OFF THE WIRE
Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps
File Photo by BILL WECHTER | bwechter@nctimes.com
The Marine Corps continues to see no ill effects from the policy that change earlier this year that allows gays and lesbians to serve without having to hide their sexual orientation.
So says the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Jame Amos, who told the National Press Club in Washington this week that he "doesn't even get a question" from troops about the policy change.
"I don't think there is a problem," said Amos, who had opposed the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy in congressional hearings in advance of the change.
The four-star general also told reporters that the service's 32 suicides among active-duty troops so far this year ---- a number that matches suicides in all of 2011 ---- remains a vexing problem.
"Even with the attention of the leadership, I think all the services this year are feeling it, and I guess what I would tell everybody here is there is through no shortage of great effort and leadership on the part of all the services to try to abate this, but this year I think is going to be a tough year for all the services," Amos said.
The general also told the forum that an experiment assigning female troops to combat and related roles restricted to male Marines is proceeding.
"When it does, when it's rooted, it lasts forever," he said.
Next month two female Marine officers will attend infantry officer school as part of the test.
"I need to get past hyperbole and get past intuition and instincts, and I need to get facts," Amos said. "If you're going to be infantry officer, you will spend 13 weeks at Quantico going through some very, very difficult training. So that's the standard, the measure of an infantry officer in the Marine Corps."
Amos's full remarks can be viewed at http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/