Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

What the Pentagon Doesn’t Tell

I recently read an article about the rise in Army desertion rates since 2003. And it was interesting to see that "saying you are gay" was listed as one of four main reasons for a soldier to be discharged without completing his or her enlistment contract. There it was, ranked #3 on the list: 1) a soldier’s inability to meet physical fitness requirements 2) a soldier’s inability to adapt to the military life 3) a soldier saying he or she is gay and being required to leave under the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy 4) a soldier going AWOL This list, presumably, came right out of the Pentagon press office. In the past the DoD has also insisted that service members are mainly being discharged from the military under "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" because they are "telling." Pentagon leaders have also often implied that service members view the law as an easy "get out of jail free" card. But while DoD likes to report numbers, they are less enthusiastic about reporting what lies behind data. For example, "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" discharges are broken into three categories: "statements," "marriage" or "acts/conduct." The Pentagon doesn't tell us, though, that pretty much any circumstance that does not include a sexual act or marriage between members of the same gender is counted by DoD as a "statement" that violates "don't tell." The reality I've seen in SLDN's case work is much different then how DoD spins the "statements" discharge number. Almost half of SLDN’s clients this year have been service members who were "outed" or threatened with outing. Unfortunately, many of those cases ended up with the service member being discharged under "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" with a "statement" discharge . . . even though they never really made a statement in the first place. DoD also does not report on the number of people kicked out under the ban who try to re-enlist but are denied that opportunity because their discharge papers won’t allow it. Yet SLDN probably gets a dozen calls a month from discharged veterans seeking any means possible to go back to the jobs they love. And despite the implication that soldiers are "saying they are gay" merely to leave the service, overall "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" discharge numbers keep going down – by nearly 50% since 2001. It's doubtful that is because the military is really only kicking out the true gay service members; I'm not even sure what the test for determining that would even look like. It's far more likely that commands are increasingly caring little about who their troops date . . . and their desire to keep highly trained and functional service members where they need them – on the front line and in support of all who are making a difference in the world. But that may be another story behind the story that the Pentagon isn't ready to tell yet. - Kathi S. Westcott

Labels: in the news

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11-20-07