DOD: DADT Repeal had No Positive Effect on Readiness
One of the “compelling” reasons for repealing the ban on homosexuals openly serving in the US military was the claim that ‘thousands’ of people were being discharged from critically undermanned career fields necessary to the war effort. (Arab linguists were the most common scare-statistic used.)
Nearly a year after repeal, the DOD has said there has been no positive impact to readiness. In other words, letting homosexuals serve improved nothing with regard to the institutional military mission:
Senior military leaders say the change has had no impact on readiness and little to no effect on most of the 1.2 million members on active duty…
So much for doing it for the good of the mission.
Good report/update….however, I consider no positive impact as no negative impact either. Considering all of the positive things the Military did overall, training, and more training to prepare for the inevitable, probably made the biggest impact for, well, no impact.
Likewise, there has been a drawdown, and with that becomes less of a need, per se, of those critical career fields that “might” have been impacted. Then of course, there is always a change in “Senior Military leaders,” every two years or so, and they will see the statistics, or make the statistics, to be reported the way they want them to be reported.
I don’t think we can know the “impact” for several years to come, and I’ll hazard a guess that many are still in the “closet” and don’t need to or desire to come out just to be counted. I know several gay/Bi active duty troops that just don’t see the need to advertise, more so now that DADT has been repealed and everything will be OK…until its not.