DADT Report: 70% of Soldiers OK with Gays in Military

by Jordan Yerman | November 30, 2010 at 02:57 pm

170 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Don't Ask Don't Tell Report: 70% of US Soldiers Don't Object to Gays Serving Openly in Military

A Pentagon survey on servicemembers' opinions on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy found that 70% of US soldiers do not have a problem with gays or lesbians serving openly. The Pentagon DADT survey was based on questions asked to 115,000 troops as well as 44,200 military spouses. DADT has been in place for 17 years.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates urged the Senate to repeal DADT definitively, rather than leave it up to the courts. The House of Representatives has already approved a repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Of the 115,052 active troops surveyed, 69% believe they have already worked alongside a gay service member, and 92% of those said it had a positive impact or no impact on their working relationship.

Responding to the Pentagon Report, President Barack Obama pledged to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, though the White House appealed a federal judge's decision which struck down DADT.

Today’s report confirms that a strong majority of our military men and women and their families—more than two thirds—are prepared to serve alongside Americans who are openly gay and lesbian. This report also confirms that, by every measure—from unit cohesion to recruitment and retention to family readiness—we can transition to a new policy in a responsible manner that ensures our military strength and national security. And for the first time since this law was enacted 17 years ago today, both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have publicly endorsed ending this policy.