Readiness and DADT Repeal: Has the New Policy of Open Service Undermined the Military?

Armed Forces and Society

Volumn 39, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 587-601

  Belkin, Aaron ^a   Ender, Morten G ^b   Frank, Nathaniel ^c   Furia, Stacie R ^d   Lucas, George ^e   Packard, Gary ^f   Samuels, Steven M ^f   Schultz, Tammy ^g   Segal, David R ^h  

^a SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY   (United States)

^c Columbia University ^*  (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^e USNA   (United States)

^f UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY   (United States)

^g Headquarters US Marine Corps   (United States)

^h UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND   (United States)

Author keywords

"don't ask; DADT; don't tell"; gays in the military

Indexed keywords

EID: 84883625873     PISSN: 0095327X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X12466248     Document Type: Review

References (60)

1. The views expressed by faculty at US Government Agencies are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of their respective Service Academies, their Service Branches, the Department of Defense, or the US Government. Nonmilitary institutional affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not convey the institutions' positions.
2. For pre-repeal research suggesting that the presence of openly serving LGB troops would not impact cohesion and readiness, see, for example.
3. Bonnie Moradi and Laura Miller, "Attitudes of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans toward Gay and Lesbian Service Members," Armed Forces & Society 36, 3, (2009): 397-419;
4. National Defense Research Institute, Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy: Options and Assessment (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993).
5. The statement was released in March 2009, with 1,050 retired generals and admirals listed as signatories. Elaine Donnelly reported that by May 2010, 1,167 had signed.
6. "Flag & General Officers for the Military," accessed July 10, 2012, http://www.cmrlink. org/HMilitary.asp?docID1/4350.
7. Nathaniel Frank, Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America (New York: St. Martin's, 2009).
8. To recruit participants, we placed an advertisement on the websites of Military Times newspapers for 50,000 clicks/page views. Although the results of our survey are consistent with other data, the low response rate undermines their validity and reliability, and we did not rely on them to reach our conclusions.
9. For the extended version of this study, please visit www.palmcenter.org.
10. Cid Standifer, "Survey: DADT repeal has less impact than expected," Military Times, March 12, 2012.
11. Statement by General (ret.), May 1, 2012; Interview with Lieutenant General (ret.), May 4, 2012; Interview with Brigadier General (ret.) May 15, 2012; Interview with Brigadier General (ret.), May 1, 2012; Interview with Major General (ret.), May 4, 2012.
12. Interview #54, April 11, 2012; Interview #42, March 27, 2012; Interview #55, April 13, 2012; Interview #38, March 2, 2012; Interview #51, April 9, 2012; Interview #49, April 13, 2012. For interview details, see Appendix G of the extended version of this study.
13. Interview #38, March 2, 2012; Interview #50, April 11, 2012.
14. Interview with Dr. Jay Goodwin, April 2, 2012; Interview with Professor John Allen Williams, April 3, 2012; Interview with Professor David Kaiser, March 29, 2012; Interview with Professor David Levy, March 22, 2012. The 2010 Pentagon report on DADT is US Department of Defense.
15. Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," November 30, 2010.
16. Dave Boyer, "Public 'Readily Accepts' Rights for Gays, Obama Tells Donors," Washington Times, February 10, 2012.
17. Matthew Hay Brown, "A Smooth Turn from 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,"' Baltimore Sun, May 20, 2012.
18. Anna Mulrine, "Panetta: No Hitches in Military's Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,"' Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2012.
19. "'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Going Well," UPI, March 20, 2012.
20. We administered our survey exclusively to active-duty members of OutServe. While it would be unsurprising if units composed exclusively of heterosexual troops maintained a steady rate of readiness after repeal, units including openly LGB troops should have been the most likely to suffer a drop in readiness after the policy change. That said, none-quivalent group designs are vulnerable to the criticism that observed differences are the result of the nonequivalence, not the intervention.Of the 792 active-duty service members and mobilized reservists who completed the survey, 150 (18.9 percent) indicated that since DADT was repealed, someone in their units disclosed being gay or bisexual. Of those, 32 (21.3 percent) said that the disclosure had a negative impact on their units. In addition, 36 (4.5 percent) reported that since DADT was repealed, an openly gay or bisexual person joined their units. Of those, 12 (33.3 percent) said that the newcomer had a negative impact on their units. There was some overlap in that eight respondents reported a negative impact from a disclosure as well as from an LGB newcomer. Therefore, a total of 36 (32+ 12 - 8) discrete service members reported a negative impact from either a disclosure or from an LGB newcomer. Thus, 36/792 - 4.5 percent of respondents indicated that after DADT repeal, their units were negatively impacted when someone disclosed being gay or bisexual or when an openly gay or bisexual person joined their units. For results of annual Military Times polls.
