THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 13, 1994 TAG: 9409130012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Navy F-14 Tomcats fighters are grounded at Oceana because there is no money in the budget to fly more than a handful, while at the same time the president has ordered the military to gear up for an invasion of Haiti.
There apparently was money in the budget, however, for an event last Thursday called ``Diversity Day 1994.'' This event included workshops in which military officers, primarily Navy, and other government officials were briefed on the problems of ``sexual minorities.'' Materials describing the event appeared to urge acceptance of the homosexual-rights movement, in apparent contravention of congressionally mandated military policy.
Twenty government agencies, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Air Force, Army and Navy, were listed as supporting the event, though the Navy appears to have placed more emphasis on it than the other services. Attendance at the seminars was supposedly voluntary, though a letter from Vice Adm. George Sterner, chief of the Naval Sea Systems Command, said that he would ``encourage'' naval officers to attend.
Some questions need to be raised in Congress as to whether the Clinton administration is seeking to undermine by stealth congressional intent. A hearing will soon be held on whether the administration is opening what amounts to land-combat jobs for women in possible contravention of Congressional policy.
``Sensitivity'' training, of course, has become a mini-industry in the private sector and in government in the last few years. Whatever its virtues in civilian life (and no one has been able to measure them), applying it to the special conditions that prevail in the military could be a recipe for trouble. The military is paid to go in harm's way, and its members are not handsomely compensated to do it. The goal should be an effective military, not a ``sensitive'' one. by CNB