I've been open about my military experience. I was in the United States Navy from 1984 through 1988. It's been a while. I was an Ocean System Technician, Analyst. The rate doesn't exist anymore. My husband was in the Navy between 1981 through 2001. He was an Engineman. I only got to the rank of E-4. I PNA'd E-5 by .23 points. That's passed but not advanced. That means I passed the test to advance in rank, but enough other people also passed the test that they looked at the brownie points, how their superiors rated them, and I didn't rate as well as everyone else did. You see, I could do my job really well, but I didn't play the political game as well as everyone else did. Can you imagine that, knowing me now? There was one ribbon that I won, but wasn't allowed to wear because I wasn't a mobile unit that had I been allowed to actually wear it, I would have been advanced to E-5. I don't remember what it was now....my memory isn't as good as it once was. Would that have made a difference in me staying in? Probably not. You see, the OTA rate was full of prima donas.
Let me explain that statement. I was listening to my rate complain about barracks furniture not being up to their standards, while I dated a man telling me stories about hot racking it. Hot racking it is when 4 men are assigned to 3 beds. You have to wake up the person relieving you, so you have somewhere to sleep. You either change the sheets, or sleep in the same sheets he got out of. As a woman......ICKKKK. They were prima donas. I had originally tried to come into the Navy as a photographer. I tested too high, so they tried to put me into a highly technical rate. They said had I been male, I would have gone into a nuclear rate. That's not conceit, that's the Navy trying to push the highly technical rates. I thought I was going into an electronic rate....which had a civilian equivalant. But the month before I went in, they split the rate into those who analyzed the data, and those who worked on the equipment. I analyzed the data. No civilian equivalant.
So, after 3 years of high stress, I decided to cross rate to photographer. My dad had already taught me how to develop black and white film. I researched it and it was not required that I go to A-school. All I had to do was get my PARS signed off and do the training. I approached my Chief and asked him. He said he would not support that decision. I went to the other base ON MY OWN TIME and got everything signed off. I brought everything to him. I explained to him that it wasn't A-school required, that all I had to do was take the Photographer 3rd class exam (PH3) test and I could laterally convert. Instead of being an OTA3, I would be a PH3. He told me he had pulled strings with people he knew in Washington, D.C. and it was A-school required FOR ME. And the first opening wasn't available for 14 months. I had 12 months left on my enlistment. Or something to that effect. Whatever it was, it would require an extension on my enlistment.
I loved the Navy. I was what they called a lifer. I would have stayed in for at least 20 years, had they let me. I told them I would extend my enlistment if they put in that they would guarentee that I would have adminstrative duties for that entire time, they would keep me off the floor. They said they couldn't do that. I got out.
While I was in the Navy, I had a friend that was gay. Now you know where this article is really going. She was a really nice lady, mostly. She was enlisted. She mostly left me alone, but I considered us friends. She knew I was straight. She told me one time that most women in the military that were gay liked to bend straight women. It was more of a challenge than dating already gay women. She did just that. She dated a previously straight officer. The enlisted woman ended up getting put out of the military, while the officer claimed that she was blackmailed into the relationship, and got off scott free....no charges. I knew my friend. I don't think there was blackmail, maybe coercion, but not blackmail. There might have been remorse on the part of the officer, so what? A reason to destory another person's career?
That said, this was a time of don't ask, don't tell. I knew she was, she knew I knew, we didn't discuss it very often. I didn't have to stay in the same barracks room with her so it didn't matter to me. She had a desk right next to mine, but that was as close as we got. We sometimes socialized, but we were friends, like having a male friend. But if you think it was all quiet back then, you've been under a rock. We had women openly dancing together in the enlisted club and kissing. This was in the mid-1980's. Now you couldn't be a man and openly gay, but it was nothing to be a woman and openly gay. If you were a man on a ship and it was found out you were gay, you got thrown overboard. I asked one time why that was. Why didn't the women get thrown out? Why was it so prevailant? I was told, discretely, that there were too many women high up that were gay.
My opinion is that I would rather share a barracks room with a man than a gay woman. After hearing from my friend (and remember, I'm not a homophobe...I considered her a friend) that it was a sort of hobby of her and her friends to bend straight women. They considered it a challenge. If you lived in the same room, would they take no for an answer today? This was 25 years ago. Times were much different 25 years ago. What do you do now, when someone makes a pass at you in your own room? Can you imagine the stress that's gonna put on our military? Now they not only have to worry about the enemy, but friends. And what if they don't take the advances....I've lived with an abuser, it's not any fun. As a matter of fact it was so stressful on me, it caused me to develop epilepsy. Can we put as much stress on our soldiers and sailors as possible?
I believe this is another step at demoralization of our country. You can see the video that was uncovered by someone on asamom.org that I posted at the top of my blog. It's a former KGB agent telling how it would happen (since it was filmed possible around 1986 - it's not dated) when it comes. He said that if America falls, we won't have anywhere to defect to. He also said that if people think they want a Marxist-Leninist utopia and they bring about the fall of America, they will become disillusioned when they don't get that utopia and join the desentors. That's when the people pulling their strings (in our case I suppose that would be China) would swoop in and eliminate them. His words, not mine.
Demoralizing, sort of like pushing the gay agenda? I think you need to take a look at the morals of other nations. One of the arguments for giving up control of the internet is that America lets too much garbage on it. They say our free speech lets on too much triple x stuff, and if they had control, they would censor that off. China and most other countries haven't suffered that "moral decline." So, when America falls, and China swoops in to take over, do you think the gays will have any rights? No. So, who are the far let trying to please? They aren't pleasing me. Are they pleasing you? Are these your values? What is the numbers in America that is gay? Why are we pandering to 1.51% of the population (according to a "broad-based coalition of gay rights organizations and homosexual advocacy groups." And this includes gay, lesbian and bi-sexual. Have to admit it doesn't include transgender. Oh, just found another .7% for gay men as a separate catagory, and lesbians as .32%. This was found on http://www.adherents.com/adh_dem.html. We are going to let 2.53% of the population let our morals go down the tubes, and threaten the security of our military?
Now I'm all for free speech, and letting them have their say. I fought for that. But when 2.53% of the population of America starts to determine policy? That's not a Republic....that's a Banana Republic.
No comments:
Post a Comment