Don't ask don't tell

KendallR10

I kinda understand it but can someone really help me understand it?

Like explain it in 5 year old terms?

kmmssg

Sure.  If you are gay/lesbian you can be in the military as long as you do not act upon this chosen lifestyle in anyway and do not admit you are gay/lesbian.

KendallR10

can people ask if you if you're straight?

SamiJoeB

You asked about DADT, this is the link to a wikipedia article about it..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell

This is a summary of DADT. (anyone else, feel free to add or correct me, but this is how I have interpreted it)

Basically, President Clinton campaigned on the “promise” that all citizens would be allowed to serve in the military.  The Secretary of Defense and The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the highest ranking military officer, currently Admiral Michael Mullen, though General Martin Dempsey has been nominated.), said “Hmm that’s a nice idea, but that could quite seriously effect military readiness, and unit cohesion.” The compromise they came up with was “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue.”

 

Don’t Ask: Military or appointed officials will not ask about or require SM to reveal their sexual orientation.

 

Don’t Tell: states that a SM may be discharged for claiming to be a homosexual or bisexual or making a statement indicating a tendency towards or intent to engage in homosexual activities, EXCEPT, when they are only saying so to get out of the military or exempt themselves from service.

 

Don’t Pursue: establishes what is minimally required for an investigation to be initiated.

 

A "Don’t Harass" provision was added to the policy later. It ensures that the military will not allow harassment or violence against SM for any reason.  This part was added after former President Clinton cited a particularly brutal murder of Allen Schindler, who was beaten so badly that his corpse was “nearly unrecognizable” by a fellow shipmate Terry Helvey (his punishment is life in prison at Leavenworth).

 

There is an exception for Military Reservists, which was added to prevent NG and other  SM’s in the reserves, from claiming to be homosexual in order to escape combat.

 

More than 13,000 service members have been discharged from military service since 1993, under DADT, that is for all branches USA, USN, USAF, USMC, and USCG.

 

From an economic stand point, The GAO (Government Accountability Office) reported at least $95.4 million in recruiting costs and at least $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003, while noting that the true figures might be higher.  West Point concluded that figure should be closer to $363 million, including $14.3 million for "separation travel" once a SM is discharged.

 

Here's a link to the story about Allen Shindler if you want to know more about that..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_R._Schindler,_Jr.


All of that being said, I really hope this doesn't turn into a political discussion...

SarahP787

But since DADT has been repealed, this probably won't be applicable for long. Has the repeal actually gone into effect yet?

lyonstm

The appeal is currently not in affect yet.  As a matter of fact, the last time I heard in the news is that the military has an unlimited amount of time to implement this appeal.  Something tells me that its going to be a while before it comes into affect.

SamiJoeB

A July 6, 2011 ruling from a federal appeals court barred further enforcement of the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members. The repeal act established a process for winding down the DADT policy. The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must certify in writing that they have reviewed the Pentagon's report on the effects of DADT repeal, that the appropriate regulations have been reviewed and drafted and that implementation of repeal regulations "is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces". Once certification is given, a 60-day waiting period will begin before DADT is formally repealed.

lyonstm

Second what SamiJoe said.  Whats currently going on in the Armed Forces is a bunch of briefings regarding the turn over of the DADT.  Although we have had all these briefings and such, we are still under the DADT policy until it has officially taken affect. 

Unfortunately, as of two days ago, the courts have partially reinstated DADT:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/16/dadt.reconsideration/index.html?iref=allsearch

firsttimersluck

Ugh.. this is the story of my life growing up.

KendallR10

Thank you everyone!

calindi

The briefing that was given the JAGS at the Law Depot at Parris Island about the change of policy this summer basically said that effective immediately, they will not make any movements to prosecute or start proceedings to remove a service member for duty for being gay.  They're still operating under the idea that they won't ask, and if someone walks into a recruiting depot and announces they're gay, the recruiters were instructed to ignore that statement completely.  However, they haven't made any moves to allow service members who were kicked out under this policy to reenlist if they would like, which will likely be allowed after the new policy (or rather, the removal of this policy) takes effect.

So essentially, being gay or not being gay no matter affects active and potential service members.  At least in the Marines... I don't know how other branches are handling the transition.

LetsHikeToday

Same as navy. H can recruit them if they say they are gay.