Record number of gays discharged from U.S. military

But Pentagon says 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is working

April 6, 1998
Web posted at: 11:16 p.m. EDT (0316 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon discharged a record 997 service members for homosexuality last year, officials say. But in a soon-to-be released report, the Pentagon argues that its "don't ask, don't tell" policy is working.

The policy allows gays to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation private, but punishes those who engage in homosexual acts or take actions that call attention to their orientation.

"There are some indications that there has been an increase as far as some of the people who have declared themselves to be homosexual and have opted to getting out of the military," Defense Secretary William Cohen said Monday. "But in terms of the policy itself overall, I think it's working."

He did not elaborate.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was hammered out in a 1993 compromise after President Clinton tried to enact his campaign promises of ending the ban on gays in the U.S. military.

But since the policy went into effect in 1994, the number of discharges has climbed: 597 in 1994, 722 in 1995, 850 in 1996, and 997 in 1997, according to the latest Pentagon statistics.

"That's a highly significant number," said Michelle Benecke of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "Nine hundred ninety-seven discharges under the gay policy would be the highest rate of gay discharges since 1986, and the highest number of discharges since 1989."

Gay rights groups say the numbers show that military gays remain the targets of "witch hunts" and improper investigations by overzealous commanders, despite repeated Pentagon assurances.

"Some commanders definitely are asking, pursuing and harassing, in contravention of 'don't ask, don't ask, don't pursue,'" Benecke said.

But the Pentagon says that while there may be isolated cases of commanders going too far, the majority of discharges follow voluntary statements by gays, who are no longer asked about sexual orientation during recruiting.

Dismissal on grounds of homosexuality involves an administrative discharge, which does not carry a bad-conduct stigma.

Sources say that more than half of those discharged declared they were homosexual soon after entering the military. Pentagon officials theorize some may simply have wanted to leave the military.

"We intend to continue to emphasize the fact that this policy should not be abused, there should be no attempt to hunt or seek out those who may be homosexual, and that we intend to strictly enforce the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," Cohen said.

However, sources say the Pentagon plans to issue additional guidelines for gay investigations when it releases its review of the policy later this month.

Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Court looking at 'don't ask, don't tell' policy - January 18, 1996
• Military still asking, telling, paper says

Related sites:

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• Welcome to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
• DefenseLINK - Official Web Site of U.S. Dept of Defense

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