Today, Gen. James Amos told print journalists that the recent DADT Pentagon report showed that a Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal would threaten combat Marines with "distractions."
"Mistakes and inattention or distractions costs Marines lives," Amos said. "I take that very seriously. I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction. I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda [Naval Hospital], with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."
Later today, SLDN responded:
SLDN STATEMENT ON GENERAL AMOS COMMENTS
“General Amos needs to fall in line and salute or resign now. He implied that repeal will lead to Marines losing their legs in combat. Those fear tactics are not in the interest of any service member. The General’s goal is to kill repeal no matter the consequences, perhaps at the dereliction of his other duties. He had his say before the Senate and House. General Amos needs to stop lobbying against his Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. If he cannot do that, the President should ask for his resignation,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
FROM THE PENTAGON REPORT: 92% of service members are just fine working with their gay, lesbian, and bisexual colleagues -- 84% for those in MARINE combat arms units.
ABOUT SLDN: SLDN was established in 1993 when “Don’t Ask” originally passed. In addition to working on repeal, SLDN offers free, confidential legal services to those impacted by DADT; this year the organization received its 10,000th call for assistance to its legal hotline.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2010
Trevor Thomas: (616) 430-2030 or trevor@sldn.org
Paul DeMiglio: (202) 621-5408 or paul@sldn.org
STILL AT RISK: “As the U.S. Senate votes on repeal legislation, service members still cannot come out. A general recently approved the separation of an SLDN client serving overseas in the U.S. Air Force. This service member now faces an administrative separation board. If the discharge moves forward, the fate of the service member’s career will ultimately fall to Secretary Michael B. Donley, Dept. of Defense General Counsel Jeh Johnson, and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Dr. Clifford L. Stanley.” Warning to service members: www.SLDN.org/StillAtRisk
SLDN FREE HOTLINE: Gay and lesbian service members with questions on repeal are urged to contact the SLDN hotline to speak with a staff attorney: 202-328-3244 x100.
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