Pentagon's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Survey Hits Snag

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Jeff Neumann

04/01/10 06:39AM

Filed to: Surveys

The Defense Department is worried that gay soldiers may not want to participate in a survey that will ask for their thoughts on repealing DADT. Perhaps that's because the law, which bars gays from openly serving, is still in place?

To ease fears, the Pentagon may go to a third-party pollster who could assure anonymity. The officer in charge of the survey, Army General Carter F. Ham, told The Washington Post:

We know that a serving Department of Defense official, especially one in uniform, cannot be the one to [conduct the poll]," he said. If a gay soldier "were to disclose to me their sexuality," he added, "then I'd almost certainly be required to pursue that" by opening a formal investigation that could lead to discharge.

And they really wonder why gay soldiers might not want to open up for the poll?

But some military officers are still fighting a losing battle. In a March 8 letter to Stars and Stripes, Army Gen. Benjamin Mixon wrote:

It is often stated that most servicemembers are in favor of repealing the policy. I do not believe that is accurate. I suspect many servicemembers, their families, veterans and citizens are wondering what to do to stop this ill-advised repeal of a policy that has achieved a balance between a citizen's desire to serve and acceptable conduct."

Mixon asked soldiers to write lawmakers and urge them to keep DADT in place. He later retracted this statement, or as the Post says, he "received a smack-down" from the military.

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

jakemiles Jeff Neumann 04/01/10 09:29AM

Seems like they'd have no problem if the survey was just "Should we repeal DADT?". Require that everyone in the military fill it out, make it anonymous, count the votes.

Then discard the survey and do whatever helps you politically.

InfamousKai jakemiles 04/23/10 01:08PM

THIS.

Dr. Chad Sexington Jeff Neumann 04/01/10 07:09AM

This is a real-life "Cake or death?" sequence if I ever heard one.

jeremy2 Dr. Chad Sexington 04/02/10 04:18PM

@Dr. Chad Sexington: They aren't saying they are gay; they are saying that they want to repeal DADT. Not the same thing.

TableNein Jeff Neumann 04/01/10 08:30AM

I, too, wonder why gay soldiers might not want to open up for the poll.

GeorgeFayne TableNein 04/01/10 08:54AM

@TableNein: I see what you did there.

Jane, you ignorant slut. Jeff Neumann 04/01/10 07:47AM

My completely anecdotal experience? Senior leadership, the guys who've been in 15+ years, aren't keen on changing DADT. But the younger soldiers mostly don't care. Many have now grown up in environments where they knew out people, were friends with them, are related to gay people, or knew them from leadership roles in church, school, or sports. And, like race or gender, the thing most people are concerned about is whether the person is a good soldier and acts professionally.

The old career guys are what's going to make trouble, since they're the ones who are in positions to make life difficult for gay soldiers if they want to. There's a million ways to subtly discriminate against someone in the Army, on little things that come down to leadership's personal judgments. Your supervisor is the one to decide if you're ready for promotion, or deserve to go to a school that would advance your career. It's hard to tell, sometimes, whether they're discriminating against someone for race or gender, or whether there actually was a better candidate to promote or send to school.