The True Cost of DADT a/k/a the Cost Of Religious Based Discrimination

As our do nothing faux "fierce advocate" in the White House and the leadership of the Congressional Democrats apparently contemplate their navels rather that do anything substantive and meaningful in terms of repealing DADT - or enacting LGBT friendly legislation such as ENDA - the Palm Center has released an new report on the real cost of the failed DADT policy and the extent to which DADT IMPEDES military readiness. The report makes it clear that no one gains from DADT except the professional Christian set that uses DADT as one of its issues to dupe the ignorant and bigoted into handing over their hard earned money to the likes of Elaine Donnelly, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, et al, who are little more than opportunistic parasites (here in Virginia, the same holds true for Victoria Cobb and the leeches at The Family Foundation who use homophobia to line their own pockets). The full report can be found here. The following are some highlights from the report:
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This report details a litany of costs incurred by the military, the troops—both gay and non-gay alike, and the nation as a result of DADT. Indeed research and experience now show that the policy is a costly failure that has had the opposite of its intended effect. DADT was supposed to preserve indispensable talent in the armed forces; protect privacy, morale, and unit cohesion; and let gays who did not voluntarily reveal their sexual orientation serve their country discreetly without undue hardship. It was, in short, supposed to make sexuality into a non-
issue in the U.S. military.
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Yet the actual impact of the policy has been quite different. Far from protecting military readiness, the policy has harmed it, sacrificing badly needed personnel that is replaced with less qualified talent; undermining cohesion, integrity, and trust through forced dishonesty; hurting the morale of gay troops by limiting their access to support services; wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars; invading the privacy of all service members—gay and non-gay alike—by casting a cloud of suspicion and uncertainty over the intimate lives of everyone in the armed forces; and damaging the military’s reputation which makes it harder to recruit the best and brightest America has to offer.
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The overall results of DADT have been to:
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1. Waste the talents of thousands of essential personnel with “critical skills” who were fired for their sexual orientation, including Arabic language specialists, medical professionals, combat aviators, counter-intelligence agents,
military police and more.
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2. Strike at the heart of unit cohesion by breaking apart cohesive fighting teams, and undermining trust, integrity, and honesty among soldiers.
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3. Hamper recruitment and retention by shrinking the pool of potential enlistees and discouraging many of America’s best and brightest young people from joining, or remaining in, the military.
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4. Lower the quality of military personnel by discharging capable gay troops leaving slots to be filled through “moral waivers” that admit felons, substance abusers, and other high-risk recruits.
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9. Increase reports of harassment that are more difficult to investigate and harder to prevent because of the policy’s strictures on gathering honest information and because of service members’ inability to safely report abuse.
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10. Embarrass the military through consistently bad press reports on an institution increasingly seen as intolerant, widening the “civil-military gap” and further hampering recruitment efforts by alienating Americans who view the military as out of touch.
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11. Cost the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars paid toward lost troop replacements, administrative enforcement, and defending the policy in court.
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Rather than hiring or retaining competent gay troops, the military began to hire less competent recruits, including those who scored poorly on military aptitude test and enlistees who were granted “moral waivers”— invitations to enlist despite a prior record of criminal activity or substance abuse that would normally prohibit entry, including murder, kidnapping, and “making terrorist threats.” In 2005 the army increased by nearly 50 percent the number of new recruits it granted moral waivers. Between 2003 and 2006, 4,230 convicted felons, 43,977 individuals convicted of serious misdemeanors, including assault, and 58,561 illegal drug abusers were
allowed to enlist. According to GAO, soldiers who are granted moral waivers are more likely to be discharged for misconduct than those who are not.
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The report in short is scathing. Especially since DADT in truth ONLY exists so that Christianist can feel morally superior about themselves and savor the punishment of those who do not live in accordance with Christianist religious beliefs. DADT's continued existence is an outrage and makes a farce of the alleged, but unrealized religious freedom promised by the U.S. Constitution.