No Limits, Except One.

From this morning's Associated Press newswire:

"The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq. . . . Until now, the Pentagon's policy on the Guard or Reserve was that members' cumulative time on active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted."

At the same time, Defense Secretary Gates has proposed "that the size of the Army be increased by 65,000, to 547,000 and that the Marine Corps, the smallest of the services, grow by 27,000, to 202,000, over the next five years."

It all begs the question: Where are these new troops going to come from?

The military, stretched thin already, has been issuing waivers to allow those with criminal backgrounds to enlist; has raised the maximum age for enlistment and has lowered educational standards for those coming into the services. Even with those changes, however, the armed forces are barely meeting recruitment goals.

At the same time, the military has also been dismissing two service members every day under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Men and women like Sonya Contreras, one of the Army's best recruiters (think they might be able to use her now) and Steve Boeckels, a West Point graduate with impeccable credentials, have been shown the door. In total, more than 11,000 service members have been dismissed because of the ban.

So today, as we learn there are 'no limits' to the sacrifice Pentagon leaders will call on our men and women in uniform to make, we pause to remember that, in fact, there is one limit: No matter how qualified, how patriotic or how ready you may be to serve, if you happen to be lesbian, gay or bisexual, Uncle Sam doesn't want you.

Where's the logic in that?

- Steve Ralls