The facts (from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office) are in, and they’re unambiguous (update: you can read the full report here). The military’s policy of discharging gay service members is harming America’s national security by depriving us of the services of highly qualified personnel in critical areas. In particular, the GAO’s report found that of 322 language specialists forced out under the absurdly-named "don’t ask don’t tell" policy, 54 spoke Arabic (more than twice the number previously estimated), and others spoke Farsi, Korean, and Chinese, all considered critical in the war on terror and national security. The report also found that over 400 service members in "critical occupations" such as code-breakers, interrogators, air traffic controllers, and counterintelligence specialists had been discharged. The report estimated that replacing the discharged personnel had cost at least $200 million, and probably much more.
The report cites the Defense Department as trying to downplay the significance of the discharges by noting that more people were discharged for drug abuse, pregnancy, and weight problems than for being gay. Let’s think about that for a sec. If you have a drug problem, you can’t do your job because you’re on drugs. If you’re pregnant, you will not be able to do your job after you have your baby, at least for a while. And a weight problem would interfere with at least some military occupations. But if you’re gay, well … you’re gay. Why you couldn’t continue to do your job as a language specialist, code-breaker, or frankly any other military occupation is utterly beyond me.
And don’t start with me about how having gay soldiers disrupts good order and discipline. Just read this: for years, the British military discharged anyone found to be gay. Then, five years ago, a court decision forced it to abandon that policy. And now, the British Royal Navy has started encouraging gay people to enlist. Why? Because they have found that having gay people in the military didn’t change anything. Indeed, "gay men and women in the British services have lived and fought in Iraq alongside heterosexuals – and Americans – without problem, according to military officials."
"Don’t ask don’t tell" is crap. The justifications for it are crap. And it is hurting America by depriving us of desperately-needed personnel in critical areas, and by forcing us to waste time and money (a lot of money) training their replacements. It’s time to junk this disastrous policy.
