Yes, there's a double-meaning there! Firstly because of the prominent role played by members of different parts of our military forces in London Pride last Saturday and because the presence of lesbian and gay personnel is now widely-accepted and uncontroversial in most quarters. It is specially pleasing to see the latest issue of Soldier (*) (which is published by the Ministry of Defence) and various of the articles it contains (for example - "Equal Partners: Gay Soldiers Hail Army's Strides In Diversity." ).
(*) - You can download the complete .PDF version of the July issue via the link at the foot of the linked page.
The other aspect of pride in our military forces relates to their bravery and courage, or more precisely the profound respect they have earned and which is if possible heightened by the recent surge in fatalities they have suffered in Afghanistan.
I salute them all.
It's very good to see things are becoming better for the GLBT people in the military. When Jim was in the Navy things were quite different and there are plenty of horrible stories from that time.
ReplyDeleteNow, we need to know why the USA can't see that our forces haven't descended into chaos? When will they open up the forces to all? Hmm..
Yes, it's a good question I've written obout often, most recently here:
ReplyDeletehttp://billcameron.blogspot.com/2009/07/gays-in-military-debate-rumbles-on-in.html