COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Service: Gays/Lesbians
Survey Casts Doubt on Recruits’ Reluctance to Serve with Gays
Rick Maze, Army Times
October 10, 2005
Resistance to serving in the military alongside openly gay people may not be as strong as expected.
Lifting the Defense Department ban on service by openly gay service
members would have no effect on the decision to enlist of 76 percent of
those questioned in a new survey released Monday. The survey was
commissioned by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the
Military, a research institute affiliated with the University of
California, Santa Barbara.
Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said the presence of openly gay
service members would deter their service, and 2 percent said they
would be more likely to join the military if openly gay service members
were allowed.
Aaron Belkin, the research institute’s director, said the survey
“may cast some doubt” on the argument that having opening
gay service members would hurt morale and deter enlistment.
The survey of 18- to 24-year-olds was designed to match the population
of people entering the military, according to a statement from the
center. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed described themselves as
Republicans, 30 percent as independents and 17 percent as Democrats. Of
those surveyed in August, 82 percent were male and 18 percent female.
The survey has a margin of error of 5.8 percent, according to a statement from the center.
While resistance to openly gay service members may not be as strong as
anticipated, the White House, the Department of Defense and the
congressional committees overseeing military personnel issues have
shown little interest in amending the so-called “don’t ask,
don’t tell, don’t pursue” policy established during
the Clinton administration. That compromise was reached after President
Clinton tried to make good on a campaign promise and lift the
military’s long-standing prohibition on service by gays and
lesbians.
With recruiting at a low point, the fact that 21 percent of service-age
youths say they would not join if there were openly gay service members
might still be considered a powerful argument for maintaining the
status quo.
“If 21 percent of these individuals [would be] less likely to
enlist following repeal of the ban, this means that perhaps 38,000
potential recruits would be less likely to serve in the military if
they knew they might be serving beside open gays,” Belkin said.
“The real question it whether people do what they say
they’ll do and avoid the military because gays are allowed to
serve openly,” he said. “It’s one thing to register
your disapproval in a survey. It’s quite another to say,
‘Now that gays are allowed to admit who they are, I’m going
to let that drive me away from the military career I wanted.’
”
The center’s statement notes that when the Canadian and British
militaries opened their ranks to gays, polls showed there was strong
opposition by a majority of service-age people. However, recruiting was
not a problem after gays were admitted.
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