CMR News & Commentary

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2010-04-30T16:27:00.001-04:00

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DoD Rules: "Don't Report, Don't Act"

2010-04-19T09:43:00.003-04:00

In an ongoing attempt to undermine or repeal the 1993 law regarding homosexuals in the military, the Obama Administration has issued new regulations that set up barriers to responsible enforcement, and treat ineligible homosexual personnel as if they are a special class. In a detailed article posted below, CMR analyzes the Defense Department's new rules, which abrogate the law by redefining its purpose.

CMR Exposes Failed Attack on Flag Officers List

2010-04-01T15:13:00.002-04:00

In a detailed article posted below, CMR reports on an attempt by gay activist groups to lessen the impact of a statement signed by 1,164 retired Flag & General Officers for the Military (FGOM). The article also corrects bias and misinformation on the PBS program NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and discredits other attacks on the FGOM list that simply do not hold up. More...

New Gays-in-Military Regs Frustrate Law's Enforcement

2010-03-25T22:51:00.003-04:00

In response to an announcement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates regarding the results of a 45-day review of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness, issued a statement available here.

Former Marine General Challenges NATO Military Myths

2010-03-22T16:28:00.006-04:00

Now that we are about to get a European-style health-care system, do we want a European-style military too? This was the underlying question discussed at a March 18 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on legislation to repeal the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military. The Center for Military Readiness has posted a detailed article reporting on the strong testimony of retired Marine General John Sheehan, who had served as Atlantic Commander of NATO and American forces during a time when the consequences of harmful social change became evident in European militaries. Additional details available at CMR SITREP.

Military Culture Coalition: Press Conference-CPAC

2010-02-18T14:00:00.002-05:00

Elaine Donnelly gave the following statement today at CPAC:
"President Barack Obama has ordered Pentagon leaders to promote his gays-in-the-military cause. On February 2, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee, 'We have received our orders from the commander in chief and are moving out accordingly.'" More...

Misusing the Military

2010-02-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

Trying to fulfill a reckless campaign promise, President Obama is pushing for repeal of the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military. As with plans to conduct trials of Mirandized terrorists in the United States, the commander in chief has assigned lower priority to the needs of the military and national security. More...

Making Both Love and War

2010-01-18T09:58:00.002-05:00

When a female soldier gets pregnant, what's a commanding general to do? Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III, who commands the Multi-National Division-North in Iraq, tried to deal with the delicate issue realistically. Noting that pregnancy is one of several conditions requiring evacuation from war zones, General Cucolo issued new rules treating pregnancy as a combat readiness issue. More...

Hastings Bill Would Override Gays-in-Military Law

2009-12-08T15:52:00.003-05:00

Rep. Alcee Hastings, who is not a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), is sponsoring legislation that would harm the military and detract from planned hearings on the issue of gays in the military. The Hastings bill (H.R. 4180) would effectively suspend enforcement of Section 654, Title 10, U.S.C, which is usually mislabeled "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). Hastings and 30 colleagues (only two of whom serve on the HASC) want to require the military to retain servicemembers who are homosexual, bisexual or transgendered, if they testify (or communicate with Congress) on legislation to repeal the 1993 Eligibility Law. More...

Sikhs, Muslims, and PC Taken to Extremes

2009-11-11T12:54:00.000-05:00

Some ironies are more than cruel. On the day that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan approached Fort Hood armed with two handguns, he may have passed a newsstand selling copies of the November 9 edition of Army Times. On the front page was a photograph of a Sikh soldier wearing a beard, mustache, and turban with his uniform, accompanied by the headline, "Regs Make Way for Religion - Sikh, Muslim Allowed to Incorporate Customs into Army Dress." More...

Media Spins 'Pentagon' Support for Gays in the Military

2009-10-27T14:05:00.001-04:00

It doesn't take much to get the major liberal media excited about imagined "progress" for the Gays in the Military Campaign (GIMC, for short). Witness the Boston Globe's September 30 report that the Joint Forces Quarterly (JFQ), a magazine associated with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had published an Air Force officer's article promoting gays in the military. More...

Roadmap for Railroading the Military

2009-10-23T14:58:00.001-04:00

On October 10 President Obama showed his true rainbow colors to gay activists attending a fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay bisexual, transgendered "LGBT Left" group in the country. Despite the personal favor, some disgruntled activists picketed outside. On the issue of gays in the military, what do they want the President to do? More...

Foreign Militaries Are Not Role Models for U.S.

2009-10-15T16:18:00.004-04:00

Should America follow the example of foreign nations that have gays in their militaries? A new CMR Policy Analysis answers that question and provides perspective. A condensed version published by Congressional Quarterly Researcher appears here, and a more detailed version is now available here.

Gays Leaving Military Not Security Issue

2009-10-13T10:35:00.016-04:00

In a new article for NewsMax.com, Elaine Donnelly presents new information about the consistently small numbers of discharges for homosexuality. The article also refutes a false claim from the Michael D. Palm Center that was included in an op-ed by retired Gen. John Shalikashvili. More...

