For those who want to let the rank and file service members vote, why not let them vote on moving out to engage the enemy? Think that would work? Or why not vote on whether you want a new commanding officer. Just doesn't work in the military. I was there and served four years. Never got to vote on a thing.

Just relax folks, the UCMJ is well versed in dealing with anyone who violates another human being.

I will admit any service member that feels they cannot serve with openly Gay personnel should be granted an Honorable Discharge with full benefits.

Anything else is just another form of discrimination. Anyone against this is just as bigoted as anyone against the repeal of DADT.

I am happy that gays will finally be allowed to serve the armed forces. For many people believing that gays will create a breakdown in unit cohesion, I am still trying to see the logic on that one.

There are many gay people in the military who are professional in character and demeanor and do a heck of a great job in serving our wonderful nation. You just never hear about them because they are forced to abide by the Don't Ask, Don't Tell act. This act has booted 14,000 professional gay military members from the Armed Forces, and for what?

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell act was just another Salem Witch hunt event; gay military members could be minding their own business and still get ratted out by fellow co-workers. If there was evidence that the gay military member was found to be homosexual, off with his or her head.

We have to put a stop to the discrimination and learn to love one another. Gay people have feelings as well as their heterosexual counterparts; they hurt, bleed, and love just the same.

There is a famous quote by Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, who proudly served in the Air Force. On his tombstone were the poignant words:

WHEN I WAS IN THE MILITARY THEY GAVE ME A MEDAL FOR KILLING TWO MEN AND A DISCHARGE FOR LOVING ONE

This is history being made. How many times will John McCain find himself on the wrong side of the issues. Just as he was with the Civil Right Bill, that he voted against and years later he came back to apologize for his wrong when he was searching for votes while he ran for President of the United States.

Life or death. What's your preference? A Gay who stands and fight or a Straight who runs and hide?

Those that don't learn from history are bound to repeat it. We're gradually forgetting the lessons of war and reducing our military capacity. The senate again put special interest groups over the military.

"The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it." - Senator John McCain, October 2006

Well, earlier this year Admiral Mullen and Secretary Gates told Senator McCain that we ought to change the policy. I guess the old man's hearing aid wasn't working very well that day.

I'm a vet. I served in Iraq. I support the repeal. EO policies will remain in effect and sexual harrassment will not be tolerated. End of story.

No one asked the racists for permission to allow blacks to serve, therefore I'm really not concerned about the paranoid rantings of the homophobes. Get over it. American service members have more important things to worry about.

its gonna take a year to order pink rifles and uniforms. new general star is gonna be a friggin tulip. democrats managed to even f-up the military god help us please. dont forget the special liveing quarters for the military partners whoo hoo maybe barney frank will join now....................................................... wake up col klink thats not your wife rubbing your junk.......................................

I would rather not know if you are gay or not, this is just going to lead the need of a gay barrick or lesbian barrick because I dont want you in MY barrick if you are gay, I don't care if I am not "your type" they don't house men and women together why should I have to share a barrick with a gay. Also I have no problems with you being gay I have several friends that are gay but I still wouldn't share a room with them.

As a servicemember currently serving overseas I request that people do no speak for me. We can do that on our own just fine, thank you. In fact, we have been asked our opinion and we have spoken. Each and every servicemember has been given the opportunity to voice his or her opinions. Guess what? 2/3 of us didn't even bother to voice our opinions. Does that tell you how much we care? Despite being bombarded for months in the inboxes of our .mil email addresses, only 1/3 of servicemembers cared enough to have their voice heard. Of those, only a third said that unit morale and safety would be affected negatively. I'd say that is pretty indicative of our stance on the issue. We grew up with it and don't find homosexuality offensive.

