THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 6, 1995 TAG: 9512050301
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JACK DORSEY
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
I received a letter recently from former Norfolk Mayor Vince Thomas, a longtime news source and friend, inquiring about the continuing gender flap among the military's ranks.
The most recent ones have led the Navy's top commanders to conduct ``Good Order and Discipline Stand Downs,'' designed to make sailors re-examine sexual harassment in the work place.
In particular, Vince asked about two recently published essays: one by Thomas Moore, deputy director of foreign policy and defense studies at The Heritage Foundation, the other by Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness and a former member of the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces.
Both authors tackle the politically uncomfortable topics of women and homosexuals in the military.
Moore says they represent a problem that ``leaches away the ethic of honor and integrity that are the heart of an effective military.''
Donnelly says they are experimental policies that need to be reversed because they ``detract from morale, discipline, unit strength and overall readiness.''
Both indicate these are revolutionary social policies that are undermining the cohesion and combat effectiveness of America's armed forces.
``I was wondering if the comments and assertions of the authors . . . were confirmed or denied by your personal experience, observations and perceptions?'' asked Vince.
Fair enough. I've covered the military beat for 17 years and certainly have seen the changes.
The more I see of the Navy integrating its ships with men and women, the less of an impact there appears to be. It is no longer unusual to see women boatswain's mates on carriers, or flying jets from its decks.
What would be unusual today is not to see them there.
But what's troubling are the comments I hear from male sailors about how frustrating it is for them in a mixed-gender setting aboard ship - how sensitive everyone has become to sexual harassment.
``If anything, the Navy has gone overboard to the point where a lot of sailors are worried about saying anything,'' said one Navy commander who recently returned from a six-month cruise.
``Walking down the ship passageway, some of these kids are afraid to look over toward the females. If she interprets a look, or gesture, to be harassment, the next thing they know is they are up on charges and they have to prove themselves innocent,'' he said.
Some sailors have been disciplined for using salty language in front of women that once was normal rhetoric from a seagoing sailor.
Well, Vince, if these are the frustrations of today's sailors, that's a shame. Life should be easier than that, and the military needs to make certain it is not going overboard in disciplining its men and women for purely minor infractions.
But neither should the Thomas Moores, Elaine Donnellys and frustrated male sailors of this world be allowed to overreact.
From what I've observed, life among the mixed-gender crews is not that bad. These young folks work and play in harmony for the most part. For those who are mature about their relationships, the Navy still gives them room to love and marry without sending them to jail.
For those who can't control their language, their insulting gestures or discrimination, then maybe it is time for them to leave. What they'll find in the civilian world is that such behavior is unwelcome there as well.
But for those who say the military's social policy and defense policy have collided at a dangerous intersection, then I do have an opinion.
I don't think it's true. Let's give it some more time. by CNB