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In regards "don't ask, don't tell", I believe it's none of their business if you are gay or straight. So I'm okay with the "don't ask" part. Noone should make an issue of the fact that someone else is gay. (With possibly very few exceptions in the private sector. If my wife is gay that's an issue.)
I also believe that the military's mission of defending us - all of us - from attack is vitally important. People volunteer for military service knowing that order and discipline in the military is important enough that by joining they subject themselves to stricter rules than civilians have. For example, military members can't stage an anti-war protest on base. You do that elsewhere, such as in Washington, not on a battlefield. Similarly, you have the right to hold a gay pride parade. It is not in our interest to have members of our military staging a gay pride parade in Afghanistan, though. Just as noone else should make your sexual orientation an issue, neither should you risk national defense by making an issue of your own homosexuality. You're a soldier. It's none of our business who you sleep with. Just you do your job. I don't see why any service member needs to make it our business by creating an issue of it. That's my understanding of the "don't tell" part.
Maybe it should have been called "It's none of our business, just do your job and let other people do theirs."
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