USA: Pentagon study says allowing gay troops to openly serve in the U.S. military would carry only a low risk to fighting ability

Record ID: 277087

  • Title: USA: Pentagon study says allowing gay troops to openly serve in the U.S. military would carry only a low risk to fighting ability
  • Date: 1st December 2010
  • Summary: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 30, 2010) (REUTERS) U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES AND JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN ENTER ROOM MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES SAYING: "The survey data showed that a higher showed that a higher proportion - between 40 and 60 percent - of those troops serving in predominantly a
  • Embargoed: 16th December 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAAX2UHH8AATMO9BMS1O88OEQS
  • Story Text: The Pentagon unveiled a study on Tuesday (November 30) that played down the impact of ending the U.S.military's ban on gays, but worries among U.S. generals about the fallout on troops fighting abroad could delay action.
    The results of the study dismissed or minimized concerns raised in Congress and some quarters of the military about President Barack Obama's plans to repeal the 17-year-old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy -- hopefully by the end of the year.
    "We are both convinced that our military can do this, even during this time of war," concluded study authors Army General Carter Ham and Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson.
    The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy bars gays from serving openly in the military but allows them to serve in the armed forces as long as they keep their sexual orientation private.
    At least 13,000 men and women have been expelled from the military since "don't ask, don't tell" went into effect, according to some estimates.
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that the study's survey results showed heightened concerns about repeal among combat units. This has alarmed the chiefs of the U.S. military services, given the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    "These findings do lead me to conclude that an abundance of care and preparation is required if we are to avoid a disruptive -- and potentially dangerous -- impact on the performance of those serving at the "tip of the spear" in America's wars, Gates told reporters.
    Big gains by Republicans in Nov. 2 congressional elections have raised doubts, however, about whether Obama can muster the votes to end the ban once the new Congress takes office in January. Opponents have argued its repeal would further stress a military already stretched thin by two wars.
    Gates called on the Senate to repeal the law by the end of the year. He noted that the measure before Congress would allow time for the U.S. military to first certify its forces are ready -- something potential court action would not allow.
    "If a court ordered us to do this tomorrow, I believe the risk to the force would be high -- if we had no time to prepare," Gates said.
    Gates refused to speculate on how long it would take to prepare the military for ending the ban.
    In the event of repeal, the study recommended an aggressive education program and training for armed forces members. It opposed separate bathrooms or living quarters for gay or lesbian troops, a possibility raised in the past by some in the U.S. military.
    The debate over ending the ban has evoked memories of past civil rights hurdles, particularly within the U.S. military.
    The study noted the military had faced far stronger resistance to racial integration in the 1940s and 1950s, when the armed forces were emerging from World War Two and in the midst of Cold War tensions and the Korean War.
    "But by 1953, 95 percent of all African-American soldiers were serving in racially integrated units, while public buses in Montgomery, Alabama, and other cities were still racially segregated," the study said.
    In contrast, the survey of just over 115,000 troops on ending the ban on gays showed a solid majority did not believe repeal would affect their ability to do their jobs. Some 69 percent believed they had already worked with a homosexual.
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