Military Distributes DADT Survey
According to an official release, the Department of Defense distributed 400,000 emailed surveys yesterday to military members on the topic of the implementation of the repeal of the policy most commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Half of the surveys went to active-duty servicemembers, and half were sent to the reserve components. Troops who received the surveys were selected based on age, rank, service, component, military specialties, education, marital status and other factors to ensure broad and thorough feedback on a potential repeal, Ham said.
The Military Times said the actual questions were “under wraps,” but the survey
appears to lean heavily on questions about teamwork, performance, mission completion and morale, according to a draft copy
Among other questions,
The draft survey also asked how a repeal will affect the respondent’s likelihood of recommending military service to family members or close friends and their own continued service; and whether they personally know any gays, served with any gays and whether they were a leader or co-worker, and how well the unit performed…
FoxNews, which also has not seen the questions, indicated the survey
asks for opinions on whether or not the law that bans homosexuals from serving openly should be repealed.
However, that is inconsistent with the military’s declarations to date, in which they have said that the study is only about implementation of a repeal, not whether or not a repeal should occur. CNN also notes the survey asks
military members how they would react if they had to share a room, bathrooms, and open-bay showers in a war zone with other service members believed to be gay or lesbian.
It apparently doesn’t ask how members would react if they had to share a room or open bay shower with someone of the opposite gender.
The articles on the survey note the original DADT “inbox” is still online as well.