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I think the problem is in part a lack of real-world pressure testing of our military. We haven’t had a global conflict that fully engages the might of the military since the Second World War, and no major on the ground engagement with a military on the level of our own since view an (hard to count Iraq War I when the military surrendered to CNN news crews).
This leads directly to people thinking of the military less as a War-Machine and more of a low key jobs program. Which then creates the problem that it’s increasingly difficult to say no to ideas that obviously reduce military capacity. Women, gays, transgender people are now fully integrated into the military without a second thought as to whether or not this would affect the war-fighting capability of the military. Putting women in those positions simply means they’re in danger without any military advantage to the country. Putting gays in does the same (we go to war with Iran, what would they do with a captured American gay soldier? They kill their own gay citizens).
The military isn’t the only place where this happens. But once you stop pressure testing any institution for its purpose, it tends to turn into a projection of whatever the laptop classes think will make them popular at dinner parties or get them promoted at work. Making into a diversity group does both, and they don’t need that group to be at top performance, so why not? Or you can use it to score points by following the latest trendy ideas in the field. This actually happens a lot in education. The old boring ideas of teaching kids mathematical concepts like addiction, subtraction, multiplication, and division— then making them practice it until they can do it right — has worked for centuries. Teaching phonics has created strong readers in any language with an alphabet for millennia. But you don’t get credit for that, instead you need a trendy new idea that makes you look with it and hip and forward thinking. Who cares if it means kids don’t learn to read and write? If the main criteria were the results— the kids can read on grade level, the military can win wars, the programmers can produce a working product on time, most of these issues solve themselves.
I agree with most of your post but this point feels weird. Excluding certain demographics from the military just because your enemies really don't like them doesn't seem particularly productive. Would it help the US to get rid of all their black soldiers if they were fighting some white supremacist state?
See also: the US civil war, and the CSA opinion of black soldiers serving in the Union army.
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In fact, if US ever goes to war against Iran, it could form Gay Berserker Corps formed 100% of gay men, who will know that surrender is not an option.
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How would they know the soldier is gay? Are there pink triangles on their shoulder straps?
Check his social media?
Do you think they're doing this?
In any case, Iran is unlikely to be executing gay soldiers only. Either the follow the geneva conventions or they don't.
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