21. "Military Times Poll," accessed July 12,2012, http://militar-ytimes.com/projects/polls/.
22. In response to a question asking, "How would you rate your unit's level of training for its wartime mission?" 57 percent of 2011 respondents answered that they were very well trained or well trained (29 percent adequate, 10 percent poor or very poor, 4 percent not sure), but 62 percent of 2012 respondents said that they were very well trained or well trained (27 percent adequate, 7 percent poor or very poor, 4 percent not sure). In response to a question about the overall quality of military officers, 60 percent of 2011 respondents answered that they were excellent or good (26 percent average, 14 percent fair or poor), but 63 percent of 2012 respondents said that they were excellent or good (24 percent average, 13 percent fair or poor). In response to a question about the overall quality of enlisted leaders in the military, 62 percent of 2011 respondents answered that they were excellent or good (25 percent average, 13 percent fair or poor), but 64 percent of 2012 respondents said that they were excellent or good (24 percent average, 12 percent fair or poor). In response to a question asking if "today's service members are better than they have ever been," 61 percent of 2011 respondents agreed or strongly agreed (28 percent neutral, 21 percent disagree or strongly disagree), but 52 percent of 2012 respondents agreed or strongly agreed (27 percent neutral, 21 percent disagree or strongly disagree). For complete 2011 and 2012 survey results, see "Military Times Poll." Note
23. Interview #55, April 13, 2012.
24. Scholars distinguish between task cohesion, which refers to whether or not group members pursue a common mission, and social cohesion, which refers to whether or not they share bonds of trust.
25. Robert MacCoun, Elizabeth Kier, and Aaron Belkin, "Does Social Cohesion Determine Motivation in Combat? An Old Question with an Old Answer," Armed Forces & Society 32, 4 (2006): 646-654.
26. Boyer, "Public 'Readily Accepts' Rights for Gays, Obama Tells Donors".
27. Brown, "A Smooth Turn from 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,"' May 20, 2012;
28. Interview with Professor Martin Cook, March 22, 2012.
29. Chris Johnson, "Obama Raises $1.4 Million at D.C. LGBT Fundraiser," Washington Blade, February 9, 2012.
30. Karen Parrish, "Report Shows Success of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal," American Forces Press Service, May 10, 2012.
31. Morten G. Ender, David E. Rohall, Andrew J. Brennan, Michael D. Matthews, and Irving Smith, "Civilian, ROTC, and Military Academy Undergraduate Attitudes toward Homosexuals in the U.S. Military," Armed Forces & Society, 38, 1 (January 2012): 164-172.
32. Although this paper was completed before repeal, Ender and his colleagues have collected additional data in 2012, and those data confirm that post-repeal, academy and ROTC cadets have become more tolerant of LGB peers.
33. Significance: p <.01.
34. Respondent #4, Palm Center survey. Active Duty Marine Sergeant, MOS: Light Attack Helicopter Squadron.
35. For survey responses cited in the previous paragraph, see "Military Times Poll." The Army Reserve exceeded its goal, reaching 104 percent of its target, and the Marine Corps Reserve also exceeded its goal at 106 percent of its target. The Navy Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard all met their targets at 100 percent. According to the press release, "all reserve components are on target to achieve their fiscal year attrition goals." The Army National Guard (ANG) was the only reserve component that did not meet its recruitment target in 2012, reaching only 95 percent of its goal. However, trend data suggest that the shortfall had nothing to do with DADT repeal. The ANG's post-repeal recruitment numbers mirrored its pre-repeal totals, indicating that repeal was not a likely factor in its performance. In FY 2011, the ANG was the only reserve component to fail to meet its goal, achieving 96 percent of its target.
36. Matthew Schofield, "Impact of Ending Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Law Negligible," McClatchy Newpapers, April 3, 2012.
37. Keith Alexander, "Prosecutor Says Marine Fatal Stabbing Was a Hate Crime," Washington Post, May 16, 2012.
38. "'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal Going Well," UPI, March 20, 2012, Correspondence with Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director, SLDN, July 2 and 9, 2012.
39. Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2020 Generating Health & Discipline in the Force Ahead of the Strategic Reset; Report 2012, 2012, 122.
