Thirty congressmen have written the Pentagon urging Secretary of Defense William Cohen to take action against the commander of Fort Campbell, Ky., where PFC Barry Winchell was murdered last July in an antigay attack.
The letter, drafted on the initiative of Rep Barney Frank, D-Mass., and sent June 7, expressed faint praise for Pentagon efforts to address some of "the issues of harassment in the military based on perceived sexual orientation." But it primarily focused on the military's lack of responsiveness on the subject.
Among the specifics they cited were an Inspector General's survey of antigay harassment and attitudes under Don't Ask, Don't Tell; a homophobic e-mail concerning Winchell's death sent by Marine Lt. Colonel Edward Melton at a base at Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.; insufficient training on issues of DADT; and recoupment action taken against Tommie Lee Watkins, Jr. The Pentagon has been unresponsive or tardy on all of them.
"With regard to accountability, we are still awaiting your response to a letter signed by 15 members of Congress in which we asked you to take action against those responsible for condoning and contributing to the anti-gay climate at Fort Campbell." It held base commander Major General Clark responsible for that climate.
The congressmen noted that an Inspector General's report on the incident that was due May 1 had been delayed for several months. "Relocating and promoting Major General Clark prior to the completion of this investigation would be wrong and undermine the Department's professed commitment to enforce the gays-in-the-military policy in a fair and legal manner," they wrote.
Clark is moving to Washington to become vice director for operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Officers departing the Fort Campbell command typically are promoted, but that won't be happening just yet for Clark. Such senior level promotions are approved by the Senate and reports are that the Pentagon does not want to risk a controversial hearing at this time.
"The Army has sent a mixed message by appearing to reward Clark with a prestigious assignment," said C. Dixon Osburn, co-director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
At a news conference on his last day as commander of Fort Campbell, June 9, Clark objected to "the way that I have been characterized by people who don't have a clue as to who I am as a human being or who I am as a commander."
He blamed "intense and distorted media attention" for helping to create a hypersensitive atmosphere in which dozens of gay soldiers have left Fort Campbell during the past year.
Six soldiers departed under DADT in the year prior to Winchell's murder. But in the succeeding 11 months, that number has soared to 120. Clark said that most occurred after a refresher course on the policy was given to the troops in December.
"One hundred twenty discharges is an astounding figure from one base," said Michele Benecke, co-director SLDN. Combat bases such as Fort Campbell average 2-21 such discharges a year, while training bases are higher.
The antigay atmosphere does not seem to have abated. Joyce Arnold, executive director of the gay community center in Nashville, said their hotline received five calls from worried soldiers at Fort Campbell within the last month.
