10.18.07
Military Response to ironic ads: [That website] does not “meet the moral standards” of the military.
According to USA Today, the Army, Navy, and Air Force have been advertising on the networking site for LGBT professionals, GLEE.com. A sign perhaps? Perhaps good news at a time when military recruiters are having trouble filling the ranks with warm bodies in an ever growing unpopular conflict? Perhaps not.
When informed Tuesday by USA TODAY that they were advertising on GLEE.com, a networking website for gay professionals, recruiters expressed surprise and said they would remove the job listings.
“This is the first I’ve heard about it,” said Maj. Michael Baptista, advertising branch chief for the Army National Guard, which will spend $6.5 million on Internet recruiting this year. “We didn’t knowingly advertise on that particular website,” which he said does not “meet the moral standards” of the military.
Capt. Jack Hanzlik, a Navy recruiting spokesman, said his service ordered more than 8,000 ads taken off GLEE, which stands for Gay, Lesbian & Everyone Else. By late Wednesday, most were gone.
Marine Corps ads on GLEE were only for two civilian jobs not covered by the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which allows gays to serve in uniform only if they keep quiet about their sexual orientation.
Yes, you heard right, a website for GLBT professionals does not “meet the moral standards” of the military. These moral standards?
About 17 percent of the first-time recruits, or about 13,600, were accepted under waivers for various medical, moral or criminal problems, including misdemeanor arrests or drunk driving. That is a slight increase from last year, the Army said.
Of those accepted under waivers, more than half were for “moral” reasons, mostly misdemeanor arrests. Thirty-eight percent were for medical reasons and 7 percent were drug and alcohol problems, including those who may have failed a drug test or acknowledged they had used drugs.
The Army said the waiver process recognizes that people can overcome past mistakes and become law abiding citizens.
The morals presented in the Baltimore Sun, February 2006?
…[T]he largest increase was among recruits with a history of either criminal conduct or drug and alcohol problems, according to data provided by the Army.
In all, the Army granted waivers to 11,018 recruits in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2005, or 15 percent of those accepted into the service that year. Those figures are up sharply from 2004, when 9,300 waivers were granted, or about 12 percent of those joining the Army.
[...]
There was a significant increase in the number of recruits with what the Army terms “serious criminal misconduct” in their background.
That category includes aggravated assault, robbery, vehicular manslaughter, receiving stolen property and making terrorist threats, according to Douglas Smith, a spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky.
The number of recruits in that category increased to 630, from 408 in 2004, reversing at least a four-year trend in which the number of recruits with serious criminal misconduct in their background had declined, according to Army statistics.
The largest increase in waivers was for recruits with misdemeanor convictions. There were 4,587 waivers granted last year in that category, up from 3,667 in 2004. The category includes those with convictions for assault punishable by a fine of less than $500, resisting arrest, public drunkenness and contempt of court, said Smith.
There were 737 waivers for alcohol and illegal drugs, up from 650 the previous year, which also reversed at least a four-year trend of declines in that category. Smith said those waivers were for recruits who tested positive for amphetamines, marijuana or cocaine during recruit processing. A waiver is required to let the recruit wait 45 days before taking another test.
It sure is a good thing that the military didn’t lower their standards to allow TEH GAY.
Related: Boston Legal skewers ‘DADT’ which makes The Peter apoplectic.
Crossposted at Pam’s House Blend and Tiny Queer Footballs
When I arrived at 2, the place was packed with Media and presenters. The Briefing is going to be starting very soon and I’ll let you know the updates as they come along. I met with 