Defense Department officials e-mailed surveys to 400,000 service members as part of a special review to prepare the military for a potential repeal of the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that bans gays and lesbians from openly serving, Pentagon officials announced July 7.
Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of U.S. Army Europe, and Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, head the review panel that is assessing the current law.
“The voices of the service members are still vitally important,” the general said, noting that although amendments to the current law were approved by legislators in May, lawmakers still require the Pentagon review.
“This is draft regulation, it is not yet enacted into law, and there are several hurdles yet to come,” Ham said.
The group has been meeting with troops and family members since February. Surveys also were distributed because time and financial constraints precluded meeting with every single member, Ham explained in a recent Pentagon Channel interview.
The surveys will give the panel a baseline of information that best represents the military’s 2.2 million service members and their families, Ham said, stressing the importance of service member feedback.
Engaging the force may be more important now than before the amendments were passed, Ham said.
Half of the surveys went to active-duty service members, and half were sent to the reserve components. Troops who received the surveys were selected based on age, rank, service, component, military specialties, education, marital status and other factors to ensure broad and thorough feedback on a potential repeal, Ham said.
The working group also plans to continue meeting with service members and families, Ham said. He and Johnson have met with troops at “a large variety of bases, posts, camps and stations around the country,” the general said, adding that they’re planning to meet with troops stationed overseas, as well.
Such sessions have proven invaluable to the working group, Ham added.
“What these sessions do afford is an opportunity for Mr. Johnson and myself to speak directly to service members, to hear in their own words what their assessment of the impact of repeal of the current law would be, should Congress decide to take that action,” he said. “Those sessions provide us context. They provide us substance to what we know we will get statistically from the survey and put it in real terms of how real service members feel about this.”
An online inbox also is available for military and civilian members of the Defense Department. Troops can log into www.defense.gov/dadt with their common access card to provide their input.
This site is not confidential; however, directions from the site, as well as in the survey, are provided for members who wish to continue a “confidential dialogue” with non-Defense Department members of the working group, the general said.
Once service members enter the confidential site, they will be given an untraceable PIN number they then can use to log on from any computer.
This tool will allow gay and lesbian service members to remain anonymous and establish confidential communication, Ham explained. It’s available to all service members, he added, because some may not feel comfortable providing candid remarks.
“It is vitally important that service members continue to be open and frank and totally honest with us in their feedback,” Ham said. “That certainly has been the case to date, whether it’s been a large-group session or a small group or the online inbox. The service members and their families have been invaluable to Mr. Johnson and myself.”
“We need that to continue in order to do our jobs and be representative of the force as we address the significant policy matters that would follow repeal of this law, if that is what Congress decides to do,” the general said.
Also, 150,000 surveys will be mailed to military spouses by the end of the month, Ham said. Ham stressed the importance of promptly completing and returning the surveys. The hope, he said, is that all of the surveys will be submitted within 45 days of receipt, he said.
The working group’s final report is due to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates by Dec. 1.