Plus, it can be inferred, considering what a debacle Afghanistan has become due to the mismanagement of the civilian leadership...

Michale.....

Your feeling or opinion that this is so does not make it so. And as is often said, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

Again, a link please supporting your remark.

It's only when Obama struck out on his own, imposed his OWN ideas (leading from behind, etc etc) has disaster struck...

This isn't conjecture or opinion. This is established and PROVABLE fact...

Michale.....

Yea, they're called "photo ops"...

He ended the war in Iraq.

Thanx to Bush's surge...

He's winding down the war in Afghanistan.

Yea, and look how well THAT is going... Our troops are getting killed by our own "Ally"...

You SERIOUSLY think morale is high??

Michale.....

Let's see a source for this statement. When President Obama meets our troops, their morale seems very high and they excited to see and meet their CIC.

He ended the war in Iraq. He's winding down the war in Afghanistan. His support for the troops and their families does not end when they come home. He and his wife Michelle support the troops and their families with their words as well as their actions.

Brave men and women still selflessly serve, and the military is stronger than ever.

I think there are those who would argue with that last part...

Morale is at an all time low in ALL branches of the military...

While I would pit our Armed Forces against any three nations in the world any day of the week and twice on Sunday, it is undeniable that our military has taken some hits in the morale department.

No surprise, I blame the civilian leadership for lack of just that..

Leadership...

Michale.....

Oh no, you were perfectly clear..

But I am sure that you will agree that firing missiles at a target during war is much less "intimate" (for lack of better word) than sitting dirty, grimy and bloody in a foxhole, where you look the people that you kill straight in the eye..

This is not meant to mitigate or minimize your military role in the slightest.

Liken it to a butter bar that sits in a forward control center that coordinates air strikes and SF units..

Both are combat roles, both vital to the mission, yet the role of the SF is much MUCH different than the role of the butter bar...

I have been both the butter bar AND the SF and I can assure you, it's a completely different mindset...

Like I said.. *I* don't have a problem whatsoever with gays serving in the military regardless of the duty. But I have served on the front lines with men who do and their reasoning IS logical, rational with NO degree of vindictiveness whatsoever...

Gay or straight, we were all essential parts of that spear.

Yes, the counter balance in the rear of the spear is JUST as vital as the tip of the spear...

But, in the end.. Which part is more bloody???

Michale.....

And in the navy, everybody aboard that ship is essential to its smooth functioning. Gay or straight, we were all essential parts of that spear.

I would submit to you that the combat arms of the various services view things a bit differently than other parts of the service..

It's not a position I agree with, but I DO understand it, and it DOES have validity....

I would also point out that the resistance to DADT *might* have little to do with being against gay people and more rooted in military readiness.

If one is to be fair (and isn't that what the gay community is about?? Fairness??) about the issue then one MUST consider that the position of those opposed to gays in the miltary might not be vindictive, but rather sincere concerns...

Michale...

I could have predicted this outcome, because I served in the Navy and all the services pride themselves on their professionalism. Give them a job and let them get it done.

I'm gay but I wasn't out in the Navy (long before DADT) but I saw how my shipmates treated gay sailors. Their true criteria was how well someone did their job, not who they went to bed with off the ship.

And most of the people doing the loudest screeching and carrying on were people who never even wore the uniform.

And I can bet you that none of them are going to write an article acknowledging they were wrong and apologizing to our gay military members/veterans either.

{michty, pay attention}

I was wrong about the repeal of DADT.

While I have always supported it's reversal, I had felt that the here and now was not the best time to do it.

Apparently, I was wrong about that...

Michale.....