There have been and always will be homosexuals serving in the military. The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell doesn't purport to give anyone the right to have sex with a member of the same sex in the barracks, nor does it give anyone the right to sexually harrass a fellow servicemember. These are discipline issues which I assure you the military is very adept at handling. I guarantee that no one is going to start make unwanted passes at you in the shower once the repeal is "certified." And yes, you will shower with gays, just like you've always done. But the minute someone invades your personal space or makes a comment you don't like, it will be reported to the chain of command as an act of sexual harassment or sexual assault.

Further, anyone who believes that our professional Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are going to all of a sudden become these hedonistic Sodomites, take a look at how well women are integrated into the military. In the current era of conflict and for the foreseeable future, there are no "front lines" filled with grunts. What we have is a dynamic battlefield where female civil affairs operators with an expertise in agriculture are teaching Afghan villagers the principles of crop rotation while a Marine platoon pulls security on the perimeter. Is she accosted and treated as a sex object by the straight males? No. I can assure you that if you are not gay yourself, you will not all of a sudden be accosted by swarms of lecherous homosexuals just as our peers in the civilian world are not subjected to such treatment.

As for religious objectors, no you will not be given free rein to leave because you object to serving alongside other Americans, just as other bigots are not allowed to quit because they are forced to serve alongside Muslims, or Wiccans or Hispanics. As long as they don't infringe upon your individual liberties, you will be forced to serve alongside them, eat in the same dining facilities, and bunk right next to them.

GEN Amos ought to take a look at the history of the Battle of the Bulge where thousands of whites and blacks served together in integrated units on the front lines. Military leaders expediently plussed up segregated units with black Soldiers as casualties mounted. There were no sensing sessions or panels convened to assess how we could integrate. It was just done and Soldiers of all colors did a fine job because they had a job to do. The Marine commandant wants to wait until we are no longer at war to do this integration because he doesn't want to "stress the troops." I would argue that this is the best time to do it because we are singly focused on the mission right now and a speedy and successful integration will show just how progressive the military is.

Truman's statement before the NAACP in 1947 as we sought to integrate African Americans into the military was as relevant then as it is today: “It is my deep conviction that we have reached a turning point in the long history of our efforts to guarantee a freedom and equality to all our citizens, and when I say all Americans -- I mean all Americans.”

As far as I know it has not passed yet, so aren't some of you counting your chickens a little early.

Great..now we get a bunch of peter puffers in uniform. How do they stand at position of attention with a limp wrist? So glad I am not in anymore. Can't imagine having to sit next to thwwet little ole thteve in the offith.

Monumental and LONG over due. I am a former U.S. Marine. I served with the elite, 1st Recon, and I served with a gay man. He was intelligent, courageous, committed to serving his country, and as tough as any man I ever served with. He bravely confided his homosexuality to me and I respected him even more for it. I am proud to have served beside him, proud to have been his friend, and glad others like him will in the future not have to cower in corners and deny who they are in order to stand on the front lines to defend the very people who would shun them. Semper Fi!

To all of you that are saying that this is a sad day for American, that we should
let our troops decide what is best, and that this is a victory for gay's rights
activist and a defeat for the US military. Well, for all of you take it from a
military member, this is a good thing. We often encounter people that are
obviously gay, that do the job the same way others would, but they can be
kicked out no matter how good they are just because they are gay. Come on, all
the money on training wasted because of their sex preference? Give me a break!
Also, I don't like the idea of anybody monitoring my sexuality. I am straight
but what if I was gay, who gives a @!$%#? But as a straight guy I tell you this
is a good thing because now I can avoid gay folks in the showers. To
all of you that are eager to say that this is bad for our troops and all that,
take it from a soldier: you need to chill and shut up!

Also,
I hope this is an opportunity to get rid of all the stupid rules in the UCMJ.
Did you guys know that oral and anal sex between a man and a woman is
considered gay? So if my girl goes down on me that makes me gay? everybody does it and it is supposed to be gay? Then 100% of the US military is gay...

If they are willing to come home in a coffin why can't we let them out of the closet?

