Survey On Don't Ask - Don't Tell

The Department of Defense is surveying thousands of service members about how they would react in a variety of situations if Don't Ask - Don't Tell is repealed. Now remember that the whole idea behind Don't Ask - Don't Tell, implemented in 1994, is that a gay person could serve in the military as long as they didn't make their sexual orientation known. This did not stop people from suspecting someone was gay. Heck, it didn't stop some people from knowing if a fellow service member was gay. So let's have a look at how the Department of Defense worded the survey questions.

I consider this statement leading off the questioning to be a bit comical.

Throughout this survey, "gay or lesbian" and "homosexual" are used interchangeably.

Isn't that a relief?

Here's one series of questions:

Did you ever serve in combat with a Service member of any rank whom you believed to be homosexual?

About how many other members of that combat unit also believed the Service member to be gay or lesbian?

How did that unit perform in combat?

Say what? Somehow suspecting a unit member is gay affects the combat performance of that unit? Nothing about training, equipment, or other factors? Just to make sure, here's the next question.

Among all the factors that affect a unit's performance in combat, how much did the belief that the Service member was gay or lesbian affect the unit’s combat performance:

Another question: If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would it affect how often your immediate unit socializes together off-duty?

Hmm, what if your unit consisted of an even number of men and women? How would that affect how often your unit socializes off duty?

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are assigned to share a room, berth or field tent with someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service member, which are you most likely to do?

* Take no action
* Discuss how we expect each other to behave and conduct ourselves while sharing a room, berth or field tent
* Talk to a chaplain, mentor, or leader about how to handle the situation
* Talk to a leader to see if I have other options
* Something else
* Don't know

First of all, how is that different from believing a person is gay or lesbian with DADT in place? I'm guessing that rooming with a gay or lesbian is scary because they're such predators, right? Not like those guys who rape their fellow female service members. BTW, if you choose "something else" you must type that in another box.

If a wartime situation made it necessary for you to share a room, berth or field tent with someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service member, which are you most likely to do?

Is it scarier in wartime?

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are assigned to bathroom facilities with an open bay shower that someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service member also used, which are you most likely to do?

Fend them off as they see me naked and instinctively attack me!

If a wartime situation made it necessary for you to share bathroom facilities with an open bay shower with someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service member, which are you most likely to do?

Curl up in a fetal position when the incoming mortar rounds start hitting!

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service member attended a military social function with a same-sex partner, which are you most likely to do?

Imply that all the single guys are dating each other?

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you had on-base housing and a gay or lesbian Service member was living with a same-sex partner on-base, what would you most likely do?

Yes, what if you lived right next door to a pair of them?

Last of all, here's a question that should not get a single "no" answer.

Do you have any family members, friends or acquaintances who are gay or lesbian, or whom you believe to be gay or lesbian?

We've all met someone we believe is gay. Somehow noticing that is very important in our society.