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Setting the Record Straight on Repeal

Last week the full House Armed Services Committee (HASC) held a hearing on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) repeal, the second oversight hearing in as many weeks. The hearing featured testimony from the service chiefs, each of whom reported that training is going smoothly throughout the armed forces, and that there have been no major problems to date.

Once again, however, we heard repeal opponents regurgitate some of the same old talking points surrounding unit cohesion and military readiness and recruitment – many of which can also be found in the Heritage Foundation’s paper (“A Clash of Integrities: Moral and Religious Liberty in the Armed Forces,” by Charles A. Donovan) that was released just two days before. Interesting timing, for sure.

We thank Brigadier General John Adams, US Army (Ret.), for working with our team here at SLDN to separate fact from fiction in his thoughtfully structured rebuttal, “Repeal of DADT Fosters Unit Cohesion: Heritage Recommendations Undermine Good Order and Discipline.”

To read the full text, click here. And please be sure to let our team know whenever you see misinformation that needs to be corrected.

04-13-11 By Emily Sussman and Jeremy Wilson-Simerman, Legislative Co-Directors |