Finding peace in the military.

The next 30 years will bring enormous change in the military. There is relative peace in the world, no imminent enemy threatening America's shores. Military resources, materiel, and personnel will assume a different configuration in the next three decades. There will be a reduced number of service members, reduced number of military bases, and different types of materiel required for missions. Every aspect of military thinking will have changed.

Nowhere will the change be clearer than in the policy on gay and lesbian service members. Thirty years ago homosexuals were serving in the military, but their presence was not an issue debated or even acknowledged. There were sporadic, silent purges; witch-hunts; lesbian baiting; interrogations; and intimidation. Women and the military was a contradiction. Women were presumed not interested in protecting the country or being all that they can be. Women interested in the military were considered whores or lesbians.

Today military professions for women have been legitimized, albeit slowly, and sometimes only through legislative or legal intervention. Despite those gains, an underlying schism and sexual tension remains. Until the early 1990s a strange silence existed about sexual misconduct in the military; the Tailhook investigation was an uncomfortable revelation for American society. Women are frequently blamed for these problems because they dare to trespass on male turf. They are said--just as gays and lesbians are--to endanger male bonding and cause disruption of good order and discipline.

Superimposed upon heterosexual misconduct issues was the debate in the early 1990s on the service and treatment of gays and lesbians. For the first time there was a realization that gays and lesbians had served in the military, were not unfit, and did not impair morale. The silent shame of the witch-hunts and denigration of gays was revealed. The issue was too threatening, however, and it was silenced again with the policy of "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" in 1993. That policy resulted in individuals once more being falsely accused of being gay and being interrogated, investigated, and threatened with loss of careers. In 1996, 850 service members were discharged from the military because of their presumed homosexuality--hardly a "don't ask, don't tell" perspective.

By 2027, however, the military will look very different. Sexual tension, sexual misconduct, and the treatment of gays and lesbians will be resolved. The Uniform Code of Military Justice will be revised to reflect social mores and the reality of human sexuality. The result will be a pragmatic document that will preserve individual privacy, and consensual sexual conduct will be considered a private matter. Service members will be judged on their ability to do their jobs and maintain good discipline and order. The expectation will be that service members will abide by a strict code of conduct, ensuring that there will be no fraternization with subordinates, no improper use of power in relationships, and preservation of the chain of command. The issue of gays and lesbians in the service will have been dealt with through the courts, which will have declared the "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional.

The year is 2027, and many of us are old, if alive. We have lived through peace and the reunification of nations once torn apart both geographically and spiritually by war. The American military still exists as we determine the need to preserve international peace, to protect the borders of the country, and to protect the integrity of the world. All citizens, including gays and lesbians, are included in its makeup and mores. It is a true reflection of American society.