Log Cabin Republicans: Official Website

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Don’t Work

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell does not work and should be repealed.  The United States military needs the best, most qualified people serving and defending our freedom, and there is no justifiable reason to prevent gay and lesbian Americans from serving openly and honestly in the Armed Forces.

1. The rationale supporting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is no longer valid. 

A.)  Allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly and honestly will not harm unit cohesion, moral, or effectiveness. The CIA, FBI, National Security Agency, and Secret Service allow gays and lesbians to serve openly and  have seen no decrease in unit cohesion or morale.[1]  In San Diego, relations among officers improved after the city lifted its ban on gay officers.[2] 

B.) 24 nations, including every member of NATO except the U.S. and Turkey, allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their militaries. Our allies have lifted their bans on service by gays and lesbians with positive results.[3]  GAO Studies of four major militaries show no decrease in unit cohesion or effectiveness.[4]

C.) American troops have served with openly gay and lesbian service members from other countries without issue or concern.[5]  They have served with our allies’ openly gay and lesbians soldiers including British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan without any reported problems.[6] 

D.) The decrease in gay and lesbian discharges during wartime clearly shows that arguments about unit morale and cohesion have no basis.  There has been a 49% drop in the number of discharges since 2001.[7]  If the service of gay people were actually detrimental to unit cohesion and morale, discharges would increase during war, when the stakes are highest.[8]

E.) Privacy concerns are equally unfounded.  Privacy issues are being resolved through housing and unit plans that give service members their own bedroom or a shared bathroom with only one other person.[9]  Perhaps more importantly, service members already serve with gay and lesbian soldiers without problems; those soldiers are just not permitted to be honest about their sexual orientation.  In fact, an estimated 20% of personnel in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps know a gay or lesbian service member.[10] Furthermore, studies from other countries have shown that a significant number of gays and lesbians will not out themselves once the ban is lifted.[11] 

F.) Repealing DADT might actually help unit cohesion because soldiers can form more trusting bonds when they can be honest with each other about all aspects of their lives

2. Research demonstrates that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is harming military readiness. 

A.) DADT is costing the military valuable, mission critical personnel. This policy has lead to the discharge of over 10,000 service members in the last ten years[12] with 653 in 2004 alone.[13]  The GAO reports 757 of individuals discharged from 1994-2003 were in “critical operations.”[14]  730 discharged service individuals had intelligence-related occupations.[15]  Another 322 people were translators fluent in foreign languages critical to the War on Terrorism, such as Arabic, Farsi, and Korean.[16]  41% of those discharged from “critical operations” positions had 30 or more months of service.[17]  38% of those with intelligence-related occupations had over 30 months of service.[18] Moreover, the number of service members lost due to this policy is much greater because many qualified and experienced gay service members choose not to re-enlist rather than serving with the DADT policy. [19] 

B.) The “witch hunts,” improper investigations, and harassment under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is potentially leading to the discharge of heterosexual service members and undermining unit cohesion and morale.  In 2002, those aged 18-25 made up only 35% of the Air Force but accounted for 83% of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell discharges[20] and this trend has continued into 2005.[21]  Investigations, like the one at the Defense Language Institute in California, can divide units and decrease morale.[22]      

C.) DADT is hurting the military’s ability to recruit individuals because it makes the U.S. Armed Forces seem outdated and archaic.  At some high schools and colleges, recruiters are being protested or rejected by students and administrators because of DADT.[23] 

D.) Tens of thousands of qualified service members are being kept out or kicked out of the military even with serious recruiting problems in the army.  Instead of getting the most qualified recruits, the Army is lowering standards for new recruits to make up for the shortage.  10% of new army recruits do not have a high school diploma and 2% of new recruits scored in the lowest acceptable range on the standardized screening test.[24]  This also comes a time when the Pentagon is asking Congress to raise the age of enlistees to 42.[25]  Moreover, because of the troop shortage, some recruiters are cutting corners to get more people enlisting, adding up to a  480 recruiting standards violations so far.[26] 

3. Most Americans and many service members support repealing DADT.

A.) Polls show 79% of Americans support allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. This includes 91% of those aged 18-29 support lifting the ban.  Moreover, the poll finds a majority of Republicans, church goers, and even those with a generally negative view of gays and lesbians support lifting the ban.[27]

B.) An Annenberg poll found that 50% of junior enlisted service officers believe gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly.[28]

C.) Polling shows that U.S. military personnel are not greatly uncomfortable around gays and lesbians.[29]         

4.  DADT costs tens of millions of dollars each year to enforce. 

The GAO put the cost of the policy during the last ten years at $191 million.[30]  However, as the report noted, some additional costs could not be estimated.[31] Other estimates put the price tag at $35 million a year.[32]  A blue ribbon panel of experts estimates the cost of DADT, so far, to be more that $363 million.[33] The money used to enforce this policy could buy over 24,000 armored Humvees or other much needed equipment.[34] 

5.  A growing number of military officials and lawmakers are questioning DADT

On January 2^nd 2007, General John Shalikashvili (who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the policy was implemented) voiced his opposition to the policy in a strongly-worded op-ed in the New York Times.  On the heels of that op-ed, Republican former Defense Secretary and former U.S. Senator William Cohen also said it was time to review the ban.

When Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace recently spoke publicly about his disapproval of homosexuality, two of the strongest voices to immediately counter General Pace came from Republican Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Republican former Senator Alan Simpson.  Sen. Warner, ranking-member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “I respectfully but strongly disagree with the chairman’s view that homosexuality is immoral.” 

On March 14, 2007, former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY), a member of the recent Iraq Study Group which advised President Bush on a way forward in Iraq, wrote a powerful op-ed in the Washington Post calling for an end to DADT.  Sen. Simpson said, “This policy has become a serious detriment to the readiness of America's forces as they attempt to accomplish what is arguably the most challenging mission in our long and cherished history.”