Pentagon Comics: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

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Over at his Comics With Problems page, Ethan Persoff has unveiled a 2001-vintage Pentagon instructional comic designed to teach soldiers about the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. It follows what happens when a male soldier goes to his superior officer to report that two men were seen engaging in homosexual acts. Here, one of the accused men is summoned to answer to the charge:

In another scenario in the comic, a soldier comes into a staff office and volunteers that he’s gay. Discharge proceedings are initiated against both men. There’s also a Q&A section—one example below:

And a warning about harassing other soldiers. This wiseguy gets in trouble with his superiors:

You can read the whole comic here. (And thanks to BoingBoing for the tip.)

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This investigative reporting takes time too. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

So, we’re asking: Will you join the fight? Mother Jones has been here for 50 years, and we need your support to fuel the future of investigative journalism. Mark our 50th anniversary with a gift of any amount.

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