This is regarding “Uneasy silence on homefront; `Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy forces gay partners to quietly struggle with added anxiety in wartime” (Page 1, Aug. 10).
Baffling was the following sentence: “Even medical officers and chaplains are required to report anyone violating `Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ said Dr. Mike Rankin, 67, a military psychiatrist who teaches at George Washington University Medical School in Washington.”
In the military, every service member-chaplain communication is privileged and confidential. Disconcerting is the lack of information in the media about service members who use Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as an escape hatch to evade their commitment to military service. Especially disconcerting is the Fourth Estate’s silence on one issue: the gays and lesbians in uniform, serving God and country faithfully and admirably, who are uneasy about civilian activists presuming to speak on their behalf.
