I am writing in regards to the March 1 editorial, “Anti-gay policy has no place in military.”

This letter, however, does not concern any position I have on the topic of gays in the military. My issue is with the Daily Editorial Board’s referral to the “so-called” war on terror.

The board writes about the discrimination against gays and the money it is costing taxpayers, saying how unjust it is. It ends the editorial by saying that not changing the policy “would be dishonorable.”

What honor did the board bring upon all the service members who have sacrificed their lives by calling the ongoing war on terror a “so-called war on terror”?

To those men and women who volunteered to defend this country — those soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen who took the fight to the enemy so you could have the liberty to write this editorial — what sort of honor does such a statement give to them? What kind of honor is bestowed on the mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and children of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice when this little dig is slipped in?

The editorial covers an issue that will probably be debated for years to come, but showed no concern for those who have lost loved ones. The men and women who sacrifice almost everything to serve whatever time they may so the people of this nation can enjoy freedom deserve better than to have their efforts referred to as “so-called” — a turn of phrase implying that their commitment, their sacrifices and, unfortunately, their deaths mean nothing and are not honored in the least.

I suggest that board members get on their feet the next time a service member walks by and show some appreciation for what the military has done before it starts screaming about what it’s not doing. The “so-called” service members deserve that.

Mark A. Mast

Assistant Marine Officer Instructor

Naval Science