DoD Notes No DADT Issues

Six months after the repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving in the US military, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta claimed success:

“It’s not impacting on morale. It’s not impacting on unit cohesion. It is not impacting on readiness,” [Panetta] said.

Panetta was commenting on a report, though its unclear what the source of the data was in that report or how such impact was measured.  He continued:

“Very frankly, my view is that the military has kind of moved beyond it.”

That might be an unfair conclusion.  As Chaplain Ron Crews notes, members of the military salute smartly and carry on, even if they disagree — but that does not eliminate the disagreement or mitigate the impacts it may have.  In fact, given the little time that has passed, as well as the relative minority of people who even are homosexual in the military, it is more likely that some on both sides of the issue are simply waiting for the other shoe to drop.