
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994                    TAG: 9406020012 
SECTION: FRONT                     PAGE: A16    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Medium 
DATELINE: 940602                                 LENGTH:

POLITICS DRIVES MILITARY POLICY: PAYBACK TIME

{LEAD} One of President Clinton's goals at this week's D-Day commemorations is that he will once again seek to repair his strained relations with the armed forces of which he is commander in chief. If so, though, why are his appointees seeking to undermine Congress' intent to maintain the ban on open homosexuals in the military?

Deputy Secretary of Defense John Deutsch, in a remarkable memo leaked to the press, has greatly eased the military's practice of demanding tuition repayments from reserve officer candidates who declare their homosexuality and make themselves ineligible to fulfill their contracts. This is an invitation to fraud and abuse, and is yet another example of how politics is driving military policy in the Clinton administration.

{REST} The memo, which is extremely convoluted, appears to say that if students engage in homosexual ``misconduct'' that violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice then they must repay their Reserve Officers Training Corps tuition. If students disqualify themselves by announcing their homosexuality, however, they need not repay the taxpayers for the value of their education.

``(A) member's statement that he or she is a homosexual, though grounds for separation under the current policy if it demonstrates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts, does not constitute a basis for recoupment,'' the memo states. `` . . . (R)ecoupment would be appropriate where, based on the circumstances, it is determined that the member made the statement for the purpose of seeking separation.''

Determined how? By reading the person's mind? The memo does not say. Here again, the Clinton administration seeks to use its regulatory power to undermine the expressed will of Congress. Not only does the policy of refusing to seek recoupment for ROTC tuition seem to undermine congressional intent in retaining the ban on open homosexuality in the military. It also opens an obvious avenue for gaining a college education without the hassle of repaying the debt, either by cash or military service. If the government sets up a system that encourages fraud and abuse, it cannot be surprised if it gets more of it.

The military seems to be making a habit of buying off (with taxpayer money, of course) the potentially troublesome or politically correct. The 24 midshipmen who were expelled from the Naval Academy for cheating will not be asked to repay their tuition costs. Lt. Paula Coughlin, of Tailhook fame, is being allowed to keep a re-enlistment bonus she received even though she is resigning from the service before completing her obligation.

Congress, led by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn, moved quickly last year to stop President Clinton from lifting the ban on open homosexuals serving in the military. Where are Senator Nunn and the rest of Congress as the president's Cabinet seeks to torpedo congressional policy?

by CNB