[classicman]

The report was out today....

WASHINGTON – On the 17th anniversary of President Bill Clinton’s signing of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the Pentagon just minutes ago released a multimillion-dollar survey of the troops that shows overwhelming support for allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.

Some of the key findings:

* 92% of troops who worked alongside people they believe are gay said their experience was very good, good or neutral.

* 74% of troop spouses say DADT repeal would have no impact on their view of whether their spouses should continue to serve. This refutes the contention by repeal opponents that families would be concerned that their spouses would be working alongside gays.

* 84% of Marine combat units who worked alongside those they believed were gay said the experience was very good, good or neutral.

* 70% of troops believe that DADT repeal would have mixed, positive or not effect.

* 30% of troops think that DADT repeal would have negative results.

* The risk of repeal of DADT to overall military effectiveness is low.

* Repeal would not create widespread or long-lasting problems in the military. This would counter concerns from those who worry that the troops would be resistant to change.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, accompanied by DOD General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and U.S. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, conducted a news conference at the Pentagon to talk about the Comprehensive Review Work Group report.

Gates said that a strong majority – more than two-thirds of troops – don’t object to serving with gays and lesbians. He also said there was a “low risk” of problems by repealing the policy.

He highly recommended that Congress repeal DADT so that a thorough, thoughtful preparation can be made to implement the process of changing the policy.

Gates pointed to recent court challenges to DADT as a reason for Congress to pass the legislation, saying that Congress would be “rolling the dice” that judicial intervention won’t occur. DADT was ruled unconstitutional earlier this year by a federal judge in California, a decision that is now appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He said the Pentagon would need time to prepare to do the job right, and that the courts could force an immediate end to the policy and cause massive disruptions to the armed forces.

Mullen added three key points to what Gates said. He said strong leadership from top to bottom of the chain of command was necessary to make the change successful and smooth. He said it was important to maintain high standards of conduct and honor. And he stressed the need for an orderly change of policy, not one forced by the courts.

“I hope we spend as much time on the implementation plan as we did on the working group report,” Mullen said.

Twenty-five nations allow open service by gays and lesbians and all of them have implemented repeal of their bans without major disruptions – including close allies such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Israel.

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