Leadership: January 26, 2000

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Army Secretary Caldera has ordered the Inspector General to launch a massive investigation of the harassment of gay soldiers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 101st Airborne Division. Last July, a gay soldier (who had been subject to harassment for weeks) was beaten to death by another soldier. This triggered the recent change from "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" to the new "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and Don't Harass" code. Soldiers at the Fort fear that the investigation will turn into a "politically correct witch hunt". Investigators are reportedly going back more than a year into incidents at the Fort where soldiers harassed others who had been accused of being homosexual, and where commanders allowed this to happen. Many officers fear that their careers will be ruined if they allowed even harmless jokes on the subject during commands they held during 1997 and 1998. Major General Clark, commander of the division and the Fort, has ordered an end to raunchy marching songs which might be "demeaning to others". --Stephen V Cole

 

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