67 Percent of Marine Combat Forces Say Putting Homosexuals in Their Units Will Hurt...

CNSNews ^ | December 20, 2010 | Terence P. Jeffrey

[jazusamo]

A U.S. Marine Corps sergeant in
action in Sangin, Afghanistan on
Nov. 9, 2010. (Defense Department
photo/Lance Cpl. Dexter S.
Saulisbury, U.S. Marine Corps)

(CNSNews.com) - 66.5 percent of U.S. Marine combat forces surveyed by a special Defense Department working group said that putting homosexuals in their units would hurt their effectiveness in the field, and 47.8 percent of Marines in combat units specifically said putting homosexuals in their units would hurt their effectiveness “in an intense combat situation.”

The U.S. Congress voted last week to repeal the law—commonly known as Don’t Ask, Don’ Tell—that barred homosexuals from serving in the military.

Earlier this year, after President Barack Obama said in his 2010 State of the Union Address that he wanted to end the ban on homosexuals in the military, Defense Secretary Robert Gates put together a special working group to begin making plans for integrating homosexuals into the Armed Forces if Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell were in fact repealed.

The working group secured the services of Westat Corporation, a polling company, to survey more than 115,000 active duty service members on their attitudes and views about integrating homosexuals into the military. Among those surveyed by Westat were 989 men serving in Marine combat units.

Question 71a in Westat’s survey of these Marine combat forces read as follows: “If Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would it affect your immediate unit's effectiveness at completing its mission ... In a field environment or out to sea?” The Marines were given 6 options for answering: Very positively, Positively, Equally as positively as negatively, Negatively, Very negatively, No effect.

The Marines in combat units answered as follows:

Very positively: 2.9 percent

Positively: 3.0 percent

Equally as positively as negatively: 18.8 percent

Negatively: 23.9 percent

Very negatively: 42.6 percent

No effect: 8.7 percent

Only a combined 5.9 percent said putting a homosexual in their combat unit would have a positive or very positive effect on their ability to complete their mission in the field, while 66.5 percent said it would have either a negative or very negative effect.

Almost half of the Marine combat forces surveyed specifically said placing a homosexual in their unit would have a negative or very negative effect on the unit’s effectiveness even in “an intense combat situation.”

Question 71c in Westat’s survey of Marine combat forces read as follows: “If Don’t Ask, Don't Tell is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would it affect your immediate unit's effectiveness at completing its mission... In an intense combat situation”

The Marines in combat units answered as follows:

Very positively: 3.2 percent

Positively: 6.0 percent

Equally as positively as negatively: 28.4 percent

Negatively: 17.8 percent

Very negatively: 30.0 percent

No effect: 16.7 percent

Last week, before Congress voted to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military, Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the Marines, told reporters that he opposed lifting the ban because of what he had heard from Marines about it.

"The forces that wear this uniform, that are in the middle of what I call the real deal, came back and told their commandant of the Marine Corps they have concerns," Gen. Amos told the reporters. "That's all I need. I don't need a staff study. I don't need to hire three PhDs to tell me what to interpret it," he said. "If they have concerns, I do, too. It's as simple as that."

Gen. Amos said the distraction of having homosexuals in the ranks could cost Marines their lives. “Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines lives. That’s the currency of this fight,” said Gen. Amos. “I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction. I don’t want to have any Marines that I’m visiting at Bethesda [National Naval Medical Center] with no legs be the result of any type of distraction.”

To see the full results of from the survey of U.S. Marines on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell click here.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I bet there aren’t that many. I doubt ten thousand total in all the services.

[jazusamo]

Yep, I hear you. It’s over 2/3 but being it’s combat forces I would have expected higher. I don’t know for sure but do you know if all Marines are considered combat forces?

[ronnie raygun]

These useful idiots have bought into the promise of elite status by thier masters. Their masters will eliminate them when thier usefulness has expired.

[momincombatboots]

I am sure Dems everywhere are saddened deeply if their are negative effects. They are praying folks will oblige them by exacerbating this. There were some in when I was, they didn’t last too long with their ultra sensitive side. On the other hand, the gays who are threatening to rape my pastor and his two teenage boys are scary. It just goes to show, they are singularly pathological and collectively dangerous. They will target young men in the military and do unspeakable things. I am saying this knowing full well my son is planning on signing up. I told him to get a combat job or aviation to keep these sickos away.

[JimRed]

Whatever the USMC version is of what we USN swabbies called “blanket parties”, expect an increase of same.

[hattend]

I’ll believe the statistic when they talk with their feet.

Current unemployment will keep most in no matter what

[SWAMPSNIPER]

My grandson starts basic in February.

What is going to happen to a straight kid who slaps the crap out of the first fairy who tries to start something? What if saying no isn't enough?

This whole damned mess is a setup for disaster!

[gandalftb]

I don't want to be misunderstood here. Everyone needs to keep their sexuality and urges to themselves when they are in uniform.

There are lots of MOS's where gays can serve effectively in all of the services, just the same as women. Let them serve. Fraternization in uniform cannot be allowed whether hetero or homo sexual. That destroys morale in all the ranks.

What is unique are Marines who are also grunts. No women, no gays. Grunts are the only Service/MOS that are exempt from separate sleeping quarters. Grunts sleep together sometimes because of tactical requirements. For that reason, grunts will run off open gays.

[aruanan]

67 Percent of Marine Combat Forces Say Putting Homosexuals in Their Units Will Hurt...

Did they get a few words switched around?

[GenXteacher]

The only good president in my lifetime. God bless Uncle Ronnie.

[syriacus]

I thought that progressives wanted the US “occupiers” to be sensitive to Muslim feelings.

How will Muslims feel about being “occupied” by an openly gay US military?

How will Muslims feel about US troops giving toys and candy to their boys?

[Impy]

We can only hope this idiocy doesn’t result in any deaths.

Just what our troops needed during this time of protracted international conflict!

[Morpheus2009]

That’s exactly most of the same questions I have had, what do you replace DADT with? I honestly hope there’s some sort of policy in place to deal with liability claims for what some soldier does while part of an occupying force in some nation like Afghanistan of Iraq. I also hope there’s seriously some policy in place so that if some soldier, completely regardless of whether or not this soldier is homosexual, does something inappropriate to other soldiers, that there is a simple means of disciplining him/her. That was actually among the positives of DADT was that it had answers to both of those issues, I pray and hope we do, and I also pray and seriously hope some sort of replacement policy is up, or else there is going to be some serious problems.

[Waco]

It’s May of 2011, so how’s the recuiting coming along? The military relies heavily on each yrs. high school grads to enlist in large numbers. Now they’re not even sure they’ll get paid regularly. The class of 2007 will be finishing their 1st hitch. Will it be their last???

[jazusamo]

Good question. We may see some stats in the next couple months on enlistments and reenlistments unless they’re bad, then they’ll try to keep it under wraps. I’m betting it’ll be a long time before we see numbers.