Last week, The Washington Times reported that William White, who is openly gay, was being considered for a position as Secretary of the Navy. And because any story having anything to do with gays and the military seems to require a quote from Elaine Donnelly, she was asked her opinion and it was, not surprisingly, disapproval:
Supporters of the ban said nominating Mr. White would send the wrong signal.
“It’s a matter of judgment, and I think that would be very poor judgment on the part of the commander in chief,” said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, which opposes gays serving in the military. “It would be very demoralizing to the troops.”
Today, Donnelly takes her complaints in a slightly new direction, telling OneNewsNow that her main concern is that, on top of White’s homosexuality, he doesn’t have any military experience:
Donnelly says while there is no requirement that a Naval secretary have military experience, she thinks it would be better if they did. That way, she argues, the individual would better understand the stresses and burdens imposed on those who volunteer to serve in the military.
“I don’t think it ought to be a purely political appointment,” she says of the Navy secretary’s position. “[But] the fact that there is no military experience there would argue that he was appointed for some other reason — and if that reason is perceived to be support for repeal of the law on gays in the military, that would be the problem.”
Of course, as we’ve pointed out before and as her own bio make clear, Donnelly also has no military experience. Yet, for some reason, she considers herself an expert on what is and is not “demoralizing to the troops” and what sort of experience is required of potential nominees.
