Tag Archives: report

US Military Downplays Impact of DADT Repeal

While Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey is “worried” about the politicization of the US military, the Department of Defense has published some starkly pointed articles praising the repeal of the politically-charged policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

This largely mirrors the narrative in the mainstream press — everybody is “cool” with homosexuals serving in the US military (and think of the children…).  Amazingly, little attention is given to the voices saying its not as rose-colored as some seem to think.  The Stars and Stripes pointed out one negative finding otherwise unreported in the press.  Elaine Donnelly got a single line.  Only the FRC has noted the Palm Center buried their own data showing 20% of units that had a homosexual “come out” after repeal had a negative impact as a result — data that is hardly a “non-event.”

In “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Never Mattered,” a US Marine Corporal took to the Read more

First Post-DADT Study Shows No Negative Impact

The Palm Center, an activist group that advocated for repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” has publicized a “study” (PDF) it conducted that purports to put to bed claims that open service by homosexuals in the US military will ever be anything other than a “non-event,” based on an analysis of the “one-year mark.”

The first academic study of the effects of repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) has found that the new policy of open service has had no overall negative impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, recruitment, retention or morale…

While the story is being repeated in a couple of places, it seems few have actually read the report.  For example, the “academic study” is based on the following samples:

  • 11 interviews with Generals who opposed repeal
  • 1 interview with a “public opponent” of repeal  Read more

DADT Survey Doesn’t Say What You Think It Says…

…or maybe it does.  The report, entitled Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, was released yesterday (available here, or at the DoD DADT website).  The following is a list of highlights from the report.

Statistics and Questions

As noted previously, fun with numbers will likely allow both sides of the DADT debate to cite the report in favor of their position.

For example, one of the most frequently cited statistics (as here and here) is the statement that

When asked about how having a Service member in their immediate unit who said he or she is gay would affect the unit’s ability to “work together to get the job done,” 70% of Service members predicted it would have a positive, mixed, or no effect.

However, using precisely the same numbers, one could also say

When asked about how having a Service member in their immediate unit who said he or she is gay would affect the unit’s ability to “work together to get the job done,” 62% of Service members predicted it would have a negative or mixed effect.

Obviously, the second statement holds quite a different meaning than the first – yet both are entirely accurate.

One of the main disconnects is that many reports have conflated Read more

DoD’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Report to be Publicized

The Department of Defense’s report on how to implement the proposed repeal of the law banning homosexuals from military service will reportedly be “released in full” next week, on November 30th — one day prior to the original date for which the report was supposed to be delivered to the Secretary of Defense.

The fact that the military’s entire emphasis has been how to react Read more