America's premiere gay veteran, Eric Alva - the homo who came out after being injured in Iraq - sat down recently with CNN's Paula Zahn, to chat about General Peter Pace's now legendary comments on the queers. Special cameo from HRC's Joe Solmonese. Whee!

Seven former military types came out of the closet to come out against General Peter Pace's rude remarks about homos being "immoral". In their press release, which we've included after the jump, the gay gaggle insists:

Our community has a long history of serving our country in the armed forces. Today, there are more than 65,000 lesbian and gay troops on duty. Another one million gay and lesbian veterans, including the seven of us, have served in our fighting forces. General Pace's remarks dishonor that service, as does the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law. General Pace must offer an immediate and unqualified apology for his remarks and Congress must take action to repeal the ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans who want to serve our country.

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It's been two months to the day since Representative Marty Meehan pledged to reintroduce the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' debate in Congress. What perfect timing, then, for him to make good on his promise. To mark the military minded event, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director C. Dixon Osburn had this to say:

Given our military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the recruiting woes our armed forces face, and the quality of troops being dismissed under the law, Congressman Meehan's legislation is more important than ever... When intelligence officers are booted only because of their sexual orientation, our country is less safe. There is no excuse for sacrificing security in the name of discrimination.

Public opinion polls show that the majority of Americans want to see the archaic law repealed, while 4 out of 5 soldiers feel comfortable working with queers. Despite these findings, one can't help but wonder whether or not Air Force Captain Devery L. Taylor's rape conviction will put a damper on things.

We've included the entire SLDN release after the jump. You know, just in case you care, which you probably should...

(Update: You should roll on over to Towleroad to read Andy's piece on Eric Alva - a freshly out Iraq War veteran.)

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Describing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as a political "speed-bump", former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili has penned a NY Times op-ed calling for the repeal of the discriminatory policy.

A key figure in implementing the controversial law, Shalikashvili defends his (and former President Clinton's) as pragmatic, an effort to suppress overwhelming public opinion while making a moderate move forward. He writes:

In the early 1990s, large numbers of military personnel were opposed to letting openly gay men and lesbians serve. President Bill Clinton, who promised to lift the ban during his campaign, was overwhelmed by the strength of the opposition, which threatened to overturn any executive action he might take. The compromise that came to be known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” was thus a useful speed bump that allowed temperatures to cool for a period of time while the culture continued to evolve.

Shalikashvili goes on to cite new evidence that more military officials support gays in the military and urges the new Congress to act swiftly and decisively in cleaning up the mess he once supported. Coming on the heels of Marty Meehan's declaration of pro-gay fighter intent, Shalikashvili's op-ed will undoutbedly fan more flames. Let's just hope they don't burn the bridge.

While we certainly appreciate Shalikashvili's message, one can't help but wonder how much of it comes from altruistic concern for equal rights and how much springs from the fact that we're entirely understaffed. Sure, fighting for gay rights is all well and good, but we mustn't forget the possibility that the military's looking for more dispensible bodies. Perhaps the most dispensible bodies of them all...

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We love when things fall into place. Or, at least, when we get two like-minded press releases back to back and, thus, can lump them into one super-duper posting. For example, we've just received two briefs on some noteworthy, armed forces-related press releases.

The first, sent by Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund, notified us that fourteen former military officials are raising their decorated fists at the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policies. A brief filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals reads:

Based on their experience in the military, [these leaders] have first-hand knowledge that numerous gay people serve in the Armed Forces with full awareness by their commands...the experience of numerous foreign militaries culturally similar to the United States uniformly demonstrates that the integration of openly gay service members has no adverse effect on cohesion.
...[The law] undermines the military’s ability to fulfill its primary mission of providing national security by discouraging the enlistment of gay persons qualified to serve their country and by expelling from the military those who have served with honor.

The second release concerns The Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military: the think-tank dedicated to exploring the trials and tribulations of army queers. The CSSMM, it seems, has had a bit of identity crisis and has renamed itself the Michael D. Palm Center, after the philanthropist who donated one million bones to the organization. Center Director Aaron Belkin said:

Our mission is one that Michael D. Palm believed in very much...The new name of the organization will honor his memory and will reflect his interests, his forward thinking and remarkable legacy.

Michael Palm’s generous donation legitimizes our past efforts and jump-starts us with the resources we need to enhance our organization and continue achieving our evidence-based education goals.

If "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" gets the judicial ax (a fairly big "if"), does that mean the Center - which works to inform government officials on the dangers of the policies - will need more money, or less?

We usually reprint press releases, but considering there are two, we're just going to direct you to the appropriate sites. If you're itching to read the entire "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" press release, click here. If you're interested in delving into the details of the Michael D Palm Center - well, you should go right ahead and click here. Easy as pie...whatever that means.

Crocodiles keep out! But trouser snakes are welcome! These ads for Cannon Towels ran in the early 1940's, alerting Americans that there might be a shortage of bath towels on market shelves. All the goods were being sent overseas to the boys on the front lines. And what fun they were having! But there are no gay people in the military, remember.

For more images of the ad campaign, click here. We especialy like the macho guy covering his nether regions with a palm leaf. [Commercial Closet]

The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that public college/university campuses must allow the US military to recruit on campus, even if the school objects to the military's exclusionary policies against gays.

Certain liberally-minded schools had attempted to block military recruiters, in the hopes of sending a message to the US government that discrimination isn't kosher. But the Supreme Court nipped that little movement in the bud, citing a law from 1996 that cuts federal funding from schools if they don't cooperate with the military.
We find the military's witch-hunt against the gays to be a bit troubling. We have long considered joining the military, since uniformed soldiers always get picked for Contestant's Row on The Price Is Right. And we would clean up if Bob Barker would just give us a chance.

US colleges must allow military recruiters [UCSB]