Homosexuals in the military.

The Fleet's In!
.
A new study/analysis released by the Family Research Council finds that homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assault than heterosexuals.  I really can't imagine that being true.  An adult male sexually assaulting another adult male - two rough and tumble military men, trained to kill - one raping another?  Really?  Even if the gay guy is super-butch and the other guy is not, it seems rather far fetched.   Maybe in prison that stuff goes on, but not in the military.  Or does it?
.
.

"The Family Research Council today released an analysis of publicly available documents which shows that homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals are, relative to their numbers.
.
(F)igures suggest that homosexuals in the military are about three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals are," noted Sprigg. "Concerns about privacy when homosexuals share facilities like showers and sleeping quarters with heterosexuals are well grounded," he added.
.
"The report found that the most common type of homosexual assault is one in which the offender fondles or performs oral sex upon a sleeping victim." - FRC

Years ago if a guy tried something like that he'd be beaten to a pulp, and if he survived, dishonorably discharged.  It is difficult to believe things have changed that much.  Not that I'm approving of gay-bashing vigilante justice - but I have to believe a normal guy would wake up and defend himself in a situation like that - and a punch in the mouth would be warranted.
.
That said, I once worked with older gay men (I was in retail) who had been in the service and who seemed to have gotten along just fine in the military - especially the Navy - they loved it.  According to these guys, the sleeping or drunk straight guy could be had - and if their stories were true, there may be an exceptionally predatory type of gay man who enlists in the military just for that reason.  Again, according to the old-timers, the service could be sort of a voyeur's dream.  This is all anecdotal however - I can't prove what they told me was true.  Although I've heard of similar situations in seminaries and boys schools - night time attacks and shower antics.  I'm quite sure some men's health clubs continue to harbor similar voyeuristic types.
.
Anyway, the news reminded me of Paul Cadmus, whose painting I illustrated the post with simply because at some point in his career, Cadmus developed an interest in the sex lives of military men.  Most notably in a group of drawings and paintings depicting what sailors did on Shore Leave, the title of one of his more famous works.  (Another, The Fleet's In! was pretty much condemned by the Navy.  The work, although funded by the WPA was banned from exhibition.) The image above depicts a soldier cruising late at night in Bologna.  In the complete scene of the painting, the man at the table is not quite as obvious as he is in this detail.  What's my point?  What does this prove?  That gay men have always had a presence in the military?  Perhaps - the paintings certainly corroborate what my old bosses told me.  Does it prove gay military men are more predatory than their heterosexual counterparts?  I wouldn't know. 
.
Nevertheless, I have to imagine predatory behavior, at least in the sense of taking advantage of a vulnerable person (drunk, stoned, asleep) - given such an opportunity, is always a possibility - just as it is for military women to be victimized in similar circumstances.  Does it happen a lot?  Again, I don't know.  Can we trust military statistics?  I wonder.  The military has been accused of lies in the past.  They've at least dissimulated about rape claims made by women soldiers, how some soldiers died, harassment charges, and I don't know what else.
.
On the other hand, gay activists have told their share of lies as well, while continually misrepresenting the true nature of homosexual behavior.
.
The FRC analysis may no longer matter anyway.  Friday Congress gave in to gay political pressure, and voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.  Looks as if gay people serving openly in the military is pretty much a done deal now.  I suppose Paul Cadmus would be happy - but then again, he knew they were always there anyway.  
.
Art: Detail: Notturno: Bologna - Paul Cadmus, 1957