I call Bullshit on this Rachel Maddow Letter…
I won’t even go through the whole thing, but I bet this was written by one of the great gay soldiers of our time, like Rick Duncan or Michael Patrick McMananus.
Why would I call bullshit so quick? Well, let me see, the title is:
An infantry officer in Afghanistan explains the personal relevance of DADT
and paragraph 3 opens with:
As a former combat arms commander….
Maybe Maddow should hire someone who knows something about the military instead of regurgitating bullshit stories.
Category: Politics
Maybe its because my teething 17 month old daughter kept me up most of last night, but I don’t follow you. What’s setting off the BS meter exactly? It seems to me the letter writer is saying he is a infantry officer who was previously a unit commander. So we are talking about former company/troop commander who is now a senior Captain or Major. Since he says he’s a Mountian Soldier, he’s in the 1st BCT of the 10th Infantry Division, which is deploying to Afghanistan shortly.
I suppose that is possible, but I don’t remember anyone ever phrasing it like that. If you are infantry, then you are combat arms. I suspect the dude isn’t infantry at all, but assigned to an Infantry division. Only they didn’t realize that not everyone in an Infantry Division is infantry, and thought that that might spruce it up.
I think the most interesting thing about this letter is that as his time as commander, he only chaptered out one soldier under DADT. Considering he said that soldier “believed that living a lie was counter to their ethical charge as Soldiers,” I would take it to mean he outed himself. The one time that a third party did try to out someone, he basically wrote it off, which I think was the proper response.
The other underlying issue with this letter is that the author doesn’t seem to have a problem with serving while in the closet, but seems more concerned about getting spousal support for his partner, which is a completly different issue from repealing DADT.
“The ‘there’s a gay dude looking at me in the shower/coming on to me in the fox hole’ argument is a pathetic, lame canard. …I can tell you that the only thing I’ve ever thought about while showering was getting in and getting out. I’d be lying if I was to say that I’ve not worked with attractive people. We all have. But the difference between being an animal and a professional is, among other things, our ability to control ourselves.”
Right. Well, I’d like to shower with the opposite sex. I’m a heterosexual male, so I’d like to scoot on over to the female latrine. You might think that that’s a bad idea, but I promise you that in my entire military career, I have never thought about anything in the shower other than getting in and getting out. And putting some chicks in the shower with me won’t change that. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t worked with some attractive women, but so what? Just because they’re attractive doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be allowed to shower with them. Cause I’m not an animal. And I can shut off my sexual attraction switch whenever I want. Just let me in the females’ shower okay? Because I’m very mature about it and anyone who thinks I wouldn’t be is not being mature.
I think he’s lying too, by the way.
I find it ironic that he says that the difference between an animal and a professional is that professionals can control their urges. That’s what I’ve been telling homosexuals for years! Just because you have a sexual desire doesn’t always mean it’s good to act on it. Every time I say that, they look at me like I have lobsters coming out of my ears. It’s like it’s the most off-the-wall idea they’ve ever heard.
I don’t ever remember having to out myself as straight. Not once. When people just assume I am gay, I don’t correct them. It’s none of their business.
I also wouldn’t have minded showering with women back in the day. There would have been no tension at all. Well, maybe a little tension somewhere, but I woke up that way, and I have to pee.
As it’s one of those individual taskers, he’s probably not Infantry (“Combat Arms” can be ANY combat branch from Infantry to Air Defense) and, yes, he’s probably a Major/senior Captain. (Other than that, he’s being purposely vague for CYA.) A former combat arms commander myself, as long as no one gets unwanted grabbed or hit, I don’t have a problem with it (but, having to deal with the 18- 25 year old idiots our boys/gals can sometime be, I know it ain’t likely to happen… especially if the Act Up crowd expects the right to be “flaming” in behavior than would be career-ending “sexual harrassment” or “hostile environment” material for straight soldiers).
I don’t care either, but every single one of these anecdotes that I have researched so far was BS, and this guy we don’t even have ANY info we can verify.
Actually, the only one I byu so far is Cho.
