Conduct Unbecoming: The 4th Annual Report on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass”
by Michelle Benecke & Dixon OsburnCommand violations of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" increased for the fourth year in a row. Command violations include instances where commands asked, pursued and harassed service members in direct violation of the limits to gay investigations under current policy. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) documented 563 command violations in 1997, up from 443 reported violations in 1996 (Exhibit 1).
SLDN documented increased asking, increased pursuits and increased harassment in 1997. The Navy was the worst in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" compliance; the Air Force was a close second.
The reason underlying continued violations of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" is a lack of commitment from top military and civilian authorities. Military leaders have not communicated to the field the policy's limits to gay investigations or its intent to end prying into service members' private lives. The lack of commitment is reflected by: (1) The absence of clear and thorough guidance or training on investigative limits; (2) heavy-handed and increasingly intrusive investigative tactics against suspected gays, including coercion and fishing expeditions; (3) no recourse or redress for service members asked, pursued or harassed; and (4) a lack of accountability for those who violate current policy.
The result is a climate in many commands where "anything goes" in the pursuit of suspected gay personnel. Commanders who want to do the right thing must swim against the tide.
There are glimmers of hope. This past year marked the first time the Department of Defense has ordered replacement of old recruiting forms that asked prospective recruits if they are gay, a problem noted in SLDN's Third Annual Report. In 1997, DoD also issued its first policy clarifying that commanders should investigate those who threaten or harass service members, not those who report anti-gay harassment or lesbian-baiting. Last year also marked the first time SLDN has documented more than one or two cases where commands complied with the mandates "Don't Ask," "Don't Pursue," and "Don't Harass."
As we move into the fifth year under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue," however, DoD and the services need to issue guidance stating the current limits to investigations and the intent of the policy not to pry into service members' private lives. DoD then needs to train all service members thoroughly on those limits and the policy's intent. The promises to stop asking, pursuits and harassment in 1993 were clear. General Colin Powell stated in 1993: "We will not witch hunt. We will not chase. We will not seek to learn orientation." Senator Sam Nunn, former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, "I do not believe we should have sex squads prying into the private lives of our service members."
President William J. Clinton pledged that the policy would provide for "a decent regard for the legitimate privacy and associational rights of all service members." Then Senator, now Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, expressed a similar understanding of the policy when he asked then DoD General Counsel Jamie Gorelick whether the "small amount of privacy under the current policy was intended to prevent the military from prying into people's private lives." Gorelick answered with a resounding "yes."
Last February, Secretary Cohen again reiterated his commitment to fair enforcement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" when he stated on ABC World News Tonight that he would stop any "continued pursuits and prosecutions" under the policy. Shortly, thereafter, Secretary Cohen asked an internal review group to examine the implementation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue," a process that is underway as this report goes to publication. SLDN looks forward to any substantive recommendations the review group may have to stop the continued asking, pursuit and harassment of service members.
This is the Fourth Annual Report on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" by SLDN. This report details command violations of current law documented by SLDN from February 26, 1997 to February 19, 1998. Located in Washington, D.C., SLDN is an independent legal aid and watchdog organization for those harmed by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue," and the only means currently available to document abuses. DoD has instituted no method of identifying, documenting or correcting command violations. Indeed, last May, in a Washington Post story, DoD conceded that it relies on SLDN's annual reports to know what is happening in the field under its policy.
