|
Gays
in the Military: Connecting the Dots
by
Commander
Beth F. Coye
U.S. Navy (retired)
Gays
and lesbians are 2.9 percent of the total
force
or over 76,000 personnel. A Damocles
sword
hangs over each of their heads on a
daily basis |
A former Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs, General John M. Shalikashvili,
announced this week he has reviewed new evidence
and changed his mind on the disputatious subject
of gays in the military. I applaud the general,
for it is the mark of a great leader to be open to
change when given new information and time. The
following historical story about decisions that
were made regarding another military minority is
offered in the interest of throwing light on gays
in the military policy questions of the day.
In 1970, military
planners faced the challenge of how to recruit and
maintain the highest quality of personnel as the
All Volunteer Force loomed on the horizon. One
primary untapped recruiting source kept recurring
as a partial solution — women! After WWII the
Congress had legislated that women be no more than
2% of the total military force.
But to change policies
about women in the military would require
overcoming the deep-seated attitude that a
“woman’s role” was not in the military. For
example, a 1972 survey at the Naval War College,
Newport, R.I., revealed that 74% of male naval
officers in the current classes disagreed that
“women officers should be given the same
opportunities as male officers including sea duty
and flying status.” Sixty-one percent (61%)
disagreed that the Navy “should consider a pilot
program in which women serve onboard combatants,
e.g., carriers.”
Nonetheless, having
considered “the women option” fully, these
military personnel planners recommended that
quotas and career opportunities for women be
dramatically changed. Gradually discriminatory
laws and regulations were lifted and today women
are 15-17% of the total force and enjoy wide
ranging career opportunities, including sea duty
and flying status.
Military planners today
confront a similar personnel reality to that of
the early 1970s; their superiors are asking for
analysis of all options to increase troop
strength. If logic prevails, one of the primary
choices to be selected — without either
degrading quality or considerable expenditure for
increased benefits — involves yet another
minority group, gays and lesbians.
Gays and lesbians are
2.9% of the total force or over 76,000 personnel.
A Damocles sword hangs over each of their heads on
a daily basis. But, if anachronistic personnel
policies were reversed and the proportion of gay
military men were the same as in the total
population, this number would likely increase by
an additional 42,000 gay men
Unlike the social climate
regarding military women thirty five years ago,
polling data supports changing policies toward
military gays. According to a new Zogby
International poll of 545 U.S. troops who served
in Iraq and Afghanistan, three-quarters of the
troops say they are personally comfortable
interacting with gays with only 5% saying they are
“very” uncomfortable. Other polls affirm that
both military members and the general public are
ready for a change in policy toward gays.
With the overall
military’s attitudes against them, Pentagon
planners in the 1970s took bold steps to manage
troop level issues caused by creation of the All
Volunteer Force. It was military leaders, by the
way, and not congressional leaders who launched
the initiatives on creating equal opportunities
for military women.
I ask today’s Pentagon
planners — just as General Shalikashvili has
done — to connect the dots between dropping a
discriminatory policy and satisfying an urgent
need for increased troop levels without lowering
standards. We did it for military women and have
seen a far stronger force because of those
measured, tough personnel decisions so many years
ago.
Commander Coye, a former
commanding officer, is a graduate of Wellesley
College, the American University School of
International Service and the School of Naval
Warfare (Naval War College). She taught Political
Science at the Naval War College and several
undergraduate colleges. An Advisory Board member
of the Military Equality Alliance and Emeritus
Board member of Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network, she resides in Ashland, Oregon.
|
Beth Coye
with her father, RADM Jack Coye
|
Notes: (1) In the
sixth paragraph above, the number 76,000 is used
as current total force gay/lesbians. The media
usually refers to 65,000, which is derived from
the Urban Institute 2004 Study. Using the same
methodology as the Urban Institute Study, and
updating with 2006 force figures, the number
increases to 76,000 gays and lesbians serving in
the total force (active duty/national
guard/reserves.)
(2) The number of 42,000
additional gay men would be if the proportion of
gay military men were the same as in the general
population (conservatively at 4%). More backup
data is available if needed.
(3) Para . 2 above: Naval
War College Review,Jan-Feb 1973, “Is There Room
for Women in Navy Management, An Attitudinal
Survey”, pp. 69-87.
(4) I had considerable
input toward helping make changes for Navy women
in the ‘70s, including writing a benchmark study
for the Chief of Naval Personnel, then VADM Dave
Bagley (who was tasked by the then CNO, ADM
Bud Zumwalt.)
Versions of this article were previously published in
Navy Times and Ashland Daily Tidings
Beth
Coye is the author of MY NAVY TOO. (a
creative memoir)
GMT readers are offered a publisher's
special price of $10.00,
incl. shipping and handling and
autographing.
Send check to Cedar Hollow Press,
1609 Peachy Road, Ashland, OR, 97520,
with information on autographing. |
|
|