老澳门开奖结果

This week, the is before the U.S. District Court in Tacoma representing Maj. Margaret Witt, a decorated U.S. Air Force Flight nurse who was dismissed under the discriminatory and counterproductive policy known as 鈥淒on鈥檛 Ask, Don鈥檛 Tell鈥� (DADT). This is a dispatch from the trial.

鈥淒ynamic officer鈥� 鈥� 鈥淎 vital team player鈥� 鈥︹�滶xceptional flight nurse鈥� 鈥� 鈥淓xcellent role model鈥� 鈥� 鈥淎lways ready to support the mission.鈥� 老澳门开奖结果 of Washington Legal Director Sarah Dunne led off her opening argument with these words from Air Force performance reviews for Maj. Margaret Witt at different times.

鈥淪he does not cause a morale problem, and in fact her service and leadership builds and sustains unit cohesion,鈥� summarized Dunne. She went on to outline the evidence the 老澳门开奖结果 will present during the seven-day trial to build the case that Maj. Witt should be reinstated to the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

• Former and current unit members will testify they didn鈥檛 care and currently don鈥檛 care about Maj. Witt鈥檚 sexual orientation. And that it had no impact on the work and mission of the unit.
• They will testify to her excellent nursing abilities and exceptional leadership.
• Further, unit members will testify that the 446th for over 30 years had a culture of acceptance of gay and lesbian servicemembers. That the unit had a history of widely suspected or known gays and lesbians serving, and their sexual orientation 鈥� or perceived orientation 鈥� made no impact on their service.
• Gay and lesbian servicemembers from all three branches of the U.S. military who have served openly will testify that serving openly actually had a positive effect on unit cohesion. It increased the level of trust with fellow servicemembers.

In addition, academic experts will testify about the impacts of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. And three members of the 446th with decades of experience in major fire departments will discuss their experience serving with gay and lesbian firefighters.

In short, the evidence will show that Maj. Witt鈥檚 sexual orientation was a nonissue within her unit when she was suspended in 2004 under 鈥淒on鈥檛 Ask, Don鈥檛鈥� Tell鈥� and remains a nonissue today.

For its part, the government 鈥� in the person of Department. of Justice attorney Peter Phipps, representing the Air Force 鈥� defended the military鈥檚 actions against Maj. Witt, pointing out that 鈥淒on鈥檛 Ask, Don鈥檛鈥� Tell鈥� is supported by congressional and military regulations. Its intent is to fulfill the important government interest of maintaining unit cohesion and morale. 鈥淭his has to be applied the same way everywhere,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here can鈥檛 be special exceptions made without creating problems.鈥�

Phipps also said that Maj. Witt had 鈥渃ompromised her integrity and ability to lead鈥� with a relationship with a married woman (i.e., her long-time partner who was married when they first became involved), and two other relationships with female Air Force officers.

Since 1993, more than 13,000 service members have been discharged due to their sexual orientation. At least 240 of those service members have been discharged since President Obama took office. The Senate will debate DADT as early as next week.