"THE IMPORTANCE OF OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS" ON GAYS IN THE MILITARY: A RESPONSE TO ELAINE DONNELLY'S CONSTRUCTING THE CO-ED MILITARY1

In 1993, when the current policy was formulated, some surveys found that 97 percent of generals and admirals opposed lifting the ban.5 When General John Shalikashvili, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 through 1997, published an op-ed in The New York Times on January 2, 2007 calling for the end of "don't ask, don't tell," he cited polls showing that a large number of younger enlisted personnel also favor letting openly gay soldiers serve.6 That poll of 545 troops who served in Afghanistan and Iraq by Zogby International, found that 72 percent of service members are personally comfortable interacting with gays and lesbians.7 Public opinion polls show similarly strong indicators of change. 10 In the following pages, we respond to the substance of Donnelly's critique, addressing the factual errors in her analysis, addressing her unsupported assertions about the quality and integrity of research in this area, in particular by the Palm Center, and commenting on the stakes raised by the rhetoric Donnelly chooses to deploy in presenting her position in lieu of evidence to support that position.11 An analysis of the substance of her complaints shows that her critique is without merit, that the methodologies behind the studies she cites are in fact sound, and that the data show that discrimination compromises military effectiveness, while integration enhances it.