Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy Applied by Air Force to Aircraft

Washington, D.C. 6-01-09

Jumbo jet and space shuttle to be discharged by Air Force and NASA

In a shocking move, the U.S. Air Force today announced the involuntary discharge and retirement of a 747 jumbo jet and a space shuttle.

An Air Force Spokesit said the action was taken because of the aircrafts' violation of the so-called "don't ask, don't tell rule," a policy that President Barack Obama has stated in the past he would like to see scrapped.

An Air Force Colonel, who was responsible for the decision to discharge the two aircraft, said the policy applied equally to every unit of the U.S. military and would be enforced uniformly until changed. "We are still discharging openly gay military personnel, and aircraft enjoy no special exemption," said the Colonel.

The two aircraft were photographed last week (see above)in a compromising position which left little doubt in the minds of those shown the photograph what they were doing.

The Air Force Spokesit told reporters that the two offenders would be stored permanently in separate hangars, the shuttle in Houston and the 746 at Edwards Air Base in California. "There is no discrimination in the appplication of the policy," it said.

When asked if the policy itself was not discriminatory, the conference was abruptly terminated by the Spokesit, citing other, pressing activities which required its attention.

Several high-ranking NASA officials said the discharge of the space shuttle would cripple current plans and urged the Air Force to delay enforcement against the shuttle until adjustments could be made. Others agreed the policy should be applied uniformly in the interest of fairness and indicated that space could wait a few more months.

It remains unclear whether the two aircraft could be re-instated to active duty should the current policy be changed.