Pizzen Debacle: I Humbly Apologize

Phillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician, Toxicologist and Pharmacologist.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - My article about Army Homosexuals stirred up a firestorm comparable to Vesuvius or maybe Mt. St. Helens. At any rate, it got completely out of hand with 39 pages of comments of all sorts including knife fights. I was just trying to make a philosophical point.

After reading all of it, I am partially convinced that if my Army private buddies thought I was queer because I didn't smoke cigarettes probably my sergeant and lieutenant thought so also and tried to get me killed by putting me on the attacking point several days running and ordered me out into "no man's land" for a couple of hours looking for footprints of two of my section who had been captured.

In both situations it was a miracle that I survived. Either would normally have been lethal.

My article also provoked anti-semitic remarks, Biblical and Torah references. I'm sure every race has homosexuals. In some ethnic groups, the old men marry or seize all of the young women leaving none for the young men. Some Fundamentalist Mormons have many wives. Muslims can have four wives and a deck of concubines.

As to homosexuals in the armed services, they have always been there, the Spartans, possibly the most renowned warriors ever known, were presumably ALL homosexuals. Any current serviceman or woman will tell you that there are homosexuals in the armed services now.

Whether priest pedophiles are homosexuals is another question. Most of their targets were boys but certainly girls were certainly just as available.

The percentage of homosexuals in population is up for grabs. Soldiers and Marines in battle units form bonds almost as tight as marriage. A front line fighter in a foxhole or on the attack better trust his buddy. His life depends on it. Is there a stronger bond? Probably only in marriage! I don;t know if homosexuality implicitly includes sexual activity.

Even some male-female marriages are without sex relations. This is probably unusual bit is is also a fact.

As to the crap about homosexuals preventing unit cohesiveness, what a load! There are dozens of reasons for the lack of cohesiveness. One of the most common was arrogant and ignorant sergeants and lieutenants. The didn't call the latter "90 Day Wonders" without reason. Many WWII sergeants were illiterate. They found a home in the Army before the war started. I'm just getting started, there will be more.

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Jefferson January 19, 2008 2:35 pm (Pacific time)

Experience v.s. non-experience. No contest!

Henry Ruark January 16, 2008 7:20 am (Pacific time)

To all: N-N now forced to abandon dialog here, since he cannot summon anything except his own dependence on "higher authority" to defend his stance on the issue. Dialog forces that situation when properly conducted, as he has now learned, perhaps painfully, we can hope. Plain and obvious proof of this simple analysis is his own suggestion that we "picket the Pentagon" --surely a sign of his own desperate status on the issue since he, of all persons here, should recognize the foolish frustration sure to occur via any such action, as ongoing circumstance has long ago proven. IF any group on this Earth are more determined and driven in their unchangeable attitudes and actions, "the military" are the ones. When properly conducted, that is heart-and-soul for the true protections any democracy must have --BUT when allowed to deteriorate and thus deny democratic principle, that also becomes the greatest possible danger to democracy, too. International history so teaches us, right up to and including the Bhutto assassination...and without looking back to our own similar ones, from Hamilton through the Kennedy ones and including, of course, Martin Luther King, too. Please note, for the record, this does NOT in any way demean or otherwise attack the good people we know are at the Pentagon, operating in our own democratic interest --it simply reiterates what is only common sense, based on reality around the world NOW.

Neal Feldman January 15, 2008 12:22 pm (Pacific time)

Jefferson - you accurately identify the aspects only of your own posts. You still project in uncontrolled fashion. Ah well...

Jefferson January 15, 2008 12:20 pm (Pacific time)

People, those who disagree with current military policy in this topical area...take it up with them! I agree with it, and that agreement is based on experience, those who disagree, well, deal with it, or go picket the pentagon. I assure you no future president or congressional leader will try to change it!

Henry Ruark January 15, 2008 11:56 am (Pacific time)

Vapid is as vapid does --and you should certainly know it when you commit it so surely, thoroughly, continuously and without sensitivity enough to understand what you do. Response was accurate, concise, conscientious, correct, and commendable of Dr.L, as it should be. It is shameful to treat such as he in the way you seek to do, demeaning his strong efforts for your own psychotic satisfactions. Yrs simply empty words deserving of full contempt from all here who wish to communicate, share, learn and move on to helpful issue dialog leading to informed decision on key issues. But you demonstrate only contempt for that democratic action, leaving to others any real effort for progressive steps aiding the commonweal, while winnowing away any possible support for any point threatening your selfish class -controlled interests.

Jefferson January 15, 2008 10:20 am (Pacific time)

The responses were as expected. Uninformed. Confused. Irrelevant to historical facts on hand. Vapid.

