Peter Pace
General Peter Pace (born 1945) has been the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since September 30, 2005. A Brooklyn native, Pace graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He has served heroically in Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, and Somalia. He has also served in a number of positions in Washington, D.C., including thee White House Social Aide and Platoon Leader of the Special Ceremonial Platoon.[1]
In an interview by the Chicago Tribune on March 11, 2007, Pace reportedly said:[2][3]
| “ | I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the armed forces of the United States are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way. ...
As an individual, I would not want (acceptance of gay behavior) to be our policy, just like I would not want it to be our policy that if we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else's wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior. |
” |
Liberal activists criticized his remarks:[4]
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) said, "We don't need moral judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs."
- Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., who sponsored a bill to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, declared, "Our military is struggling to find and keep the soldiers we need. We are turning away good troops to enforce a costly policy of discrimination."
On June 8, 2007, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the premature replacement of Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff.
References
- ↑ http://jcs.mil/bios/bio_pace.html
- ↑ Pace: Gay lifestyle a 'trust' issue, Aamer Madhani, USA Today, March 19, 2007.
- ↑ Chicago Tribune March 11, 2007. [1]
- ↑ Id.
