The Obama administration has appealed the Witt (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) case for no readily apparent reason, angering the LGBT community once again. The only upside was that they had decided not to seek a stay on Witt's reinstatement to the Air Force. This would allow Witt to rejoin the military even though her case would still be pending in the courts.
Recall that the judge had ruled that Witt's orientation did not have a negative effect on morale and cohesion in the military, but her discharge did. She's a military nurse who is loved and respected by everyone. Witt's service has spanned over eighteen years.
In 1993, Maj. Margaret Witt was a poster woman for the Air Force's flight nurse recruiting program.
In her career of 18-plus years, the decorated operating room and flight nurse from McChord Air Force Base earned stellar reviews for her work, which included helping to evacuate the nation's wounded troops and humanitarian missions to aid civilians.
Maj. Margaret Witt told a news conference Wednesday, "My objective is to go back to my unit and serve my country."
In 2003, President Bush awarded her the Air Medal for her Middle East deployment and, later, the Air Force Commendation Medal, for saving the life of a Defense Department worker.
Less than a year later, after an Air Force investigation, Witt, a reservist, was drummed out.
After the judge announced his ruling to reinstate Witt, he made a statement from the bench:
Major Witt, you and I are unlikely to see one another again, in this context, anyway. I'd like to make a couple of points before you go:
- I hope you will request reinstatement with the Air Force Reserves and the 446th [her unit]. You will provide the best evidence that open service of gays and lesbians will have no adverse effect on cohesion, morale or readiness in this or perhaps any Air Force or military unit.
- You have been and continue to be a central figure in a long-term, highly charged civil-rights movement. That role places extraordinary stresses on you, I know. Today, you have won a victory in that struggle, the depth and duration of which will be determined by other judicial officers and, hopefully soon, the political branches of government. You said something in the trial that resonated with me. You said the best thing to come out of all this turmoil is the reaction of your parents when you told them of your sexual orientation: their love and support for you.
Not withstanding the victory you obtained here today, for yourself and for others, I would submit to you that the best thing to come out of all this tumult is still that love and support you have received from your family. You are truly blessed as a family and I am sure they will see you through whatever obstacles and difficulties you may encounter along the road ahead.
The DOJ's decision to appeal this case, especially so close to the vote on the DADT amendment in the defense authorization bill, lacked any rationality.
Now, the Air Force and the Obama DOJ are announcing that they might seek a stay after all. This would effectively ruin her eighteen year career and prevent her from being a nurse to injured people because she's in love with a woman and not a man.
They claim that the only reason they didn't ask for a stay immediately was that she did not meet her nursing qualifications yet in order to be reinstated. They say that if she's shown at any time in the future to meet those qualifications, they may ask the courts to prevent her military service after all, since she loves a woman and not a man:
The Pentagon had no immediate comment on Witt's announcement Tuesday night, but an Air Force spokeswoman told POLITICO Wednesday that there was no urgency to seek a stay since Witt doesn't appear to be qualified at the moment to rejoin the force.
"To date, she has provided the Air Force no evidence that she meets the qualifications necessary to serve as an Air Force flight nurse, nor has she passed a medical physical which is also a
prerequisite to her reinstatement," Lt. Col. Karen Platt said in an e-mailed statement. "If Major Witt shows that she meets the prerequisites to her reinstatement at some time in the future, the Air Force,
DoD and DoJ will re-evaluate whether or not to seek a stay of the judge's ordered reinstatement, pending appeal of the case."
So, if she qualifies for service, they'll think about asking a judge to bar her from service. This is seriously mean-spirited.