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Is not welcome. The men and women chosen to run this country’s military are there for that purpose and that purpose only. This week, however, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace went public with his feelings on the recent “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy upheaval (audio provided by Think Progress). Had he stopped there, his comments would have had merit. As the highest ranking military officer in the United States (besides, of course, our esteemed Commander-in-Chief), Pace has a responsibility to guide the military in a direction that he believes is best for the future. However, Pace took things a step further, claiming that “homosexual acts between individuals are immoral, and that we should not condome immoral acts.” Pace continues by noting that the military has a responbility to purge itself of immoral individuals.

Who determines what immoral means? Since his outburst, Pace has been publicly chastised by several prominent politicians, including Senator John Warner. The Virginia Republican “respectfully, but strongly disagree[s] with the chairman’s view that homosexuality is immoral.” Fortunately, Pace seems to have agreed with the public’s rapid judgment, noting that he did offer “some personal opinions about moral conduct.” Pace admitted that he “should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views.”

Pace’s views were scrutinized differently than those presented by Former General John M. Shalikashvili in his “Second Thoughts on Gays in the Military” article in the NY Times. Shalikashvili’s more tolerant view seemed to strike a chord with the majority of Americans. His sincerity in addressing the situation is admirable. Pace’s, however, is a whole different matter. He seems to be refusing to apologize for his actions, and, instead, notes that he should have just focused on military policy. Don’t wait for an apology. The AP reports that, despite commentary from high-profile politicans, Pace will not retract his statement. Nancy Pelosi responded, showboating the Democratic reputation for tolerance, claiming that “the military should carefully consider changing this policy….We don’t need moreal judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.”

I addressed the matter of homosexuals in the military earlier in an article entitled “Do Tell, Do Serve.” Regardless of opinion on the matter of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” public backlash has made it clear that Pace’s opinions aren’t welcome in the public forum. Bloggers pounced on his bigotry, diminishing the US military’s image in the process as well. His views are his and his alone, and General Pace should not have used his position as Chairman to further his political agenda.

technorati tags:homosexuality, pace, military, jointchiefs

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The Moral Judgment from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs… by New School Politics, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.