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Steven Thornton is a 1994 graduate of
West Point and served active duty in the Army until 1999, leading two platoons
and reaching the rank of captain; he was honorably discharged this year after
six years of service in the reserves; he can be reached at thorntst@yahoo.com
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HOME > VIEWPOINT > OPINION
By: STEVEN THORNTON
COMMENTS
 
HONOR IS THE cornerstone for many institutions in the United States and elsewhere.
It is particularly important to the United States military.
Honor is necessary to build the trust necessary between leaders and subordinates
and among service members of all ranks. Any military leader will say that trust
is a necessary factor for unit cohesion and operational effectiveness.
Honor, or the lack of it, often has legal and foreign policy ramifications,
as evidenced by the recent Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq.
Unfortunately, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” continues to
erode the military’s readiness and its honor, because it forces members
of the United States Armed Forces to live a lie. The government’s ban
on military service by out gays also diminishes the honor of veterans like me
who have served faithfully during times of peace and war.
TODAY, MANY GAY, LESBIAN AND bisexual citizen patriots are serving faithfully
in combat zones and elsewhere. Yet, shamefully our nation compels them to choose
between honor and country.
While they serve, the Department of Defense continues to train and indoctrinate
replacements for the enlisted ranks and the officer corps. The premier institution
for training future Army officers is the United States Military Academy at West
Point, from which I graduated.
ASK ANY WEST Point cadet or alumnus, and they will tell you honor was central
to their professional development. It is embodied in the Cadet Honor Code, which
provides that cadets “will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who
do.”
Simply telling the truth does not meet the Academy’s high standard for
honor. The “Spirit of the Code” is a concept I learned as a plebe
and taught as an Honor Committee staff member.
We learned that the code of honor is more than a legalistic checklist to avoid
punishment, but rather should be viewed as an internalized, shared sense of
moral principles that foster an environment of trust and respect that is critically
necessary for the conduct of war or for military readiness.
Yet, it is self-evident that many cadets must deceive their peers and the Academy
administration about their sexual orientation or romantic past for fear of separation,
financial reparations, retaliation or harassment.
THIS INSTITUTIONALIZED HYPOCRISY exists because of the inconsistency in the
service academies’ honor systems and “Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell.”
Academy regulations on one hand require cadets to be absolutely truthful and
forthright in speech and deeds — not just to tell the truth — and
on the other hand Army rules require the discharge of anyone who speaks truthfully
about their sexual orientation.
As long as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” persists, the noble
goal of honor will remain illusive for the academies and the officer corps.
ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, IT IS SAD TO me that we continue to dishonor service members
by forcing them to deceive in order to serve. The dishonor lies not with them
but with our nation, as long as our leaders speak with a forked tongue about
honor and service.
The Declaration of Independence reminds us that all Americans “are endowed
by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
We must stop denying our citizen patriots the happiness they can fully realize
only through self-acceptance and honest relationships.
I thank all of you who serve and who have served to protect the freedoms that
you do not enjoy.
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