Re-reading it again, I am now leaning towards him being a combat arms officer, but not specifically infantry. He could be FA or (shudder) ADA, but someone at MSNBC wanted it to sound cooler so they added the infantry tag because he was part of an infantry division.
I am not even going to touch the shower/foxhole hookup straw man argument.
I suspect as well BTT, but the title says Infantry. What I am suggesting is that everyone adds “Infantry” “Special Forces” “Ranger” and shit just to make it more pertinent. Well, it pisses me off. Dude is infantry or he is not, and I have seen no proof. So, as far as i am concerned this story is as valid as Duncan and McManus as far as factual authenticity.
Actually i do believe the letter’s authenticity. There have been many times where I have written letters to radio america hosts (back when i was a lowly enlisted man and they were still relevant)
i signed them:
Heterosexual Former Automatic Rifleman
Not in the Least Bit Attracted to Men Former Assistant Gunner
i am sorry but from my pov… this dog hunts.
Just a thought, but as he says he is a “former combat arms commander” it could be possible that he was branch detailed as a Lieutenant. Granted, as a Platoon Leader proper jargon would not label him as a “commander” but I do not know many combat arms officers that would prefer “former commander” over “current officer”.
As for the co-ed showers, I’m all for it. At Camp New Jersey we shared out showers with some Air Force women. Had certain shower times but some of us didn’t get the memo. Naturally, the ugliest guy in the platoon decided to shower and walked into a trailer full of nude women. He ruined everything for the rest of us, not to mention my fantasies for the rest of the deployment.
(snort) FA isn’t even a real branch anymore, is it?
(snicker) I heard ADA is moving to the home of FA so they seem more ‘manly’.
Thou heardest right, dutch508. Take it from a 14E.
Our “former combat arms commander” is probably ADA or Aviation; they like to be taken for some more more Hoah! combat arm. (Duckhunters, flyboys… any argument?) Otherwise he’d identify himself as an “Armor officer” or some such or, if Infantry, just proudly. (Although Infantry-and-gay is real hard to pull off… either he’s so hardcore no one, not even hardened Ranger snake-eaters would fuck with him, or he hid it REALLY, REALLY well because no one found out in such a close knit community.) Either that, or he’s just fulla shit– oh, yeah, top secret black ops, my code name was AGENT ORANGE and my DSC with cluster is on my classified fiche– yeah, right.
(snicker) I heard FA was changing it’s name to Gate Security Branch…
Ben, great post. Read this thread earlier today and I think you wrote the post I’d intended.
If this letter is true, then it won’t be hard to figure out.
1. Looks like he is a branch detailed sr cpt/jr maj. Once served cbt arms as an lt but is now cs/css.
2. Has deployments to both OIF/OEF.
3. Currently in country on a tasker, but waiting for 1-10 IN to close in country.
4. Unmarried, has brother listed on his emergency record and living will.
5. Watches MSNBC
Based on the evidence I believe that there are elements of this letter that are lies. If these facts are all true, then this officer has essentially “come out” voluntarily. Thus his commanding officer is required to separate him from the Army.
I don’t see anyone that stupid… but I’ve been wrong before.
Pretty much, LTC Tim, except that he’s probably combat arms actually (the tasker he’s one is probably a “warm body” one, but he’s probably not Infantry or they would’ve had one already). Too far along for branch detail, but he could’ve branch transferred to a pogue branch after getting “green tab” commander time on his record– Chemical, Signal and AG are full of dudes like that for the relative advantage it gives over non-former-CA folk.
For some strange reason,LTC James (Blue falcon 6)Billings,PAO ossifer, just keeps coming to mind…just sayin…he is the baddest CONUS commando i ever saw…HEH!
Whole new meaning to BOHICA, eh?
As an AH64D Longbow pilot, I can say with some authority that Aviation is Combat Arms. At least those of us who fly guns. And our little brothers who have littler guns but only one engine. That would be the OH58D for my ADA friends. They are a little slow at times.
No argument ’bout ADA (especially them 14T dudes). I still say our (or Rachel Maddow’s, actually) “former combat arms commander” is either BS or a turd.