Henry Ruark January 15, 2008 5:08 am (Pacific time)

To all: Please note that Dr. L. puts it right out there in public, with his NAME and REPUTATION RIGHT ON LINE. He DOES NOT snipe from behind the tree; you know him for what he is, and you know whether or not you wish to trust his assessment of the realities --which is what any professional opinion could, should and MUST be, to earn your continuing credibility. Signature on your own stuff is the guarantee you give to others, precisely as in any other civilized conversation; even if the do NOT know you to start, at least they can then check you out. For anyone to continue to refuse that reasonable request when made here, the only conclusion is that there is a reason why they cannot do so. Any claim of possible real retaliation by violence is, very simply, only coverup to hide corrupt and malign intention --surely now fully demonstrated for all here to "see with own eyes" and to evaluate "with own brain",too.

Neal Feldman January 15, 2008 12:08 am (Pacific time)

Jefferson - again your rabid homophobia is running rampant again. Any cohesiveness issues because of sexual orientation are caused by the bigots such as yourself, not by the targets of your bigotry. You have never shown any differently, regardless of your implied claims that you have more military experience and expertise than anyone the planet has or ever will see (your dubious and clearly unsubstantiated claims are, or course, laughable considering your posts...). Don't ask Don't tell was not a culmination of anything other than an attempt at a compromise since the alternative was the ban being dropped entirely. Enough politicians felt it gave them enough political cover that they could please everyone. The result has been nothing short of a complete failure that has wasted billions of tax dollars and caused serious damage to military readiness and national security... all to protect bigots like you. As for uninformed opinions you have conclusively proven that on pretty much every subject that is how best to describe everything you have ever posted. As for getting emotion it has nothing to do with emotion it has to do with honor... a concept that a coward such as yourself knows nothing about clearly. It is about the country's guarantees of equality and freedom have to apply equally to ALL (yes even in the military) or the entire country's foundation is utterly and completely meaningless. Many millions of homosexuals pay taxes that fund the military. Why should they fund a branch of the govt that gets to ignore their equal civil rights? Like I said elsewhere the only ones threatening cohesion (due to divisiveness) are the bigots such as yourself. And not a trillion years of unsubstantiated claimed 'experience and expertise' by the likes of you does anything to disprove that logical truth. Not that you have ever found a fact your delusions would not let you try and deny. And as a subset of the US government that is ruled by the US Constitution the UCMJ should not be immune to the US Constitution. Again you have never made a legitimate argument against that point either, Mr Legend-in-your-own-mind. No surprise there considering your overwhelming ignorance and cowardice. Ah well...

Henry Ruark January 14, 2008 3:46 pm (Pacific time)

Dr. L: Thank you for that very direct truth-telling. Your apology sensitive, honest, and admired, but unneeded here. Most of better readers by now recognize those WD-types cluttering up good white space with contempt-contrived comments --and they pay about as much attention to them as to other small insect-types. Truth is, such fluttering and foolish-found stuff runs on every blog, everywhere, these days...and any thinking person soon learns to see what it is and to let it die its natural death due to being ignored. I appreciate and admire your ongoing series and look for more of it, in depth and with the detail you impart to it which makes it significant.

Jefferson January 14, 2008 3:17 pm (Pacific time)

Regarding your opinion that homosexuals negatively impact unit cohesiveness as a "load." What is your long term military experience in this area, other than your particular unit you served in, which you stated you didn't know of any overt homosexual behaviors? Even then that would cover a relatively short time period. The "Don't ask, don't ask policy" is a culmination of years of research and experience that homosexual behaviors "DOES" negatively impact unit cohesion. Your opinion is yours, but it is irrelevant to what the military is doing and will continue to do in this matter. I am sure you will get a lot of people to support your opinion, but they also will simply be offering uninformed opinions promulgated on nothing more than emotion. I respect your combat service, I am also a combat veteran. Many of those I served with were career troopers, many with several combat jumps in WWII the Korean War and Vietnam (They/we called you non-Airborne "Legs", but no disrespect intended. It's an Airborne thing.) Several of the NCO's I knew attained undergrad degrees and some even graduate degrees while in the service. Most all of the officers already had degrees other than (usually) enlisted personnel who went through OCS. My discussions with them (still ongoing with many, by the way) about this issue covered their observations over decades, that and with other empirical observations of my own (decades), I am quite confident that the military is following the correct policy (though it should have a serious jail time attached to those who engage in fraud by getting military funding for their education, then claim they're homosexual to get discharged. Not uncommon). People get very emotional about this, and that's okay, but for those who understand just how important unit cohesion is in battle, they do not see the current policy, respectfully, as a "load..." Note: Whether a member of the military is in a non-combat position or a combat one, the UCMJ applies to all equally.

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Pizzen Debacle: I Humbly Apologize

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