I have worked with the Canadian military. On location at an annual ’Box Top’ re-supply mission basing out of Thule, Greenland I also had contact with Canadian military liaisons during 9 years of writing plans for the U.S. Air Force. I cannot disparage the Canadian military in any way. Face it however. No military in history has been asked to do what the United States Armed Forces does for this planet. Not the Canadians. Not the British. Not China or India. The United States military, protects, rescues, and liberates people to freedom, anywhere and everywhere. We do not conquer for gain but for freedom. The Canadians are among our closest allies. I stand with my original comment that you would have a hard time comparing the US. and Canadian militaries.

On the other hand Alan, a teeny bit of socialism seems to have leaked through your comment. “…underlying attitudes DON’T change unless they’re forced to. “ Karl Marx, Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin and many others would LOVE you.

Far as DADT goes, unless you can set the mindsets of the soldiers into accepting the GLBT person then you are creating more problems by that person being there. You can’t just order the entire military to be accepting of the GLBT members. Of course, if they are already accepting then that is another story, but traditionally the bottom rung of the army is filled with rednecks and minorities from the poorest ring that tend to not want to be open minded.

There needs to be a balance between discriminating against GLBT and declaring open season on them in the USA army.

Human nature being what it is though, it’s been my observation that those underlying attitudes DON’T change unless they’re forced to. In other words, you’re never going to get ‘acceptance’ of gays openly serving in the military until you ACTUALLY have gays serving openly in the military (same thing with gay marriage). Sooner or later, Obama (or his successor) is going to have to take the deep breath and make the plunge. What bugs me is the knowledge that there’s never going to be a ‘good’ time to do this politically but if Obama wants ‘real change’ he’s actually going to have to DO something about it rather than just talk about it…

Recently we just released our Marriage Equality Campaign, a legal brief to challenge DOMA and addresses DADT, which our attorneys are prepared for. Please inform as many people as you can, media included. We are a small non-profit organization, doing a BIG SERVICE to the public good. Our Chaplain notes; Suspect Classification, Abridgment of Speech by the Federal and State Government in addition to the Restraint of Religious Officials.

Check it out at http://www.TheMonastery.org

To see the Famous Celebrities, Including our very own legally ordained Kathy Griffin from the D-List, who speaks on behalf of LGBT rights greatly in her own works: http://www.universallifechurchministers.org

Stop the discrimination now Mr President. Allow all homosexuals to serve openly if they so choose. However, leave this protection, leave the right to privacy and this singular law intact. ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?’ Leave that choice to the individual.