General Peter Pace -- Up Close and Personal

First Lieutenant Eli White (kneeling right ) and General Peter Pace (third from left)

On January 1, 2006, I was deployed at LSA Anaconda, Iraq, serving as the Operations Officer to the Provost Marshal’s Office. On that day, Gen. Peter Pace, then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led a USO tour to the base to entertain the troops and thank us for our service. My troops, military working-dog teams, and I were detailed to augment his security team, providing protection both at the event and serving as mobile security escorts. Throughout the day, Gen. Pace repeatedly thanked us for our exceptional service, and personally gave each of us his coin. I distinctly remember my excitement in being assigned the mission, and felt a bit of butterflies in my stomach as we met and shook hands. He surprised me with his approachability, eagerness to listen to our stories and concerns, and genuine care for us and our loved ones. My personal interaction with Gen. Pace left me with an even greater respect for him than that which came with his distinguished title.

A year after my return from Iraq, I opened up my hometown newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, and was appalled by Gen. Pace’s comments degrading gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members. In over three years on active duty, I served alongside gay, lesbian, and bisexual Airmen, Soldiers, and Sailors, both stateside and in Iraq. I saw firsthand how “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” silences these dedicated troops from sharing their lives with some of their best friends – their fellow service members. Despite risking their lives daily, they could not talk about their loved ones, and routinely were force to hide their true selves.

Today, I no longer wear the uniform of the U.S. Air Force, yet I continue to serve my country and my fellow military brethren as a member of the SLDN team. As I left the military to enter law school, the ban on openly gay service members weighed heavily on my heart, and led me to SLDN, where I currently serve as a summer law fellow, supporting our legal services, litigation, and policy programs. I am grateful for this opportunity to help those affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and hope that our efforts soon materialize into the repeal of this discriminatory law. I wish Gen. Pace was part of the solution, rather than the problem.

As Gen. Pace traveled throughout Iraq, thanking the troops for our service and dedication, he shook the hands of many gay and lesbian service members silenced by the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy; troops who, in his eyes, are “immoral.” He recognized their bravery, courage, and selflessness in the Global War on Terror, yet he failed to provide them with the leadership and respect they deserve. Our gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members are anything but “immoral”, they are brave men and women, dedicated to protecting our country and serving honorably.

-Eli White

SLDN Legal Fellow

Which One of These Does Not Belong?

Tomorrow General Peter Pace, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) will join an elite club that includes Neil Armstrong, Jonas Salk, Martha Graham, Harper Lee and Friedrich Hayek when he receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. The medal is our nation’s top civilian award and has previously been bestowed upon a host of distinguished Americans.

Armstrong was the first human being to walk on the face of the Moon. Salk discovered a vaccine for Polio. American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham revolutionized the art of dance and is considered one the of 20th Century's great artists. Harper Lee wrote the American literary classic To Kill a Mockingbird, and Friedrich Hayek defended American ideals of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against communism and socialism.

In contrast, General Pace, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) used his position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a platform to judge and degrade patriotic Americans during a time of war. In a 2007 interview with the Chicago Tribune Pace called lesbians and gays “immoral” before adding, "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts.” He stands behind the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that denies qualified lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans the right to serve our country. Under his watch, in order to meet personnel goals, the Pentagon relaxed enlistment standards regarding age, physical fitness, and education and criminal records.

Does Pace really deserve to be included among the ranks of these great Americans?

-Adam Ebbin

It's Time for Spine!

This week Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace will be honored by President George W. Bush with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award. The presidential award comes despite the fact Pace last year told the Chicago Tribune, "Homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral,” and was subsequently not re-nominated for a second term as the country’s highest military advisor.

In his latest Huffington Post blog, SLDN executive director Aubrey Sarvis examines the important role played by our military leadership. Sarvis encourages current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen to advise “the President and the Congress in an emphatic way that the ban on gay men and women serving in the military is not only obsolete, but wrong, and that it should be repealed.”

The strains on America’s military have grown exponentially since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was first passed in 1993. As wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to challenge our personnel resources, what America needs is for our military leadership to advise Congress that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is adversely impacting the ability of military commanders to recruit and retain qualified Americans into the armed forces.

Click here to visit Huffington Post and learn more about the need for principled leadership, and why Sarvis is telling military advisors that “It's time for spine!”

-Victor Maldonado

• Gays in the Military: Gen. Pace & Sen. Harkin Face Off

Peter Pace's Family Values

General Peter Pace, the out-going Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is concerned about families . . . but, one presumes, only the heterosexual ones.

Explaining to reporters why he is now contemplating yet another "surge" of troops into Iraq, Pace said that extending tours for service personnel already in Iraq "has an impact on families."

Suddenly, the General has found family values.

That certainly wasn't the case earlier this year, when Pace referred to lesbians and gays as "immoral," and went out of his way to defend "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He didn't stop then to consider the impact of the ban on same-sex families, nor did he ever apologize to the families of lesbian and gay troops, many of whom were beyond offended.

As SLDN recently pointed out in an article in the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" makes a difficult situation almost impossible for gay troops.

The Duke Journal article notes that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law “impacts -- emotionally, financially, and legally -- the lives of the partners and children of gay service members.” The plight of gay military families “has garnered little public attention because few families headed by a same-sex couple, in which one partner is currently serving in the armed forces, are willing to risk a career-ending move to tell their story, let alone face the loss of familial privacy by making such a public statement.”

But those sacrifices, and the added burden the military's ban places on lesbian and gay service personnel, never registered on Pace's radar.

If Peter Pace really wants to stand up for military families, he should stand up for all of them, and call on Congress to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Because, while there's no question that extending deployments "has an impact" on families, there's no question that discrimination and federally enforced silence does, too.

- Steve Ralls