zeal to darn the fabric of American society, they have thrust onto our military yet one more untenable item to deal with and this, during a time of war. If anyone thinks this will not have a detrimental effect on the state of morale and effectiveness across the board, you are naïve and foolish. This is especially true in a Service as intense and masculine as the Marine Corps. I have long believed that the axiom 'the Marine Corps builds men' to be inaccurate. The fact is men come to the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps trains them to be the finest Warriors the world has ever seen. Members of all of the other Services will tell you something similar. But I am convinced that men who come to the Marine Corps, a service that promises pain - in large quantity, are answering a clarion call. They don't join because the Marine Corps is a 'tolerant, all accepting' organization; it is because the Marine Corps squares off with danger - and destroys it with men genetically pre-disposed for the rigors of intense combat.

If Congress wants to 're-structure' something, they should look into their own souls and do a little re-tooling there. This latest unconscionable act by this morally stunted government will prove to have been one of the decisive nails in the coffin awaiting the sarcophagus - and the grave of this nation.

It should give pause to us all to consider the eventual plight of each and every nation in history that has openly traveled this route.

Members of Congress should glean the pages of history; secular and Biblical to see what happened to those men and women who have set their nations on the course this sitting government just has."

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard