These figures call into question the claim that the increase in discharges of homosexual is due to the actions of overzealous commanders. As Professor Moskos acknowledges, there are foolish reasons for excluding homosexuals from the armed forces, but that does not mean we should ignore the good reasons. Open homosexuality undermines the military ethos upon which success in war ultimately depends. Winning the nation's wars is the military's functional imperative. Indeed, it is the only reason for a liberal society to maintain a military organization.
War is terror.
War is confusion. War is characterized by chance, uncertainty, and friction. The military's ethos constitutes an evolutionary response to these factors-an attempt to minimize their impact. To achieve success on the battlefield, military organizations must overcome the paralyzing effects of fear on the individual soldier. Accordingly, the military stresses such martial virtues as courage, both physical and moral, a sense of honor and duty, discipline, a professional code of conduct, and loyalty, and places a premium on such factors as unit cohesion and morale.