A new study to be released by the Palm Center on Tuesday will show that foreign militaries that transitioned quickly to allow openly gay members to serve experienced no significant disruptions.
The study from the research group at the University of California, Santa Barbara, arrives as Pentagon leaders contend they would need a year or longer to implement changes to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”
According to The New York Times, “The 151-page study, which updates existing studies on gay service members in Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other countries, offers the first broad look at the issue in foreign militaries since Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for an end to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ earlier this month.”
The study is authored principally by Nathaniel Frank (pictured), who wrote the book Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America. It contradicts repeal opponents who say a change in policy would undermine troop morale or necessitate separate facilities for gay soldiers.
“On implementation, the study said that most countries made the change swiftly, within a matter of months and with what it termed little disruption to the armed services,” reports the Times. “Mr. Frank said the study did not look at what happened if the change was implemented gradually because, he said, ‘I don’t think any of the militaries tried it.’”
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