[Benny]

And he was a fuckin nigger to top it off! Damn! Talk about a weak socialist mess. John Forbes's head is going to pop off like a bottle rocket. WTF has the world come to? And this is an old story. Think of how full the military is with faggots and lesbians by now. You still edit wiki right John? I'm not a regular viewer, so can anyone tell me if Sean Hannity has ever had this guy on as a great American? Was this what you were so afraid of with the repeal of DADT?

Gay American war hero with Purple Heart who didn't tell unless asked

By Stephen Foley in New York


Tuesday 29 July 2008
In life, Major Alan G Rogers was an American patriot, committed to the US Army in which he had served for 18 of his 40 years. His death this year, from a roadside bomb, which took the number of American losses in Iraq to more than 4,000, robbed the service of an outstanding military intelligence officer and deprived his friends of someone they all described as a great listener and a profoundly religious man.

Major Rogers was also gay. He wasn't asked and, at least to most colleagues, he didn't tell, but the story of his struggle to balance two competing aspects of his life has moved to the heart of the debate about gay military service.

Alan Rogers, raised by adoptive parents in New York and Florida, joined the US Army to serve in the 1991 Gulf War, and later had tours of South Korea and Iraq ahead of the 2003 invasion. He used military sponsorship programmes to pursue academic studies, ultimately becoming a biometrics expert on assignment at the Pentagon before his final tour of duty in Iraq. He was also a Baptist preacher and is remembered as a wise counsellor to friends and men under his command.

Major Rogers' story has been adopted by gay-rights campaigners. Someone on a computer inside the Pentagon was briefly able to change a Wikipedia profile of Major Rogers to omit his sexuality, sparking a battle over whether it was relevant to notices of his long service and his ultimate sacrifice.

"Alan was a true soldier and loved serving his country," his friend Tony Smith remembered. "And he was also a gay man. Alan was not someone who hid his sexual orientation. He didn't wear it on his sleeve, but he didn't hide it under a cloak either."

Now, campaigners hope that the example of this dedicated military man, posthumously awarded a Purple Heart for his sacrifice, is giving new impetus to their attempt to rip up the Clinton-era policy known as don't ask, don't tell and finally to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the US military. It was a campaign of which Rogers had been a part in life, and which has taken a few faltering steps towards fruition in the short months since his death in January. Although a slim majority of active military personnel still oppose a change, surveys have shown a significant warming towards the idea of repeal, at a time when the US is stretched thin in two wars. Last week, Congress held a hearing on the policy for the first time since it was put on the statute books 15 years ago.

"I think the momentum is there now for change," says Denny Meyer, editor of The Gay Military Times, an online newsletter that advocates a repeal of don't ask, don't tell. His and other lobby groups have adopted the story of Major Rogers to encourage supporters to contact politicians and push for change. "Rightnow we have generals and admirals who have served 20 or 30 years who have come out. Gay people have been serving in America's armed forces since the Revolution – but Major Rogers is the first known homosexual to have been killed."

At home in Washington, he was treasurer of the capital's chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights, which campaigns to allow gays to serve openly, and he wrote an academic thesis dissecting don't ask, don't tell. But when friends mentioned his sexuality in local newspaper reports after his death, it came as a surprise to former colleagues in the Pentagon.

Cathy Long, his cousin, has joined some military personnel to express displeasure that Major Rogers's story has been adopted by gay-rights campaigners. Activists, though, say that it is precisely by highlighting the sacrifices of gay servicemen and women that they will be able eventually to win the battle to be accorded the same rights to be open about their sexuality as straight colleagues.

Last week's hearing before the House of Representatives Armed Services Personnel Sub-committee was attended by Eric Alva, an Iraq veteran with a Purple Heart who was the first US soldier to be injured during the invasion. While he testified in favour of repealing don't ask, don't tell, the hearing was more notable for the suggestions of Elaine Donnelly, head of the Centre for Military Readiness, who said any change would probably increase the incidence of HIV among service members – and the subsequent ructions among lawmakers, who rounded on her.

Although many US allies allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, and the UK has allowed it since 2000, top Pentagon officials remain opposed. Senator John McCain says he is opposed on the grounds that it will damage morale, but his rival for the presidency, Barack Obama, says he supports the repeal of don't ask, don't tell

[Intrepid]

With this post Grog establishes a new low. It is difficult to imagine Grog being even more distasteful than usual, but he continues to plumb new depths of depravity. It's things like this that got Grog and Lucky banned from VW in the past.
It's thinking like this that has resulted in Grog being an rage, venom and bile filled, impotent, lonely, drunken recluse who must content himself with fantasies of women he can never hope to be able to interact with. Sadly, the one woman he managed to delude (online of course, given his shrunken, hook nosed gnome-like appearance, ever hope to meet in person) briefly, so humiliated him publicly that it pushed him over the edge of sanity and into full blown degenerate alcoholism.

We would pity poor Grog, but he has moved beyond pity. Revulsion comes to mind though.

[RealJustme]

So gay makes his death special?

[Benny]

Forbes served in two wars at once, at least on Wiki, and may have been in law school at the same time. That was a great post. Show some of your courage John and tell how accommodating people who want to fight for our country makes us weak. And socialist. And how every military member should be a heterosexual WASP. Except for the latrine attendant and your secretary.

[johnforbes]

Benny, you don't seem to be a jet.

I have no idea what you are talking about, but it is hardly breaking news that there have been gays who have served.

And you are, hopefully, aware that my name isn't "John" or "Forbes," aren't you?

[brandon]

Think of how full the military is with faggots and lesbians by now.

If you want to fight for this country, I really don't care what your sexual preference, gender, or ethnicity is.

There are also plenty of needless battles where you can become a government/corporate meat shield.