[Al Swearengen]

I cant think of any reason why they should not be allowed to join our military. During the work day or when a service member is on duty is not the time for sexual shenanigans of any sort, for anyone. All thats left is what happens after work or off duty, which is nobody's business anyway. In the past when homosexuality was stigmatized, there was a concern that a homosexual service member was perhaps more susceptable to, or at higher risk of, blackmail. In other words, an enemy intelligence service could use the service members "alternative predilections" as leverage for the purposes of espionage. In this day and age, that is no longer a concern. However, the high command will sometimes cite an "adverse effect on the unit's esprit decor". Translated into civilianese, this means that the service member's sexual orientation could potentially be detrimental to the unit's cohesiveness. However, as I stated above, there is no place for flirting or innuendo during periods of on-duty status anyway, regardless of the service member's sexual preferences. In addition, all service members are routinely tested for HIV, so that if one of them should turn out to test positive, that person is to my knowledge removed from service, or atleast removed from serving in a combat position, since if that person were to become injured on the battlefield, treatment efforts could possibly put other service members at risk of exposure.