Military News
02-23-2010, 11:20 AM
02-23-2010 11:46 AM
A new study by a pro-gay think tank finds that open service by gays in foreign militaries has not negatively affected morale, recruitment, retention, readiness or overall combat effectiveness — issues the Pentagon is now studying as it considers both how to ease enforcement of the U.S. ban on open service by gays as well as the challenges that a repeal of the ban would pose.
Author Nathaniel Frank, a senior research fellow for the Palm Center, said lifting such bans in the five foreign militaries studied — Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Israel — actually improved the command climate, decreased harassment, helped retain critical personnel and enhanced rather than degraded respect for privacy.
“American military performance would not decline,” Frank concludes.
Opponents argue just the opposite — that congressional repeal of the ban on open service by gays would negatively affect unit cohesion, readiness and related issues. A leading opponent, Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, argues that none of the 25 nations that now allow gays to serve openly in the military “bear burdens and responsibilities comparable to ours,” making comparisons irrelevant.
Frank counters that while the U.S. military is different from those studied, “such distinctions have not prevented the U.S. military from comparing itself to and learning from foreign armed forces.”
And given the experience of the five countries studied, Frank said that “a quick, simple implementation process is instrumental in ensuring success.”
As such, Frank argues that the longer-term 11-month study — of service member attitudes, potential changes to Pentagon regulations and policies, and the potential impact of repeal on military effectiveness — announced Feb. 2 by Defense Secretary Robert Gates is unnecessary.
“There is no operational justification for another year of study,” Frank said in a Monday telephone interview. “We’ve been studying this for 50 years.”
Frank pointed to a 500-page 1993 Rand Corp. study, commissioned by the Pentagon, which concluded that the U.S. ban on open service by gays could be lifted without major problems as long as it was backed by senior leaders and accompanied by clear guidelines. Gates has asked Rand to do an update, but Frank said it will be a redundant effort.
“They recommended a policy where sexual orientation was not considered relevant and that change should be implemented swiftly,” Frank said of the 1993 study. “So I really don’t know what they expect the Rand study to say any differently 17 years later.”
Frank said that the delay period will serve as “a tactic for people who are making political calculations or actually want to stonewall this until it doesn’t happen.”
He said that is what happened in 1993 when President Clinton proposed an end to the ban on open service by gays. He called a six-month delay period that opponents exploited, resulting in the “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” compromise policy still in effect, Franks said.
“That’s when his efforts were derailed,” Frank said. “It created a lot more fuss and a lot more headache and heartache than would have been the case if he had issued an executive order from Day One, or if he had continued to stand up to the military chiefs when he knew that it was right.”
Since 1994, more than 13,500 U.S. service members have been discharged under don’t ask, don’t tell, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Read the Palm Center report:
Gays in foreign militaries 2010: A global primer (http://www.palmcenter.org/files/GaysinForeignMilitaries2010.pdf)
More... (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/02/military_gays_foreignmilitaires_palmcenter_022310w/)
[Clicking on more will open up a popup box with the complete news story from the news source. MilitaryWoman.org is not responsible for content.]
A new study by a pro-gay think tank finds that open service by gays in foreign militaries has not negatively affected morale, recruitment, retention, readiness or overall combat effectiveness — issues the Pentagon is now studying as it considers both how to ease enforcement of the U.S. ban on open service by gays as well as the challenges that a repeal of the ban would pose.
Author Nathaniel Frank, a senior research fellow for the Palm Center, said lifting such bans in the five foreign militaries studied — Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Israel — actually improved the command climate, decreased harassment, helped retain critical personnel and enhanced rather than degraded respect for privacy.
“American military performance would not decline,” Frank concludes.
Opponents argue just the opposite — that congressional repeal of the ban on open service by gays would negatively affect unit cohesion, readiness and related issues. A leading opponent, Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, argues that none of the 25 nations that now allow gays to serve openly in the military “bear burdens and responsibilities comparable to ours,” making comparisons irrelevant.
Frank counters that while the U.S. military is different from those studied, “such distinctions have not prevented the U.S. military from comparing itself to and learning from foreign armed forces.”
And given the experience of the five countries studied, Frank said that “a quick, simple implementation process is instrumental in ensuring success.”
As such, Frank argues that the longer-term 11-month study — of service member attitudes, potential changes to Pentagon regulations and policies, and the potential impact of repeal on military effectiveness — announced Feb. 2 by Defense Secretary Robert Gates is unnecessary.
“There is no operational justification for another year of study,” Frank said in a Monday telephone interview. “We’ve been studying this for 50 years.”
Frank pointed to a 500-page 1993 Rand Corp. study, commissioned by the Pentagon, which concluded that the U.S. ban on open service by gays could be lifted without major problems as long as it was backed by senior leaders and accompanied by clear guidelines. Gates has asked Rand to do an update, but Frank said it will be a redundant effort.
“They recommended a policy where sexual orientation was not considered relevant and that change should be implemented swiftly,” Frank said of the 1993 study. “So I really don’t know what they expect the Rand study to say any differently 17 years later.”
Frank said that the delay period will serve as “a tactic for people who are making political calculations or actually want to stonewall this until it doesn’t happen.”
He said that is what happened in 1993 when President Clinton proposed an end to the ban on open service by gays. He called a six-month delay period that opponents exploited, resulting in the “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” compromise policy still in effect, Franks said.
“That’s when his efforts were derailed,” Frank said. “It created a lot more fuss and a lot more headache and heartache than would have been the case if he had issued an executive order from Day One, or if he had continued to stand up to the military chiefs when he knew that it was right.”
Since 1994, more than 13,500 U.S. service members have been discharged under don’t ask, don’t tell, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Read the Palm Center report:
Gays in foreign militaries 2010: A global primer (http://www.palmcenter.org/files/GaysinForeignMilitaries2010.pdf)
More... (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/02/military_gays_foreignmilitaires_palmcenter_022310w/)
[Clicking on more will open up a popup box with the complete news story from the news source. MilitaryWoman.org is not responsible for content.]