A Question For DU Military Veterans

[Siwsan]

4. I was asked an interesting question, during my 'honor recruit' interview

At the time I was going through basic training, individuals were named 'company honor recruit' and then all of those individuals went on to compete for the "top" honor recruit for that training period. I was our company honor recruit, and headed out for my interview.

I was asked by a VERY 'old school' Naval Officer if I would take "every single measure" to protect the flag, if I saw someone trying to steal or destroy it. My response was if I was being asked if I would KILL someone to protect the flag, or risk dying, myself, the answer is no. In the grand scheme of things, it is a piece of representational cloth, intended to be a rallying point, and while the protection of the country was worth dying for, the protection of a piece of cloth was not.

He also asked me what I thought about gays in the military (this was in the late 70's) and my answer was that I already had NO problem serving with people who happened to be gay. and if they tossed out everyone who is gay, they'd have a massive recruitment job, ahead of them, to fill the void.

Needless to say, I didn't get the top honor, but the officer interviewing me said he was surprised by my candor, and thanked me for my honesty. I had no reason to not be honest. It was just a fleeting honor.