Signs of Progress
Testifying today before members of the House Armed Services Committee, SLDN Military Advisory Council member and Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb urged lawmakers to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and “open up the military to all Americans who possess the desire, talent and character to serve.”
“The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy is counterproductive to military readiness. Over the past 10 years more than 10,000 personnel have been discharged as a result of this policy, including 800 with skills deemed ‘mission critical,’ such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists. These are the very job functions for which the military has experienced personnel shortfalls. General John M. Shalikashvili, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993 when the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was enacted, no longer supports the policy because he now believes that allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the military would no longer create intolerable tension among personnel and undermine cohesion. A recent Zogby poll supports this view. It found that three-quarters of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans were comfortable interacting with gay people,” Korb testified .
Mr. Korb’s testimony highlights the fact that the defense community is reevaluating the effectiveness of this law and many are concluding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is counter-productive to America’s national security interests. Our country has already lost 12,000 service members to this law and there is no reason why, given that we are at war, we should continue discharging more linguists, pilots, medics, and intelligence officers simply because they are gay. It hurts our ability to field the best fighting force possible and as a result weakens our national security.
To learn more about the proceedings visit SLDN online or to read Lawrence Korb's full written testimony click here.
Labels: HASC
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