‘Don’t Ask’ Policy Decried as Gay Discharges on Rise

The number of people expelled from the military for homosexuality rose last year to the highest total since 1987, military figures show.

The military dismissed 1,250 people last year for homosexual conduct or for stating their homosexuality, up from 1,241 in 2000, according to figures provided by the service branches to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group.

About one-sixth were from a Kentucky Army base where a soldier thought to be gay was beaten to death in 1999.

Reports of anti-gay harassment increased 23%, from 871 in 2000 to 1,075 last year, the organization said in its annual report on the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The policy, which took effect in 1994, allows gay men and lesbians to serve as long as they keep their sexual orientation private and do not engage in homosexual acts.

“This policy undercuts the very liberties and freedoms our military members fight to protect,” the organization said. It contended the Pentagon allows an anti-gay atmosphere to pervade its ranks by failing to hold commanders accountable when harassment is reported.

A Pentagon inspector general’s report issued in 2000 said anti-gay behavior was common. The Pentagon subsequently announced it was stepping up training to try to eliminate such behavior and educate personnel about the policy, but C. Dixon Osburn, the advocacy group’s executive director, said the military has made few changes.

“When a problem continues to fester, things get worse,” he said.

Lt. Col. James Cassella, a spokesman for the Defense Department, said the Pentagon is conducting a survey to get a better handle on anti-gay harassment. Meanwhile, he said, “we expect commanders at all levels to exercise good judgment in implementing the policy in a manner that is both fair and consistent.”

The Army led all branches in discharges with 616, up from 573 the previous year. Of those, 222 came from Ft. Campbell, Ky. It was the second consecutive year in which that base had more discharges than any other facility.

It was at that base in 1999 that Pfc. Barry Winchell, 21, was killed by a fellow soldier who believed Winchell was gay.

The report credits Maj. Gen. Richard A. Cody, who took over Ft. Campbell in June 2000, with working to eliminate anti-gay harassment. But the report said other officers at the post “perpetuate anti-gay attitudes within their units by tolerating hateful anti-gay remarks.”

Master Sgt. Kelly Tyler, a Ft. Campbell spokeswoman, said soldiers on the base are required to attend sensitivity classes. “I think Ft. Campbell puts a special emphasis on it,” Tyler said.

The Navy followed the Army in the number of gay discharges last year with 314, down from 358 in 2000. The Air Force was next with 191, up from 177, and the Marine Corps totaled 115, one more than in 2000.

The Coast Guard, which is not part of the Defense Department but also abides by the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, reported 14 discharges, down from 19 in 2000.