 The Pentagon may have done a poll that supports their position but last I heard, the real soldiers, the combat troops who do the fighting are opposed to repealing DADT.  Don't their voices count or do the cooks and typists count more?  So what's the rush to repeal this during time of war when there is no consensus among our combat troops.  Everything always has to be crammed down our throats.

This is a great day for the United States of America as other form of discrimination is coming to end!!

As current polls indicate the public is way ahead of the curve on this one and the Senate finally did the right thing on this issue. Once again John McCain is on the wrong side of history along with the majority of the Republican Senate caucus that only has one priority: "Make sure Barrack Obama is a one term President" that has nothing to do with moving our country forward.

Wow...it is truly disturbing to read some of these comments and grasp the rank ignorance and fear of gays that it seems so many people still have. Some of you people are really, really sick and in serious need of professional help. Can't handle getting approached by a gay man or woman? Don't know how to deal with it? To the point where you'd get violent? Again...wow. It's you people that are really scary. You're like frightened little children playing at being adults, still afraid of "things that go bump in the night" or something. Don't fool yourselves - you can't even handle your own sexuality, never mind somebody else and theirs. You sound like you're scared to death that you might be gay, or perceived as gay, and be subject to the kind of persecution you're so willing to heap on others. Grow up, or please keep YOUR sick, twisted, paranoid fears to yourselves. Your lack of basic humanity is frightening beyond words. And, ironically, you most likely need not fear any gay person wanting anything to do with you, anyway.

As a former active duty Marine I can now say with pride that finally my country is practicing the consituional principle of equality for all citizens's by repealing an institutionlized form of bigotry that has no place in the year 2010. Moreover, America can now join the legion of every other modern, industrialized country in the world that recognized long ago that the military is strengthed, not weakened, when it allows all citizen's to serve regardless of their sexual orientation. Not a shred of evidence has ever supported the ill informed perspective that the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" would somehow prove harmful. In fact, all over the world the morale of troops and cohesion of units has improved when a doctrine based on equality, not discrimination is put into place.

I thought people joined the military to do a J-O-B, not discuss their romance or sex lives, no matter what you are. At least that's the way it should be.

But as usual, leave it to homosexuals to go around whining and stomping about what's not fair in their lives. Waah. I'll tell you what's not fair: Having to take up precious congressional time over bullsheite matters when our country is going down the fa@@in' tubes, time that could be used on important issues. HELLO. But then again the lowbrows running the senate wouldn't know what those would be anyway. Don't bother replying to me, I won't be back to read it, assuming it even gets posted.

p.s. Merry Christmas!! :)

If you hate gays is because you are a little homo yourself.

This has always been an issue of official sanction of homosexuality, and pressure to fulfill a political campaign promise. It has never, ever been about an effective end-state of the Armed Forces. DADT was a political solution, not a DoD regulation or policy. But it worked for seventeen years. It was abused by some. In both directions. Most laws are. If you were gay and joined, and decided you didn't like it, DADT was your get out of jail free card. But it is deep hypocrisy to say now, 'if you don't like the repeal, get out of the Armed Forces'. If you didn't like DADT and you're gay, then why did you join the Armed Forces to start with? The law was clear, but to join voluntarily with you eyes open and then say 'I was stripped of my integrity'. Please. You might as well join, have issues with Basic Training and then demand that Basic Training be changed. Serving is not a 'right', not matter how many times someone uses the phrase. The Armed Forces for good reason discriminate in every direction on who can't join; single parenthood, medical issues, issues with the law, lack of education, height, weight. The list goes on. The 'right' to serve doesn't exist. Gays can join under DADT. No questions about your sexual preference (it was an excluding factor before) and no answers either. But the 'right' to join with your eyes open and then declare abuse and loss of integrity over DADT doesn't exist either.

I don't care who is or is not gay, anymore than I care who is or is not exactly six foot tall. Service is about collective performance of duty, not innate personal characteristics. But the set of rights granted to Joe Citizen under the Constitution do not match the rights you can expect to exercise in uniformed service in the Armed Forces. If you think it does, walk out to a unit formation and start talking smack and see what happens, or get on TV in uniform and spout some nonsense. Make sure you claim abridgment of your First Amendment rights while you do. See if that covers you. DADT was never about rights.

