Gays in the military

The ex-chairman of the joint chiefs says to let the evidence speak

By John M. Shalikashvili

The Supreme Court announced earlier this month that it would not review a lawsuit challenging the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy forbidding homosexuals from serving openly. The Obama administration had asked the court not to take the case as the president considers ending the ban.

News that the president would change the policy had inspired a group of retired flag officers to argue that service by openly gay individuals would harm morale, discipline, cohesion, recruitment and retention in the U.S. military. The argument assumes that anti-gay sentiment is so fierce and widespread that moving to a policy of equal treatment would drive away thousands and could ultimately “break the All-Volunteer Force.”

In recent decades, Israel and Britain joined more than 20 other nations to allow openly gay individuals to serve without overall problems. But it is not just foreign militaries that show service by openly gay individuals works. The U.S. military itself has had successful experiences. Enforcement of the ban was suspended without problems during the Persian Gulf War. A recent study co-authored by Laura Miller of Rand Corp. found no correlation between a unit’s readiness and whether known gays serve in it.

The officers who oppose lifting the ban say that “losses of even a few thousand sergeants, petty officers and experienced mid-grade officers” — those they believe might bolt — are unaffordable. Under current policy, we have lost more than 13,000 of those people, and researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles have found that nearly 4,000 people leave voluntarily each year because of the ban.

While the proper timing of repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” remains uncertain, it is evident to me that a policy change is inevitable. When change comes, it will be important for senior leaders to send clear signals of support to the rank and file. Every general officer knows that mixed signals undermine leadership.

President Obama has wisely indicated that he will consult carefully with military leadership before making any change to “don’t ask, don’t tell.” In the same way that military leaders take into account research when contemplating a new strategy or doctrine, it will be important for the conversation about gays and lesbians in the military to be informed by data, not speculation or emotion. That people on all sides of the issue feel strongly about it is more reason, not less, to let the evidence do the talking.

(Shalikashvili, a retired Army general, was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997. This essay originally appeared in the Washington Post.)

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