Spring Break
Author of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, sociologist Charles Moskos, dies at 74
June 3, 2008
Robert Mitchum - Chicago TribuneIssue date: 5/29/08 Section: Real News
CHICAGO _ As one of the world's foremost military sociologists, Charles Moskos had the ear of top-ranking American generals and powerful politicians.
His "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding the service of homosexuals in the military may be what's known about him by the general population, but it's a small part of the legacy of the popular Northwestern University professor, said his colleagues.
Under the policy, gays and lesbians may serve only if they keep their sexual orientation private and do not engage in homosexual acts.
Moskos' research examined the modern military experience in unprecedented detail, gleaned in part from his ease with the rank-and-file soldiers.
"He truly had an impact on the military," said Gen. Wesley Clark in a statement. "He gave many of us the reassurance that someone out there knew us, cared about us, and could help see our best interests as a nation and a military were looked after."
A colleague, Wendell Bell, professor emeritus in sociology at Yale University and Moskos' graduate thesis advisor, said, "He could bond with anybody: a raw recruit or a general or even someone very high up in the Pentagon; sugar cane workers, prime ministers or professors."
Moskos, 74, died of cancer Saturday, May 31, at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., his family said.
Born to Greek immigrants on the Near West Side of Chicago in 1934, Moskos was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1956 after graduating from Princeton University with a degree in sociology. The two years he spent with the military would go on to influence the bulk of his professional career.
"He was very proud to be an enlisted man," said his wife of 41 years, Ilca Moskos. "Whenever somebody on the street would call him sir, he'd say, `Don't call me sir, I work for a living.'"
After his military service, Moskos worked toward a doctoral degree at UCLA, where he studied new governments in the Caribbean with Bell.
But after obtaining his Ph.D. in sociology, he returned to his primary interest _ the people and policies of the U.S. armed services.
His "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding the service of homosexuals in the military may be what's known about him by the general population, but it's a small part of the legacy of the popular Northwestern University professor, said his colleagues.
Under the policy, gays and lesbians may serve only if they keep their sexual orientation private and do not engage in homosexual acts.
Moskos' research examined the modern military experience in unprecedented detail, gleaned in part from his ease with the rank-and-file soldiers.
"He truly had an impact on the military," said Gen. Wesley Clark in a statement. "He gave many of us the reassurance that someone out there knew us, cared about us, and could help see our best interests as a nation and a military were looked after."
A colleague, Wendell Bell, professor emeritus in sociology at Yale University and Moskos' graduate thesis advisor, said, "He could bond with anybody: a raw recruit or a general or even someone very high up in the Pentagon; sugar cane workers, prime ministers or professors."
Moskos, 74, died of cancer Saturday, May 31, at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., his family said.
Born to Greek immigrants on the Near West Side of Chicago in 1934, Moskos was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1956 after graduating from Princeton University with a degree in sociology. The two years he spent with the military would go on to influence the bulk of his professional career.
"He was very proud to be an enlisted man," said his wife of 41 years, Ilca Moskos. "Whenever somebody on the street would call him sir, he'd say, `Don't call me sir, I work for a living.'"
After his military service, Moskos worked toward a doctoral degree at UCLA, where he studied new governments in the Caribbean with Bell.
But after obtaining his Ph.D. in sociology, he returned to his primary interest _ the people and policies of the U.S. armed services.
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