DON'T ASK DON'T TELL DON'T WORK

ZOGBY - Nearly one in four U.S. troops(23%) say they know for sure that
someone in their unit is gay or lesbian, and of those 59% said they
learned about the person's sexual orientation directly from the
individual, a Zogby International poll of troops who served in Iraq and
Afghanistan shows.

More than half (55%) of the troops who know a gay peer said the presence
of gays or lesbians in their unit is well known by others. According to
the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, service members are not allowed to
say that they are gay. . .

According Congressman Marty Meehan (D-MA), "These new data prove that
thousands of gay and lesbian service members are already deployed
overseas and are integrated, important members of their units. It is
long past time to strike down 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and create a new
policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve openly."

Of those in combat units, 21% said they know for certain that someone in
their unit is gay or lesbian, slightly less than for those in combat
support units (25%) and combat service support units (22%). One in five
troops (20%) in other units said they know for certain someone is gay or
lesbian in their unit. Overall, nearly half (45%) say there are people
in their unit they suspect are gay or lesbian, but they don't know for
sure. Slightly more than half (52%) say they have received training on
the prevention of anti-gay harassment in the past three years. But 40%
say they have not received this type of training, which is mandated by
Defense Department policy.

Prominent supporters of "don't ask, don't tell" have expressed concerns
about privacy in the shower, Dr. Belkin said, but nearly three out of
four troops said in the Zogby poll that they usually or almost always
take showers privately – only 8% say they usually or almost always take
showers in group stalls.

http://www.zogby.com/CSSMM_Report-Final.pdf

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