The Pentagon, which likes to pretend that gays don't serve in the military and earlier this year listed homosexuality as a "mental illness" in an old set of instructions, has now gone and done itself one better – it has "redefined" homosexuality as a "condition, circumstance, or defect," likening gays to bed-wetters, alcoholics, and those with personality disorders.
All of this came about after an old document dating back to the Clinton administration was found in June that called homosexuality a mental illness. Congressman Marty Meehan (D-Massachusetts) and representatives of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association promptly requested that the Pentagon update its obviously outdated language. (The American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973.)
In light of the new classification, which to us is just as bad as the original, the psychiatric association again noted that "homosexuality is not a defect ... but could be construed as one by its inclusion in this section." We're convinced that this is another attempt by the military to further stigmatize gays since the Pentagon actually added the word "defects" to what had previously been classified as "conditions."
The guidelines, according to the Associated Press, outline retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities. The rules describe other "conditions, circumstances, and defects" that could lead to retirement, and that's where homosexuality is now listed. The revision, said Dr. James Scully, president of the psychiatric association, falls far short of what is needed and "lacks the clarity necessary to resolve the issue."
As most readers know, gays have been serving in the U.S. military for decades. In 2003, two retired Army generals and a retired Coast Guard admiral came out as gay, making them the highest-ranking military leaders to do so. All were critical of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's anti-gay policy that forbids service members from serving openly in the armed forces.
Yet the military continues to discharge gay service members, particularly Arabic linguists, for violating DADT. The AP reported last year that between 1998 and 2004, the military discharged 20 Arabic and six Farsi speakers. The figures were contained in a report that was obtained by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military (now named the Michael D. Palm Center) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Director Aaron Belkin has been an outspoken critic of DADT, especially since September 11, 2001 and in ensuing years. We now know that our military and civilian intelligence agencies don't communicate much with one another, and we now know that human intelligence yields more information than a drone flying overhead; but this effort requires people who can speak the language and translate materials in a timely manner. Steve Ralls, with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, correctly pointed out last year that "the military is placing homophobia well ahead of national security." That statement is still true today.
Public support for repealing DADT has been increasing steadily, as Meehan wrote in an op-ed for the Boston Globe in April. A July 1993 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed only 40 percent of people favored allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. "But a May 2005 poll conducted for the Boston Globe found that 79 percent of people favored allowing openly gay people to serve," Meehan wrote. "It is time for Congress to catch up with the country and overturn this policy."
Meehan's right, of course. And we certainly don't need the Pentagon changing its classifications to demean us further. The Pentagon is defective, with its bloated bureaucracy and word games that seek to reinforce old stereotypes that have nothing to do with operating efficiently and effectively.