Pentagon Journal: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Hurts Military

Published September 30, 2009 @ 05:59AM PT

Don't Ask Don't Tell

An upcoming article in the Pentagon's top scholarly journal suggests that the U.S. military make right with the issue of LGBT soldiers, and end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." While a scholarly article isn't the same as Defense Secretary Robert Gates marching in a pride parade, the journal article is a clear sign that top military brass may be open to ending the 16-year-old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The journal, Joint Force Quarterly, is published by the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The article in their upcoming issue, according to the Boston Globe, is written by an Air Force colonel who studied the efficacy (or inefficacy!) of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for months while a student at the National Defense University in Washington. The colonel's conclusion?

That allowing openly gay and lesbian soldiers to serve in the U.S. military will in no way, shape, or form harm the readiness and capability of the U.S. Armed Forces.

"After a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly," the article says. "Based on this research, it is not time for the administration to reexamine the issue; rather it is time for the administration to examine how to implement the repeal of the ban."

It's time to cast off attempts to simply study "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to see if it's a flawed policy. We already know it's a flawed policy. We already know it harms national security. We already know that unit cohesion won't be harmed by the inclusion of gay and lesbian soldiers.

And knowing all that means it's time to send "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" packing.

(Photo courtesy of dbking's photostream on Flickr.)

Share this Post

Comments (6)

It is a flawed policy. It is sad that some prejudiced people say it will hurt the Military if they serve. One day Gay people will serve openly and what a great day that will be.

Posted by Martin Martinez on 09/30/2009 @ 09:34AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 2 people like this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Martin
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Land of the free & home of the brave?... not yet.

Posted by Fred Frankenberg on 09/30/2009 @ 10:34AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Fred
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
It's a shame that the United States military still enforces 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. The intolerant 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' military policy must be repealed. It's good that a prominent Pentagon scholarly journal says that the intolerant 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' must not be further studied but supports the obligatory repeal of that intolerant military policy. Congress and President Obama are obligated to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' this year or next year for equality for LGBT soldiers.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 09/30/2009 @ 03:22PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Edwin
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I think that this publication is a foot in the right direction. Speaking as someone who recently served five years active duty Navy I feel that its more a political issue. I had openly gay friends, and it wasn't something that hurt our mission. Personally I see this policy as old and out dated. It feels more like a political positioning chip for people trying to appease the religious right. I would love to see the "don't ask don't tell" policy removed. We don't need to make serving in the military harder than it already is.

Posted by Nikole Randall on 09/30/2009 @ 06:40PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Nikole
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I have to say that I am disappointed in my initial views of DADT. Back then, I really thought that it meant that the military would stay out of service members private lives. It seemed a good idea to me.

I think that there were many social conservatives like myself who felt like I did initially. Like me, many of them are very disillusioned with how this ended up being implemented and the damage it ended up causing.

There should be no requirement that someone were to hold my religious views in order to serve in the military (or, for that matter recieve civil rights).

I am really looking forward to the repeal of DADT and DOMA.

Posted by William Brown on 09/30/2009 @ 09:27PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 2 people like this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by William
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
D.O.M.A. and D.A.D.T. are both not only outdated but they should never have been implemented in the first place.

It does my heart good to know that more and more of our military leaders are getting that.

Its about time.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 10/02/2009 @ 05:16PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- 1 person likes this comment. Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Thomas
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.