Homosexuals Should Be Allowed To Serve Openly In The Military

Andrew Keating

Homosexuals Should Serve Openly in the Military

According to the International Herald Tribune, at least 58 Arab linguists were kicked out of the U.S. military ("U.S. military continues to discharge gay Arab linguists, and Congress members seek hearing", Par. 1). One might ask why, during this time of combating Islamic terrorist networks and insurgents in Iraq, would the military get rid of people with such valuable talents? The answer is simple: these men and women are homosexual. Gays and lesbians can serve in the U.S. military but only if they keep their sexuality a secret. This is known as the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and has been in effect since 1993. The United States is one of only a handful of nations in NATO that do not permit openly gay individuals to serve in the military (Ottosson 8). The United States should replace this archaic policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for three main reasons: it's harmful and expensive to our military, it unfairly discriminates against homosexuals, and our closest allies in the War on Terrorism have lifted these bans with no effect on military fighting capability.

The current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is harmful to the U.S. military in two different ways. Not only is the policy further escalating the manpower shortages in the U.S. military it also cost millions of dollars to enforce.

Our nation has had a shortage of Arab linguists, even after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to the Associated Press just 543 Arabic and 166 Farsi linguists graduated from the Defense Language Institute in 2004 ("More gay linguists discharged than first thought", Par. 11). 2004 is the year in which 849 servicemen died fighting an insurgency in Iraq. Arab linguists are instrumental in fighting these insurgent networks. Not allowing gays to serve openly may also deter homosexuals from signing up in a time when the Army is going to great lengths to increase its recruitment. According to Mark Benjamin, the Army is increasing its maximum enlistment age from 40 to 42 (Par. 5). And the U.S. military is also approving more waivers to allow criminals with major offenses, otherwise ineligible for service, to join (Burgess, Par.1). These are clear signs the military is short on men and women, why not lift the ban on openly homosexual individuals and get even more new recruits?

The second way the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is harmful to our nation and military is the cost of enforcement of the policy. The Associated Press writes "discharging troops under this policy on homosexuals cost $363.8 million dollars" ("Report: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' costs $363M", Par.2). This number also includes the cost to replace and train the 10,000 servicemen and women discharged under the policy, which was added to the Government Accountability Office's estimated cost of only $190.5 million.

The current policy also discriminates against homosexuals unfairly, with no evidence supporting the argument that "unit cohesion" or morale would be broken with open homosexuals serving. In fact, according to a 2006 Zogby International Poll of troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, "nearly 73% say they are comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians" (Par.7). The Zogby poll also stated that "27% of those who know a gay or lesbian peer said it would impact the morale of their unit" (Par.8). These polls show that a majority of U.S. troops would be comfortable serving with openly homosexual individuals. Not only do servicemen and women have this opinion, retired generals do too. John Shalikashvili, a retired army general and chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997, wrote "I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces" (Par.8).

The final reason to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the U.S. military is the examples set by some our nation's closest allies in the War on Terror. The United States and Turkey are the only two countries in NATO that do not allow gays to serve openly in the military. Turkey is currently applying to be accepted into the European Union, which would force them to replace their discriminatory policy leaving the United States as the only one that won't allow homosexuals to serve openly. The British military started allowing gays to serve