Marine Gen. James F. Amos, the face of opposition in the military to lifting the ban on gays serving openly, now acknowledges his concern has proven unfounded that repeal would undermine the war effort. In fact, he says, Marines have embraced the change.Jim Naughton at The Lead says:
In an Associated Press interview, Amos called the repeal in September "a non-event."
That is in contrast to his cautionary words to Congress in December 2010, shortly before President Barack Obama signed the repeal legislation. The ban was not lifted until this year to allow the Pentagon to prepare troops for the change.
"Successfully implementing repeal and assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption at the small unit level as it will no doubt divert leadership attention away from an almost singular focus on preparing units for combat," Amos testified. Still, he said at the time that if the law were changed, it would be faithfully followed by Marines.
He now sees no sign of disruption in the ranks – even on the front lines.
"I'm very pleased with how it has gone," Amos said during a weeklong trip that included four days in Afghanistan, where he heard nary a word of worry about gays. During give-and-take sessions with Marines serving on in Helmand province, he was asked about a range of issues, including the future of the Corps – but not one about gays.
You have lived to see the day on which the commander of the U. S. Marine Corps sounds more irenic about the future of LGBT people within his organization that the Archbishop of Canterbury does about the future of LGBT people within his.What an embarrassment! Are you embarrased? I know I am.
The Church of England and the Anglican Communion have experimented with 'Don't ask; don't tell' for ages now. Isn't the time ripe to move forward?
Note to the Archbishop of Canterbury: Tell it to the Commandant of the Marines.
