The Pentagon released two reports on "don't ask, don't tell" at a July 21 news conference. One professed that there was no pervasive antigay atmosphere at Fort Campbell where Barry Winchell was murder last July. The other laid out an "Action Plan" to strengthen training, evaluation, and accountability associated with that policy.
The Inspector General's report on Fort Campbell pinned the blame for Winchell's murder on the two soldiers who did the deed, and on a senior sergeant who abused his responsibilities through poor leadership and by asking Winchell if he was gay. The soldiers were tried and are serving time for the crime, the sergeant has been reduced in rank.
No officers were found responsible for fostering or tolerating an antigay atmosphere.
Carol DiBattiste, under secretary of the Air Force, said the new policy establishes "an overarching principle regarding harassment, including harassment based on sexual orientation."
Army chief of staff Eric Shinseki said, "When individual dignity and respect are violated, mutual trust and cohesion erodes. Harassment of any kind violates individual dignity and tears at the fabric of this trust and the cohesion of our Army."
Those words signaled a notable shift in tone and focus in this round of reports. The presence of gays is no longer seen as the principal threat to unit cohesion, that focus has shifted to antigay harassment. And that harassment is being placed within the broader context of all harassment, not standing as a thing alone. The Pentagon is embracing ideas proposed by groups such as the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) .
Slowly but surely gays are being mainstreamed.
Media Doubts
The Pentagon press corp. was skeptical. It showed in their tough questioning at the news conference. One asked, "World War II didn't take as long as getting the policy implemented. Why is it so hard?"
DiBattiste said they "are complicated issues," but with the new training program, "We think we've got it right this time, and the measurement part of this will tell us."
Another reporter jumped in, "About once a year the Pentagon holds a press conference in which it says it's getting serious about 'don't ask, don't tell' and is really going to implement it this time." When women were harassed at the Aberdeen training facility, "heads rolled." But this report gave a clean bill of health to the officers. "Why should anyone think the Army is serious" this time?
Shinseki claimed that the low-level prosecutions solved the problem at Fort Campbell. He said there was no evidence of widespread harassment of gay servicemembers at the base. He ignored the fact that 120 soldiers, fearing for their safety, had sought a "gay" discharge from Fort Campbell in the year since Winchell's murder, as compared to fewer than 20 the previous year.
Another reporter asked, isn't there an "internal contradiction" with a policy that tells soldiers to treat gays with respect, while at the same time not allowing them "to say who they are," and kicks them out of the service if they do?
DiBattiste did not see it as an inherent conflict, "It just makes it more challenging to ensure that we get it right."
SLDN Responds
Michelle Benecke, SLDN's co-director, said the report on Fort Campbell does not ring true with what servicemembers stationed there have told SLDN. The soldiers describe a pervasive atmosphere of antigay harassment. "I think that the blame [ for those conditions ] extends farther up the chain of command" than the report indicated, said Benecke. She said the report "raises real questions about the lack of accountability."
SLDN submitted a proposal to the Inspector General during the public comment period, but the final report "did not fully address all of our concerns," said Benecke. She called the Action Plan "thoughtful," and "if implemented it could make a difference."
But there is a question as to whether it ever will be implemented. The brass as the news conference admitted that it would take a while for each of the services to implement the plan. Benecke is worried that there is only a short time remaining in this administration. The military may allow it "to gather dust" while it waits for the election results.
Benecke remembers that under secretary of defense John Dorn drafted excellent guidelines in March 1997, "but they were never sent to the field."
They were finally pried loose in August 1999, after Winchell's murder.
Benecke charged, "The military is forcing people to play semantic games" in not being open about being gay. "I don't think it is fair to place those burdens on an 18-year-old."
