DADT Report Released; Shows Strong Support For Repeal

The Department of Defense "Comprehensive Working Group Report" on the Pentagon's so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy on excluding openly LGB servicemembers from the military has been released and the results give strong support for those calling for an end to the policy.

The Defense Department's own news service characterizes the DADT report thusly:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2010 – A change in the law that bans gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military can be implemented without irreparable harm, the co-chair of a Pentagon working group that studied the matter said yesterday.

“It’s my belief, having now looked this matter extensively over nine months, that the leaders of our services -- all services, all components -- are so good today, so experienced today, that they can effectively implement this change, maintain unit cohesion, and a strong focus on mission accomplishment,” Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said.

Ham and Jeh C. Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel and the working group’s other co-chair, discussed their findings in an interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates appointed Ham and Johnson early this year to lead the group to determine the effects on the military if the law is changed to allow gays to serve openly. Ham and Johnson made their findings public today, as well as their report, which assesses the matter and gives recommendations for moving forward.

A majority -- about 55 percent -- of respondents to a survey sent to 400,000 servicemembers in the active and reserve components said allowing gays to serve openly would have either no effect or a balance of positive and negative effects on the military, and between 15 and 20 percent said such a change would have only positive effects.

About 30 percent of respondents said overturning the law would have a mostly negative impact, and those respondents mostly were part of the warfighting specialties, Ham said.

Results showed slight trends in differences among members of each service, Ham said, adding that he was surprised the feedback showed few trends among age groups.

The Center for American Progress highlighted the following aspects of the report in their press release:

The study demonstrates definitively that our women and men in uniform are ready, willing, and able to adapt to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Pentagon officials today summarized the results of the survey, which was sent to 400,000 service members:

• Seventy percent of service members said they would be able to “work together to get the job done” with a gay service member in their immediate units.

• Sixty-nine percent said they worked in a unit with a co-worker that they believed to be gay or lesbian.

• Ninety-two percent stated that their unit’s “ability to work together” with a gay person was either “very good,” “good,” or “neither good nor poor.” This includes 89 percent of those in Army combat arms units and 84 percent of those in Marine combat arms units.

The study found that a minority of service members maintain some concern about the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But it also determined that strong leadership and guidance from the top of the chain of command will mitigate these issues.

Advocates for repeal of the policy urge phone calls to the following list of Senators to hear from constituents about their thoughts about DADT repeal:

--Susan Collins (R-ME);

--Olympia Snowe (R-ME);

--Mark Pryor (D-AR.);

--Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

--Richard Lugar (R-IN);

--Judd Gregg (R-NH);

--Scott Brown (R-MA)

--George Voinovich (R-OH);

--Kit Bond (R-MO);

--Joe Manchin (D-WV)

--Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

--Mark Kirk (R-IL)

--James Webb (D-VA)