Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 23, 1993 TAG: 9302230341
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES S. ROBB
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
STRESS FITNESS, PERFORMANCE
WHAT MAKES an excellent soldier?I submit that it is five basic virtues.
Devotion to duty.
Loyalty to country, commanders and comrades.
Skill in the military arts.
Personal integrity.
And courage.
If you have these qualities, you can be an excellent soldier whether your name is Mynarski or Jefferson; Goldberg or Nguyen; Warner, Dole, Kerrey or McCain.
A number of Americans who have these qualities are today excluded from serving their country in the military, for reasons beyond fitness or performance.
People have told me for some time that they can't understand how someone who thinks of himself as a gung-ho Marine can march to the music of a drummer I don't hear. The drummer I hear plays "The Marine Corps Hymn," and it still gives me a chill, and I still stand whenever it's played. I don't want to detract in any way from the military's effectiveness or performance.
Because of that, I can't stand by and let a flawed policy keep our services from attracting the best, most competent people. The issue should be not what kind of person you are, but what kind of soldier, sailor, airman or Marine you are.
As a former Marine who considers his 34 years in uniform - active and reserve - to be the proudest affiliation of my life, I well understand those who argue the importance of maintaining morale in the ranks. But I suggest that morale is in the heart of each serviceperson. The threat to morale comes not from the orientation of a few, but from the closed minds of the many. President Truman recognized that when he ordered the services to be integrated by race, despite the racial animosity of many then in the service.
Will some of today's soldiers fear what they do not understand? Of course. But should America's policy be guided by fear? Or should we work to overcome prejudice by showing that merit and behavior, not orientation, are what count in the military?
I've spent a lot of time discussing this subject with a number of acquaintances who disagree with me on this issue, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And I understand his objections to the president's proposal. He recently drew a difference between discrimination based on sexuality, which he called a behavior, and that based on race, which he called a benign characteristic.
But I submit to you that race is obvious. Sexual preference is not. It is an even more benign characteristic, indeed an invisible one, until and unless it is expressed in conduct. And if that sexuality is expressed, if it is no longer benign, then it will run into the existing regulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The code offers sufficient protections against much of the conduct the supporters of this amendment fear. And it can be expanded to prevent other breaches of decorum. The specter of drill sergeants dancing together is unsettling. But the amendment's supporters fail to note that this is just the kind of behavior already prohibited by the Uniform Code, as is almost all of the conduct presented as a concern by the other side.
The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces; he sets the goals. Just as the military was given the goal of ejecting Iraqi forces from Kuwait, and was left to plan and implement that goal, I believe that the military should also be tasked with making the president's goal a reality.
As a former military commander, I can tell you that if the goal of truly equal access to military service is to be reached, the military will have to come to terms with it themselves. That will best be done if they are given their proper role of implementing the president's directive.
The hearings announced last year will add information and understanding to that process, and will let us fulfill Congress' proper role of ensuring that readiness is maintained while achieving the president's goal.
But I ask that we not let fear govern our actions. While we may not personally understand what motivates individual sexuality, we cannot allow that lack of understanding to block deserving, patriotic Americans from service.
Charles S. Robb is the junior U.S. senator from Virginia. This is adapted from his Senate remarks Feb. 4, opposing an amendment to ban gays from the military by congressional statute.