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SLDN Statement on Surveying Troops

This morning before a congressional committee, General Norton A. Schwartz, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, expressed reservations on open service, citing the lack of scholarly research and “insufficient current survey data” on the views of our airmen and their families regarding the gays-in-the-military issue. He also suggested repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law now would “perturb” the force. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, responded below.

“The notion being floated over recent days of systematically engaging the force - whether this means conducting polls or focus groups with service members on their views (and the views of family members) of open service - is unprecedented, and extraordinary. In fact, it runs counter to how our military for 200 years has functioned: Debate or opinion gathering about a coming change has never been how the military operates. Did Gen. Schwartz feel like he needed a sense of how airmen and their families felt about women attending the Air Force academy in the 1970s? Is he suggesting the Air Force become a representative democracy, where airmen are surveyed on everything from how long they’re deployed to whether they want to go home for Christmas?

“As for perturbing or complicating the force, Sens. Lieberman and Levin got it right when they pointed out that forces were not disturbed when bans were lifted in 24 countries, and that U.S. troops have been serving alongside gays and lesbians from other countries in Iraq and Afghanistan, without incident. We respectfully remind all the chiefs that many U.S. service members are openly gay while serving, again without reported problems.

“RADM Jamie Barnett (Ret.) had it right yesterday on Capitol Hill when he said, ‘I grew up in Mississippi during racial integration and I believe strongly integration of lesbians and gay men in the military will be easier than racial integration; in fact it has already happened.’ At the same press event, Brigadier General John Adams said, ‘I respectfully disagree with those like General James Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and General George Casey, Chief of Staff of the Army, who hold reservations about repealing the ‘don't ask, don't tell’ law. The law is destructive. It encourages troops to lie about who they are, as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff so eloquently put it last month.’”

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