So now what? Male from female is fairly easy to discern, but DADT is about sexual attraction, not gender. The rules separating the genders in certain situations in the Armed Forces are in place to ensure an effective force, not to ensure effective ability to execute individual personal preferences. If you can't tell who exactly is sexually attracted to whom (or you would rather pretend it does not matter anyway because everyone is on their best behavior to not let sexual attraction fog their command responsibilities or performance of duty, or you simply live in Cloud Cuckoo Land now anyway), then I want you to do two things. First, actually join the military. Most can't, but if you can, do so, and then advance yourself into a position of authority over others. And be personally responsible for effective production of collective results under extreme conditions that are hard to imagine. Not effective execution of individual preferences, rights and feelings (all gay ex-service members about to blog how effective they were and how everyone in their unit knew they were gay, until someone outed them for personal revenge, stop now. Everyone who ever got discharged for any reason has their personal story of prejudice, command bias, abuse and a brilliant career cut short by bigotry and hate when all they ever wanted to do anyway was serve with honor. See? I get it).

Second, since sexual attraction does not matter in the scheme of things for those who want to repeal DADT, when mass billeting and showering situations occur while deployed (military service isn't always duty at Camp Swampy, or much like anything you've experienced in civilian life, you just think it is), then I want to shower and sleep with the females. Under your perspective, it should be A-OK. I rpomise to be good. Since we have all decided to live in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

PS - I serve, I believe DADT will be repealed, and as always I will execute the lawful orders given me and ensure those under my authority do likewise. But see sentence one; this has never been about rights, fairness, or anything other than political agendas. And using the Armed Forces to advance political agendas, particularly in wartime (and afterwards the Armed Forces will be forgotten and left to muddle through once the agenda has been achieved and the next objective is in sight) is shameful.

I urge everyone to Throw up (Preferably on them)when they see a Fag couple to show the sickness they have.

Firstly, if you have never been in the military you shouldn't even be allowed to comment on this thread...

Now...having served in the first Gulf War I can say that I personally am uncomfortable going into the line of fire next to a homosexual man. As combat troops have limited females from their ranks to reduce the distraction level during combat situations I can see that the end of DADT has the potential of creating serious trust issues amongst the troops on the front lines.

Progressives...you can scream and call me names all day long....BUT...What happens when we are taking incoming fire and there I am next to someone who may feel the need to save his boyfriend next to me, at all costs, rather than saving me who is wounded more seriously?? Just like when to consenting heterosexuals are involved there is a deep seated need to save you significant other over all others. How can I trust two fellow men who are romantically involved anymore than I could trust a guy who is singularly focused on saving his wife/girlfriend over me??

You progressives or liberals or whatever you prefer today have a complete lack of ability to think things through to the inevitable bad result. You do what makes you feel good and damn the consequences. As long as it's fair to everyone that's all that matters. But that is not true. It will never be true. Someone always has to get the shorter end of any deal. It is what builds character of self. It is what keeps people striving to improve. It is what makes life worth living. Striving...Struggling....Overcoming adversity...That is what makes a person grow... Not having the playing field leveled for everyone.

If you're gay....how nice for you...now realize that life has dealt you a difficult hand and that you will have to struggle sometimes because of it....is it fair?? I guess not.... But you know what??? Even though I made it through my 4 years in the military as a young man....I was also dealt a crappy hand by life...my family is horribly genetically inclined to being obese...I fought everyday in the military to maintain a lie that I was not a tub of lard....I now have lost the battle with genetics that life dealt me and I weigh 425 punds... Is it fair?? I guess not...but now I have to struggle with the hand life has dealt me....

Get over yourselves libs...Life isn't fair...

DEAL WITH IT!!!!