Pentagon Working Group Report Makes the Case for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal

For the past year, Congress, the Administration, and the Pentagon leadership have been engaged in a detailed discussion about the future of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the 1993 law which prohibits openly gay Americans from serving in our military. For moderates, the primary issue is not whether Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should be repealed—a super-majority of Americans support allowing gay troops to serve openly—but how that change should be achieved. In particular, moderate Americans have one overarching concern: ensuring that our armed forces are focused on their mission of protecting the nation and defeating terrorism. The release of the Pentagon Working Group’s report last week confirms that the best way to minimize disruption to our fighting force is for Congress to repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law before the end of this year, rather than allowing the debate to languish. As Defense Secretary Gates said at the release of the Working Group report, “Given the present circumstances, those that choose not to act legislatively are rolling the dice that this policy will not be abruptly overturned by the courts.”

There are three reasons that legislative action this year is crucial to achieving an orderly transition to a new personnel policy.

1. The Pentagon assessment shows that the risk is minimal.

After conducting a ten-month review of the issues relating to implementation of repeal, the Pentagon Working Group determined that transitioning to a new personnel policy allowing gay and lesbian troops to serve openly would pose low risk to military effectiveness. The Working Group separately assessed the risk to military readiness, unit effectiveness, and unit cohesion and rated each at low levels, concluding that any disruption could be adequately addressed by the policy recommendations in their report.

The Working Group based this assessment on a wide-ranging survey of attitudes and experiences among the troops, as well as an extensive review of relevant policies and regulations in the services. This review illustrated that a supermajority of service members had already worked in a unit with a co-worker they believed to be gay (69%) and predicted that having an openly gay service member in their unit would have a positive, mixed, or no effect on the unit’s ability to “work together to get the job done” (70%). Among those who had served with a co-worker they believed to be gay, an astounding 92% said that the unit’s “ability to work together” was very good, good, or neither good nor poor.

Within the Marine Corps and certain combat arms units, there were greater concerns voiced by service members about repeal. For example, nearly 60% of those in the Marines or Army combat arms units believed there would be a negative impact on their unit’s effectiveness if Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed. However, despite these higher numbers, the Working Group assessment found that the “risks of repeal to military effectiveness in these units, while somewhat higher than the overall force, remain within acceptable levels when coupled with the recommendations for implementation.”

In particular, the Pentagon’s assessment revealed that fewer service members from these units had actually served with someone they believe to be gay, which the Working Group indicated left “misperceptions and stereotypes” to govern their attitudes. However, among service members with actual experience serving beside a co-worker they believed to be gay, “distinctions in survey results between those in combat arms and the overall military are almost non-existent.” For those in Army combat units who had served with someone they believed to be gay, 89% rated their unit’s “ability to work together” as very good, good, or neither good nor poor, as did 84% of those in Marine combat units (compared to 92% of the military as a whole). Finally, the Working Group found that negative predictions about serving with openly gay co-workers decreased by more than 20 points when those in combat arms units were asked about a unit’s effectiveness at completing its mission “in an intense combat situation”—as opposed to in a field environment or out at sea.

2. The Working Group report lays out a comprehensive plan for dealing with repeal opponents’ concerns.

The Pentagon Working Group study found that approximately 30% of the force continues to have concerns about repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Most of these concerns deal with housing, privacy, benefits, and standards of conduct. The Working Group ascertained that current military policies will be sufficient to deal with the bulk of issues raised by repeal opponents. In general, the study found that reinforcing current standards of conduct for all service members would alleviate many of the concerns raised. Specifically, the report observed that “military standards of conduct prescribe appropriate attire and personal appearance, prohibit unprofessional relationships, address various forms of harassment and related unprofessional behavior, and provide guidelines on public displays of affection.” The Pentagon report also predicted that repeal will not result in a mass “coming out” of gay service members—in fact, only 15% of gay service members surveyed said they would like to have their sexual orientation known to everyone in their unit. The Working Group noted that “most would continue to be private and discreet about their personal lives” out of a “desire to fit in, coexist, and succeed in a military environment.”

With respect to concerns about privacy and housing, the Working Group found that 50% of service members believe they have already shared bathrooms and 38% had shared a room, berth, or field tent with a co-worker they believed to be gay. The Working Group did not recommend separate housing or facilities for openly gay service members, in part due to the fact that they would be “impossible to administer unless service members are required to disclose their sexual orientation”—which the report did not recommend. However, the implementation plan emphasized that commanders should “have the flexibility, on a case-by-case basis, to address those concerns in the interests of maintaining morale, good order, and discipline”—in the same way that commanders currently deal with personality conflicts or other housing issues within their units.

Other concerns raised by those in favor of keeping Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell were also put to rest by the Working Group. The implementation plan recommends that all service members be treated equally, and no one should be given special rights. The report specifically says that sexual orientation should not be added to the current list (race, color, religion, sex, and national origin) for diversity programs or the Military Equal Opportunity program complaint resolution process. Rather, the Working Group recommends that any disruptions or complaints be dealt with through the existing mechanisms within the chain of command. Similarly, the issue of benefits for same-sex partners of gay service members can be dealt with largely through current policies, according to the report. For benefits that are already “member designated,” such as life insurance, missing member notification, and hospital visitation, repeal would merely remove the impediment for gay service members to list their partner on the forms through which all troops designate their beneficiaries. For most other benefits provided to military spouses and families, the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits inclusion of same-sex partners, and that prohibition would not be changed by repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

3. The alternative—letting the debate languish—is dangerous.

As Secretary Gates has stated repeatedly in recent weeks, implementing repeal pursuant to a court order would be the least orderly and potentially most disruptive way to accomplish this transition. Because there are multiple court cases working their way through the federal judicial system—some of which have already caused confusion through temporarily blocking enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell for short periods of time—the best way to ensure a smooth transition to a new personnel policy would be to repeal the law legislatively before the end of the year.

The current language of the House-passed defense authorization bill and the version reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee both include language that was carefully crafted to give military leaders the time they need to implement this change in an orderly and responsible way. The provision would leave the law in place until 60 days after the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Secretary of Defense have certified that repeal “is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.” This language carefully coordinates the legislative process with the Pentagon’s plan for implementation and allows the military leaders to carry out the change according to the timeline they deem best for our troops. In contrast, a court order could force an immediate end to the law without giving military leaders effective notice or ability to carry out their implementation plan. If Congress fails to pass the repeal provision this year, it will be increasing the risk that this change will be made in a manner that is disruptive to our troops.

Conclusion

Throughout its extensive study of this issue, the Pentagon Working Group identified one factor that mitigated risk to military effectiveness: leadership. Our military leaders are now prepared to effectively navigate repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but they must first be equipped by the Members of Congress with the authority to carry out their carefully laid plans. We urge the 111th Congress to show the same level of leadership by passing the repeal language and allowing the Pentagon to undertake this transition in an orderly way, ensuring that our military can put its mission first and protect our country with honor, valor, and integrity.