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DADT Road to Repeal: Let’s Talk About That Pentagon Study…

[Political incorrectness full-disclosure clause: 'Road to Repeal' is an over-simplification of what may merely be a Legislative and Executive Branch smokescreen that could be shielding us from a hairpin curve in the road ahead.  The challenge from that smokescreen is, at this point in time, we have to drive through it to see where the road really goes.]

Aside from what Congress put into the draft legislation of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at the end of May, there are three main venues that appear to be influencing the Pentagon’s ‘Road to Repeal’ of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).  One of the formative venues for any military leader to understand what is happening in his or her world is getting out and talking to military members in commander’s calls, town hall meetings and military get-togethers of various flavors.  In addition to that,  shortly after the Pentagon study regarding repeal was announced earlier this year, DoD launched the online inbox for comments on the issue.  (Hat tip to Daily Kos and Citizens for Repeal for their recent posting about that online inbox.  While I don’t necessarily agree with all the comments and fears about that online inbox, more to follow.)  Thirdly, the Pentagon is developing a survey that will provide quantifiable data regarding the impact of repeal (if, when, how it happens?….who really knows at this point?).  All three venues are important and have the ability to influence the senior leadership in the Pentagon but, when I talk about the Pentagon study, I primarily am referring to the as-yet unreleased questionnaire or survey.

Military leaders are supposed to be in touch with their troops and the best way to do that is to talk to them. Admiral Mullen, General Carter Ham and others have been doing exactly that.  During their visits to bases around the country and around the world, they field questions from the audience, some  of which deal with DADT repeal.  Every employee in any organization, if they care about that organization, wants their voice heard and wants their opinion to matter.  While it saddens me to hear people in the military express bigoted or uneducated concerns over repeal of DADT, that is reality.  That is also why the LGBT military personnel need to express their opinions and let their voices be heard as well.  For us to succeed, we need to educate the uninformed.  In all of the bluster over the current ‘Road to Repeal’, I am deeply concerned by the paranoia and conspiracy theories about this process from the LGBT community.  Righteous indignation has gotten the LGBT community nowhere, particularly regarding repeal of DADT.  What few gains we have made have been done so using the painfully slow, usually repressive three branches of government within the bounds of their archaic bureaucracy.  OK, down off my soapbox…

While it is less than stellar and definitely has limitations, the online inbox is another forum to provide the DoD comments on the Road to Repeal.  Originally, the online inbox was only accessible from a .mil domain but that was fixed.  In order to limit the respondents to military or government personnel, the only people who can access the site are ones with a Common Access Card (CAC).  The inbox claims it allows family member input but, they would have to be sitting down with someone who has a CAC to access the site.  Unless you are at a computer with the appropriate software and CAC reader, you can’t get to the online inbox to comment.  Also, as noted on the warning banned to the inbox, comments are not anonymous- you have to log in with a CAC credential that is unique to the government employee/military member.  I hope other military members provide valuable comments in that inbox, just don’t out yourself in the process.

The Daily Kos article about the inbox asked ‘If you were an LGBT servicemember, would you provide input?’  My answer was “Yes” and my advice is so should you!  LGBT servicemembers MUST let their voices be heard, otherwise the injustice of DADT will never end.  The only way Congress, the Pentagon and the rest of the world can understand the hardships and injustice of this law (10USC654) and the policy known as DADT is to educate them about it.  They know what the law says, and they know how the law is executed, but what they don’t understand is the human dimension of it.  One of the congressmen who voted in support of repeal said that his mind was changed when he heard from veterans and those impacted by DADT.  Our voices and our stories matter.  We don’t have to out ourselves in the online inbox to discuss the impact of the law and the injustices it imposes upon people in the military.  However, you do have to keep your comments on that site to under 1,000 characters.  If you are more verbose, you can go back and provide additional comments.  Now to the study…

Some of the community comments have referred to the online inbox as the Pentagon study or survey…it isn’t.  The online inbox is a way to provide comments to the Comprehensive Review Working Group but the Pentagon doesn’t study anything by merely saying, “Tell me what you think.”  As noted in an article by Michael Hamar and elsewhere, a contractor called Westat is involved in creating and carrying out the actual survey that consists of a series of questions regarding the Pentagon’s ‘Road to Repeal’.  While the conspiracy theorists will never be placated, it appears the Pentagon is trying to do this right.  With the Pentagon spending millions on this study and Westat’s survey, they need to show a clear and deliberate process for that cost, regardless of the conclusions that result from it.

One of the earlier versions of the survey were a bit concerning but the questionnaire has been revised and many of the slanted questions have been removed or modified.  As with any Pentagon document, there are periods for comments and revisions before anything is published.  As of last week, the survey was undergoing another review and had not been finalized.  While no questionnaire on gays in the military will ever make every single person happy, DoD is going through a process in an attempt to ask the right questions about the impact of repeal.  As alluded to in my intro, the scary part of this process is that we have to go through it to see where we end up.  Very few things in our government are predetermined and things can change if we work within the system limitations, as formidable as they may be.  I do believe many of the senior leaders in the Pentagon are not supporters of gays in the military; however, I also think the collective military is professional enough to get past that and operate even better in the future by allowing open service by gays and lesbians.  Whether we like it or not, we now are faced with the task of convincing them why that needs to happen.

There has been plenty of commentary on what Obama could have done to stop discharges.  We know that Congress should have included a non-discrimination provision as well as legislating actual repeal, rather than conditional repeal of DADT.  The greatest nation that was founded on the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should not discriminate against any of its citizens.  None of that changes the reality of where we are.  We have the Pentagon study, the tripartite certification and the Congressional review before we can get to actual repeal.  We can either engage in the process and do everything we can to advance our rights, or we can stay in the closet and get what is handed to us.