New study: Gays should be allowed to serve - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

New study: Gays should be allowed to serve

A new study by a group of retired military officers says gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military because their presence does not interfere with combat operations.

Released Tuesday, the study represents the work of four retired military officers, one from each branch of the service, based on interviews with Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, military personnel policy experts, and members of the Clinton administration who helped to implement the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy — among them retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Minter Alexander, who in 1993 was in charge of the effort.

The current policy states that the presence of gay service members would present an “unacceptable risk” to troop morale and discipline. The policy and its supporters claim that gays serving openly in the military would make it difficult for service members to trust their fellow troops on the battlefield.

In the study, officers write that allowing gays to serve openly “is unlikely to pose any significant risks to morale, good order, discipline and cohesion” because tolerance among military members to the presence of gays has “grown dramatically.”

Banning gays may actually harm the military because it deprives it of a valuable talent pool, the study says. It cites a government report that said nearly 800 men and women with skills deemed “mission-critical” by the Pentagon have been dismissed because of the ban.

The study was sponsored by the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California Santa Barbara.

“Officers reached their findings independently and required a written pledge that the Center would publish their recommendations regardless of the political implications,” the center said in a statement.

The study comes as the presidential election has thrown a new spotlight on the military’s ban on gays.

In a recent interview with Military Times, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the likely Democratic presidential candidate, said anyone willing and able to risk his or her life for the United States should have the opportunity to do so openly, regardless of sexual orientation.

In a similar interview with Military Times in 2007, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the likely Republican presidential candidate, said that he sees no reason to change the policy at this time.

Navy Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan told The Associated Press that he had no opinion on the matter before joining the panel but was struck by the “loss of personal integrity required by individuals to carry out “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Tuesday’s study also marks the first time a Marine, Brig. Gen. Hugh Aitke, has officially supported a repeal of the ban.