Times out-Pace policy.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, meet Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva. Sergeant Alva lost his right leg to an Iraqi land mine in the early days of the Iraq war. He was awarded a Purple Heart, which was presented by President Bush.

Oh, and Sergeant Alva is gay.

Sergeant Alva, meet General Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military adviser to the president. On Monday, Pace said he opposes ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, because it would signal that the Pentagon condones "immoral" behavior.

``I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace told the Chicago Tribune editorial board. "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.'' Remember those words: "in any way."

The don't ask, don't tell policy allows gays and lesbians to lay down their lives and limbs for their country as long as they lie about their sexual orientation. Not that there's anything wrong with a little moral ambiguity in what Pace proudly proclaims is "the world's greatest military."

Wait a minute. Don't ask, don't tell simply says that if gay and lesbian military personnel don't reveal their homosexuality, the military won't actively hunt them down and drum them out of the service. How does following that policy constitute lying?

Think about it: The minute a soldier designates a same-sex partner as the recipient of death benefits on a military form, she has "told." When a Marine asks for leave to care for a terminally ill same-sex partner, he has "told." Displaying family photographs or talking about the stress of missing a lover while deployed in Iraq constitute "telling." All those ways and more are a ticket to an involuntary discharge from the military.

Better to lie, in General Pace's moral order, than to reveal the wrong sexual orientation.

Meanwhile, the Army last year granted "moral waivers" to more than 10 percent of its new recruits. This enabled men and women who had been convicted of crimes as serious as aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and vehicular homicide to enlist - as long as they didn't admit to being homosexual.

One of Pace's predecessors as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, says the nation and the military have changed since 1993, when don't ask, don't tell was implemented. He called for reconsideration of the policy in a column published earlier this year in The New York Times.

Shalikashvili reminded his readers of the obvious: "Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."

Does allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military undermine morale and compromise unit cohesion, as critics have long argued? Not in the 24 nations - including Israel, Britain, Australia and other allies in the fight against terrorism - that have no restrictions on homosexuals serving openly in their armed forces. None of these nations reports any negative effect on recruitment, retention or morale.

It may be impossible to undo the damage Pace's remarks have done to the morale - and careers - of the estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian members of the U.S. armed forces. But it's not too late for Congress to rescind the disgraceful, discriminatory and immoral don't ask, don't tell policy.