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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Foreign Affairs / The Demise Of The “don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy From The U.S Military (1094 Views)
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The Demise Of The “don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy From The U.S Military by Nobody: 4:37am On Aug 14, 2012 |
"As Secretary of Defense, I am committed to removing all of the barriers that would prevent Americans from serving their country and from rising to the highest level of responsibility that their talents and capabilities warrant. These are men and women who put their lives on the line in the defense of this country, and that’s what should matter the most." The above is a statement made by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on the 20th of September 2011: the day that the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy was officially repealed. That day became an unofficial national celebration in the US, at least for the many who had dreamt to live in a time where persons would be allowed to serve in the US military despite their sexual orientation. "Don't ask, don't tell" with the acronym D.A.D.T was the official United States policy on gays and lesbians serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy on one hand prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted gay, lesbian and bisexual service members or applicants, while on the other hand barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. The restrictions were mandated by the United States federal law. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because it was perceived that the presence of same "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." The policy prohibited any gay or bisexual person from disclosing his or her sexual orientation or from speaking about any same sex relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces. The act specified that service members who disclose that they are gay or engage in homosexual conduct should be separated (discharged) except when a service member's conduct was "for the purpose of avoiding or terminating military service" or when it "would not be in the best interest of the armed forces" The "don't ask" part of the DADT policy specified that superiors should not initiate investigation of a service member’s orientation without witnessing disallowed behaviors, though credible evidence of homosexual behavior could be used to initiate an investigation. Unauthorized investigations and harassment of suspected servicemen and women led to an expansion of the policy to "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue, don't harass." For many years there has been a lot of controversy and debate on whether openly gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve in the military. Although there were associations who felt it was improper for lesbians and gays to serve in the military, but as far back as In 1993, Gregory M. Herek, associate research psychologist at the University of California at Davis and an authority on public attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, testified before the House Armed Services Committee on behalf of several professional associations. He stated: "The research data show that there is nothing about lesbians and gay men that makes them inherently unfit for military service, and there is nothing about heterosexuals that makes them inherently unable to work and live with gay people in close quarters." He added: "The assumption that heterosexuals cannot overcome their prejudices toward gay people is a mistaken one." In July 2004 the American Psychological Association issued a statement that DADT "discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation" and that "Empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment and retention." It said that the U.S. military's track record overcoming past racial and gender discrimination demonstrated its ability to integrate groups previously excluded. Asides the issue of equality, another reason for the repeal of DADT is its cost implication. Obama stated that the U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops expelled from the military, including language experts fluent in Arabic, because of DADT. In February 2005, the Government Accountability Office released estimates of the cost of DADT. It reported at least $95.4 million in recruiting costs and at least $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003, while noting that the true figures might be higher. In November 2007, 28 retired generals and admirals urged Congress to repeal the policy, citing evidence that 65,000 gay men and women were serving in the armed forces and that there were over a million gay veterans. Two years later, Colin Powell told CNN said that the policy was "correct for the time" but that "sixteen years have now gone by, and I think a lot has changed with respect to attitudes within our country, and therefore I think this is a policy and a law that should be reviewed." Taking the debate to the streets to find out what the people’s opinions were, according to a December 2010 Washington Post-ABC News poll, 77% of Americans said gays and lesbians who publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be able to serve in the military. And according to a November 2010 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 72% of adult Americans favored permitting people who are openly gay or lesbian to serve in the military, while 23% opposed it. According to a website www.palmcenter.org, Women accounted for 31% of "don't ask, don't tell" discharges, but comprise only 14% of the military. Personally, On the 4th of June this year, I had a press briefing with two members of the US military at the Pentagon in Washington DC to discuss the elimination of the DADT policy and the integration of LGBT into today’s US military. One of the service members has been an army officer for 20 years and the other a navy officer for 22 years. They served in the military all though the period of the pre repeal and they had to remain absolutely secretive about their sexuality for up to 18 years in order to remain in the military. Talking about their experience during pre-repeal, they both expressed that they served with uncertainty and fear: “Anytime I got a phone call from my superior, I would always assume it was a phone call for my termination so I was constantly in trepidation”. The navy officer told me: “I was very uncertain that one day they might find out. I was careful about anything I did and said. As a young lieutenant, there was this constant fear of being outed. My dad served in the army for 26 years and my sister also served in the army for 26 years. Being thrown out of the military was not an option” Talking about how they feel now that DADT has been repealed, the army officer answered: “I have invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears for my country. In 2005, I once tendered my resignation because of the Iraq war. Between January and June, I had lost 8 friends in the war and I was traumatized. Right now I have changed my mind I must say that I have never been more proud of this organization. I have never been more fully embraced.” On the date of the repeal Barrack Obama made a statement that: “Today’s achievement is a tribute to all the patriots who fought and marched for change; to Members of Congress, from both parties, who voted for repeal; to our civilian and military leaders who ensured a smooth transition; and to the professionalism of our men and women in uniform who showed that they were ready to move forward together, as one team, to meet the missions we ask of them." There is currently a reinstatement of the discharged service men and women from DADT. I think one can boldly say that no service member will ever be dismissed from the US military again for being lesbian, gay or bisexual.
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