Equal Rights

Pentagon Study: Let Gays Serve

Study finds little risk in DADT repeal.

The chiefs have spoken: Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other Pentagon officials presented their report on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to Congress on Tuesday. The study finds that while a repeal would have “some limited and isolated disruption to unit cohesion and retention,” its long-term effects would be negligible. More than two-thirds of all troops said they thought a repeal would have a positive, mixed, or no effect on morale; however, support for the policy is stronger in the Marines and some specialist units, where it runs between 40 and 60 percent. Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson told Congress that the policy could be repealed even while the nation is at war.