Defense Issues DADT Surveys to Troops

The Pentagon has issued 400,000 surveys to active duty and reserve troops this week to prepare for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

The surveys were delivered to 200,000 active duty troops and 200,000 reservists via e-mail Wednesday, according to the American Forces Press Service. Gen. Carter F. Ham, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe and co-head of the review panel, said the Pentagon survey was integral to the repeal of the law.

While the review committee has been meeting with troops and family members since February, the surveys were distributed to gauge opinions a cross section of the military's 2.2 million members. According to the article, the recipients were chosen based on age, rank, service, component, military specialties, education, marital status and other factors.

Additionally, a nonconfidential online inbox is available for military and civilian members of the Defense Department to log their input of a possible repeal. The site is not confidential, but after logging onto the site, they can acquire an untraceable PIN number, which they can use to log in on any computer to continue a "confidential dialogue" with non-Defense Department members of the working group, the general said.

"What these sessions do afford is an opportunity for Mr. [Pentagon lawyer Jeh] Johnson and myself to speak directly to servicemembers, 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," Ham said in the article. "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 servicemembers feel about this."