104 Generals and Admirals ask for end to gay military ban

The following information has been provided by Dr. Nathaniel Frank of Palm Center:

Retired Admiral Charles Larson, former Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, tops a list of 104 retired Generals and Admirals calling for an end to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy governing gay troops, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

Admiral Larson, who was commissioned in 1958, was in charge of U.S. and Allied submarines in the Mediterranean as a two-star admiral, and became head of the entire U.S. military command in the Pacific as a four-star admiral before retiring in 1998.

President-elect Barack Obama has said that he will work with Pentagon brass to repeal the policy. Last month, however, Obama adviser and retired Air Force General Merrill McPeak, said that “don’t ask, don’t tell” should be retained. In this context, yesterday’s statement will help the incoming administration clarify how they will respond to gay issues.

In 1993, Admiral Larson supported “don’t ask, don’t tell.” He thought it was a mistake for Bill Clinton, who was a close acquaintance, to try to lift the ban immediately, and wished he would have worked more closely with the military if he wanted to make the change. “You can’t change the military culture overnight,” he recalled thinking. At the time he thought that banning open gays and lesbians, which was then viewed as temporary, was the best solution if properly administered.

Admiral Larson changed his view after he learned that “there were a lot of witch hunts and a lot of people were turned out on that basis.” He found that the policy was not being implemented as he had hoped, and the military was losing valuable talent. He was also influenced by having a number of people work for him who were gay, and by having a gay daughter with whom he spoke at length about gays in the military.

He now believes the ban should end. “I think the time has come to find a way to let talented, young, patriotic Americans who want to serve their country serve,” he said, “and let’s enforce high standards of personal and human behavior for everyone.”

The statement that Admiral Larson signed asks Congress to repeal the current ban on openly gay troops and replace it with a policy of equal treatment. Doing so, says the statement, “would not harm, and would indeed help, our armed forces.” The Palm Center assisted in organizing the officers’ statement.

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