Defining Military Discipline Down

2009-09-03T17:10:00.004-04:00

Trying to raise the temperature on the issue of gays in the military, advocates have shifted their focus to the human interest stories of a few military members who were found ineligible for service due to homosexual conduct. On August 23, the Idaho Statesman published an investigative report about an Air Force aviator's case that revealed a sordid story relevant to the national debate. More...

Sophistry About Women on Submarines

2009-08-28T14:39:00.004-04:00

Stars & Stripes newspaper posted today a letter to the editor from CMR President Elaine Donnelly in response to a report it ran on July 22, titled "Breaking into the underwater boys' club-Sailor one of 12 women to be submarine-qualified." Those quoted in the article seemed unaware of the unique hazards to females and their fellow sailors were women to crew submarines.

Unfortunately, Stars & Stripes did not include hyperlinks to references supporting Donnelly's statements in the letter, as she had originally submitted it. You can find those at the end of the article posted on CMR's SITREP blog, titled "Sophistry About Submarines," as well as a more detailed response to the omissions and alarming attitudes reflected in the July 22 Stars & Stripes report.

Military Officers' Organization Disregards Survey Results

2009-08-27T10:32:00.003-04:00

An online survey done by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) continues to spark controversy due to the organization's decision to disregard the opinions of younger, current military people who responded to the survey after the first eleven days. Elaine Donnelly's article on this subject, published on Monday by NewsMax, is titled "Military Voices Must Be Heard." Links to graphs illustrating the MOAA survey responses that were removed from the survey website are included in this article: "MOAA Survey Stifled on Gays in the Military." The survey is not definitive, but it is significant because it contradicts the notion that younger, currently serving members are more inclined to support repeal of the 1993 law.

New York Times Stories Ignore Regulations on Women in Combat

2009-08-25T10:15:00.003-04:00

Last week the New York Times ran two major front-page articles that featured interviews with female soldiers, which included very little information on the status of regulations affecting women and why the Army is ignoring them. The Times published a Letter to Editor from Elaine Donnelly, in response to this article by reporter Steven Myers: "Living and Fighting Alongside Men, and Fitting In."

Her letter, limited to only 150 words, was based on detailed reports and CMR Policy Analyses on the subject of women in or near land combat. This article, titled "Disrespect for Regulations, Congress, and Army Women," includes several links to previous reports spotlighting the Army's continuing violations of Defense Department regulations and the congressional notification law.

Murphy's (LGBT) Law for the Military

2009-07-31T14:03:00.002-04:00

Representative Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has launched a high-powered Gays in the Military Campaign, or GIMC, for short. Starting with a July 8 news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the multi-million dollar "Voices of Honor" tour has scheduled media events in at least seven cities. More...

Veterans Group Survey Shows Strong Support for Current Gays-in-the-Military Law

2009-07-30T15:43:00.001-04:00

On July 30, 2009, the Washington Times broke a news story that effectively torpedoed the high-powered campaign for gays in the military. In an article titled "Is Obama Administration Listening to the Troops?" Base News editor Grace Vuoto reported the results of a previously-unpublished survey done by the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). It also referenced a link to the MOAA survey, which illustrated poll results with dramatic bar graphs. More...

Sen. Gillibrand Puts Self-Interest Before Troops

2009-07-17T17:10:00.002-04:00

Activists for gays in the military, apparently adopting the leftist mantra "by any means necessary," have launched four major attempts to circumvent the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the armed forces. The statute, which is frequently mislabeled "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," enjoys strong support in the military. Gay activists and their friends in Congress nevertheless are determined to impose a San Francisco-style agenda on the armed forces---incrementally if not all at once. More...

What Part of "Eligible" Does Gates Not Understand?

2009-07-08T10:55:00.002-04:00

On June 30, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that he had asked the Defense Department general counsel, an Obama administration political appointee, to find a more "humane" way to enforce the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military. More...

SCOTUS Denies Challenge to Gays-in-Military Law

2009-06-09T07:20:00.000-04:00

On Monday the Supreme Court denied a petition requesting review of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which had upheld as constitutional the 1993 law regarding homosexuals in the military. This decision is good news, but the case reveals a basic contradiction in the position of the Obama administration with regard to the 1993 law. More...

Obama Shuns Plan to Evade Gays in Military Law

2009-05-14T17:18:00.014-04:00

Much to the dismay of liberal activists, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs announced Wednesday that President Barack Obama will not implement a plan to circumvent the 1993 law regarding gays in the military. This was a significant retreat from the one-word answer ,"Yes," which Gibbs gave in January when he was asked if Obama would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Now Gibbs is saying that Obama is working to achieve a "durable legislative solution," which requires "more than the snapping of one's fingers. More...

Gates on Gays in the Military: Why So Difficult?

2009-04-17T17:02:00.001-04:00

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking yesterday at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, gave an equivocal answer to a question about the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military. That law, which is frequently mislabeled as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," is technically named Section 654, Title 10, U.S.C. Missing the opportunity to express clear support for the law, Secretary Gates suggested that repeal would be "difficult" to implement. More...