Marine Commandant General James Amos finds that there was nothing to fear but fear itself

Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos helped fan the flames of unfounded fear prior to the December, 2010 repeal of the anti-gay military mandate known as "don't ask, don't tell".

"When your life hangs on a line, on the intuitive behavior of the young man... who sits to your right and your left, you don't want anything distracting you," Amos told reporters at the Pentagon.

"I don't want to lose any Marines to distraction. I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (hospital) with no legs," he said.

He added that "mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines' lives. That's the currency of this fight."

Despite his reservations, once Congress repealed the anti-gay mandate late in 2010, Gen. Amos honorably vowed that his Marines would "step out smartly to implement this new policy...ensuring the respect and dignity due all Marines."

Since adopting that can-do attitude, the parade of horribles that Ge. Amos had predicted has vanished.  Last week in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Gen. Amos said:

We've not seen issues ... There's not been anxiety over it from the forces in the field ... there hasn't been pushback.

Anticipatory dread is always replaced by a pleasantly benign reality when laws are changed to treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people fairly and equitably.  Gen. Amos is realizing this regarding lesbian, gay and bisexual troops serving openly.  Let's see if the lesson sticks when attention turns to trans troops.