40. The question asked, "Since DADT has been repealed, have you experienced, from your commander or other service member, any forms of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation? Please explain." OutServe administered the survey in December 2011, and 327 respondents answered the question about discrimination. Approximately 89 percent said they had not experienced discrimination, declined to answer, or indicated that any incidents were minor. The percentages are approximate due to subjectivity in coding. For example, the response "No, one incident of minor taunting but that's it" was counted as a "no.".
41. J. Walkley, "Command Sergeant Major Allegedly Assaults Lesbian Captain at Military Ball," Huffington Post, April 20, 2012.
42. Office of the Inspector General, US Department of Defense, Military Environment with Respect to the Homosexual Conduct Policy, March 16, 2000, 4.
43. Of the 327 respondents, 17.4 percent responded "very mixed," 4 percent said "mostly negatively," and 6.1 percent did not answer.
44. Interview #2, April 19, 2012.
45. In response to a question about their overall quality of life, 68 percent of 2011 respondents answered that it was excellent or good (22 percent average, 11 percent fair or poor), but 71 percent of 2012 respondents said that it was excellent or good (20 percent average, 9 percent fair or poor). In response to a question about job satisfaction, 79 percent of 2011 respondents answered that they were completely or somewhat satisfied (20 percent completely or somewhat dissatisfied), but 87 percent of 2012 respondents said that they were completely or somewhat satisfied (13 percent completely or somewhat dissatisfied, 1 percent no opinion). In response to a question asking whether they would recommend a military career to others, 76 percent of 2011 respondents said yes (13 percent no, 10 percent undecided), but 88 percent of 2012 respondents said yes (8 percent no, 4 percent undecided). For complete 2011 and 2012 survey results, see "Military Times Poll." Note
46. "Military Times Poll." We derived the percentage of heterosexual troops who reported a decrease in morale as well as those who oppose the new policy of open service from raw data provided by Military Times. According to the January 2012 Military Times survey of 751 heterosexual, active duty and mobilized service members, 13.7 percent report that DADT repeal "had a negative impact on my morale" and 30.6 percent of troops disagreed that "openly homosexual people should be allowed to serve in the military." Military Times data indicate that age had relatively little effect on whether DADT repeal undermined personal morale. Among younger respondents, 5.8 percent said that repeal had a positive impact on their morale, 13.4 percent reported a negative impact, and 80.8 percent reported no effect. Among respondents aged thirty-nine and above, the totals were 3.6 percent, 13.3 percent, and 83.1 percent, respectively. That said, younger respondents were more likely to agree that LGB troops should be allowed to serve openly (52.7 percent among younger respondents vs. 42.5 percent among older respondents). To obtain these results, we split Military Times respondents into two groups on the basis of their median age, 38.5. We excluded respondents who did not report their age from these analyses.
47. Interview #28, April 30, 2012.
48. Interview #2, April 19, 2012.
49. Interview with Professor James Parco, March 13, 2012.
50. Thomas W. Britt and James M. Dickinson, "Morale during Military Operations: A Positive Psychology Approach," in Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat 1, ed. Thomas W. Britt, Carl Castro and Amy B. Adler, (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006), 157-184.
51. Report of the Comprehensive Review, 89-92.
52. National Defense Research Institute, Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy: An Update of RAND's 1993 Study (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2010), 275-320;
53. National Defense Research Institute, Sexual Orientation and U.S. Military Personnel Policy: Options and Assessment (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993), 65-105;
54. Nathaniel Frank, "Gays in Foreign Militaries 2010: A Global Primer," Palm Center, 2010, accessed July 27, 2012, http://bit.ly/f5JyAb;
55. Aaron Belkin, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Is the Gay Ban Based on Military Necessity?" Parameters 33, 2 (Summer, 2003): 108-119.
56. US Department of Defense, Support Plan for Implementation to the Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," November 30, 2010
57. We derived these results from raw data provided by Military Times.
58. Interview #12, April 21, 2012.
59. Sam Rodgers, "Opinions of Military Personnel on Sexual Minorities in the Military," Zogby International, December 2006, accessed July 10, 2012, http://www.palmcenter. org/files/active/1/ZogbyReport.pdf.
60. Gregory M. Herek and Aaron Belkin, "Sexual Orientation and Military Service: Prospects for Organizational and Individual Change in the United States," in Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace and Combat 4, ed. Thomas W. Britt, Carl Castro, and Amy B. Adler, (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006), 134.