Study shows DADT hurts military readiness

I have an article in The Advocate about a major university study that shows concealing one’s sexual orientation affects mental and physical performance:



What is interesting about this study is that the participants don’t have to feel distressed about concealing their sexual orientation and it doesn’t matter how much practice they have. Of course many of us assumed that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell affected gays’ performance, but it’s good to have some scientific confirmation that can be used to argue for a policy change.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/192456
The End Of An Error
There's no need to waste time with further study. The policy on gays in the military must be overturned now.

The most unlikely blurb of this publishing season is on the back cover of Nathaniel Frank's "Unfriendly Fire" and comes from John Shalikashvili. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff lauds a book that systematically trashes a policy the general once oversaw: the ban on openly gay men and lesbians in the military known as "don't ask, don't tell."

When it became law in 1993, the policy was sold as an attempt to allow gays to serve if they did not discuss their orientation or participate in homosexual acts—that is, if they lived a life of pretense and self-denial not required of straight counterparts. Shame and second-class status were therefore built into the deal, and unsurprisingly led to a reality in which exemplary soldiers were harassed, investigated and expelled based on "evidence" as negligible as friendly banter or thoughtless gossip.

The rationale behind keeping gays out of the military has always been a moving target, since there is not a scintilla of data or evidence to support it. First there were claims of security risks, then the spread of disease. Eventually there was something called unit cohesion, an argument that soldiers did not want to serve with gay service members and therefore would not perform properly if forced to do so.


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The absurdity of this is so overwhelming that even many of those who once supported the policy have turned against it. Former Republican senator Alan Simpson wrote, "We need every ablebodied smart patriot to help us win this war," and retired General Shalikashvili called for the end of "don't ask, don't tell," saying it was important to "consider the evidence that has emerged" against a ban on gay service members. But overwhelming evidence has existed for decades that allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly has no effect on military mission or efficiency. Time after time, respected think tanks and governmental departments have been asked to study the issue, and time after time the result has been buried by military leaders who preferred mythology to data.

Some members of Congress have recently suggested an "in-depth study" of this issue. All they need do is read Frank's book to see that it has been studied to death. The existing policy is a blot on the reputation of the U.S. armed forces, since it suggests that while the Australians, the Canadians, the Israelis, the British and service members from 20 other countries that have jettisoned gay bans can overcome individual differences, Americans cannot.

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But if the president places the notion of America as a place of fairness and freedom above all, he will immediately issue an executive order suspending this irrational and prejudiced policy. Its only use is to diminish our fighting force, our national security and our moral standing in the world.

It gives bigots even more fuel to drum out gays as weak, rather than, ever showing empathy for the victims of bigotry, nor, will certain factions ever see this as a reason to ease up their support for DADT.

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' not good for security
Why Obama should fix this now
Source: The Philadelphia Daily News
Author(s): Opinion Editors
Date: June 10, 2009


The study's authors believe that when gay and lesbian soldiers serve openly for a period, it will bolster the case that equal treatment not only doesn't detract from "unit cohesion," but adds to it. That will provide more impetus for full repeal of the policy in Congress.

"Don't ask, don't tell" is not only a gay issue, it's a national-security issue. In a time when the armed forces struggle to meet recruitment goals, kicking out 13,000 experienced troops reduces military readiness and makes us all less safe.

It's wrong, and it's dishonorable. As Lt. Choi points out, it forces soldiers to deceive and lie and others to tolerate deception and lying. And that "poisons a unit and cripples a fighting force."