Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The Discharges Continue

Cross-posted at Daily Kos.

Since the signing of the bill which would allow for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal on December 22, 2010, the military has continued to discharge servicemembers suspected of or found to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Yesterday, the Advocate reported that the Pentagon has confirmed a new round of investigations and discharges under DADT.

The Pentagon confirmed Monday that more service members have been discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” pending certification of the policy’s repeal, with one individual’s discharge approved as recently as Thursday.

A total of four airmen have been discharged under the policy in the last several weeks, Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez confirmed Monday.

An Air Force spokesman, Maj. Joel Harper, stated that these discharges were for individuals who voluntarily came out and sought discharge. While this may be true in these cases, they are not the only ones. Yesterday, Army Veteran and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis made the following statement:

These Air Force discharges underscore that DADT investigations and discharges continue. Unfortunately, SLDN has a client right now who was recently recommended for discharge at a board hearing, and his paperwork is headed to the Navy Secretary. He made no statement, and he wants to continue serving. We have another client who is having a board hearing later this week, and if this senior enlisted person is recommended for discharge, her paperwork will likely be before the Navy Secretary in short order. She, too, wishes to continue serving. Let me be clear. At SLDN, we have scores of clients who have been advised they are under DADT investigations. Some of these clients have between 10 and 15 years of honorable service, few made voluntary statements, and none to my knowledge has asked to be ‘separated expeditiously.’ For these service members, especially, certification and final repeal cannot come soon enough. The continued stress of investigations and the risk of separation under DADT is real and very much imminent.”

That "more humane" DADT doesn't seem to be working out very well.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on Thursday that he will not certify DADT repeal before his retirement, effective June 30. His replacement, former CIA chief Leon Panetta, has not stated whether he will certify repeal. In a prepared statement he has said only that, "If confirmed, and in the event Secretary Gates does not sign such a certification prior to his departure from office, I will work closely with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to access whether the elements for certification in the law are met before signing it myself."

Despite the various service chiefs stating that they have encountered no problems with the force in adminstering repeal training, there is still no target date for completion. Comments made by VADM William Gortney to the House Armed Services Committee indicate that recommendations from the service chiefs to ADM Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), could be ready by late July or early August.

The President, the CJCS, and the Secretary of Defense must certify repeal before it can be implemented. After certification, per the "trigger" repeal legislation, a 60-day waiting period will commence. Then, and only then, will DADT repeal be completed.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not dead. It is not repealed. It is still the law, and servicemembers and their families are still suffering under it.

For a comprehensive timeline of DADT repeal, please click here.