1st Edition
Evolution of Government Policy Towards Homosexuality in the US Military The Rise and Fall of DADT
Throughout history, homosexuality has been a complicating factor for men and women electing to serve in the armed forces of the United States. The right to serve became increasingly complicated when the Department of Defense responded to congressional legislation in 1993 by adopting a policy that later became known as "don’t ask, don’t tell" (DADT). DADT permitted homosexual members to serve in the forces, so long as they showed no evidence of homosexual behavior. The compromise policy remained in force until Congress passed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and finally, in September 2011, the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the US armed forces officially came to an end. Reflecting on the 20-year period governed by DADT, this volume explores the history, culture, attitudes and impacts of policy evolution from the mid-20th Century through to the present day. It not only provides insight to the scholarly field of how the most powerful institution in the world has viewed and dealt with homosexuality as it transitioned into the 21st century, but it is also poised to become a seminal collection for researchers in the decades to come.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality.
"Parco and Levy have produced a fine edited volume dedicated to deepening our understanding of the federal DADT policy. What has resulted is a deep analysis of the federal policies regarding gays and lesbians in the U.S. military. This volume is filled with rich descriptions and analyses written by the very best thinkers about issues pertaining to gays and lesbians in the U.S. military. Parco and Levy not only offer a comprehensive treatment of DADT, but their book will stand the test of time and spur additional important research about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer service members. The Rise and Fall of DADT is accessibly written and offers readers a comprehensive understanding of the DADT federal policy and the attendant issues of equity, social justice and ever-changing attitudes about LGBTQ people related to the U.S. military and to the larger American society."
John P. Elia, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Homosexuality and Professor and Associate Chair of Health Education at San Francisco State University, USA
"As Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 2010 to 2012, and the first openly-gay senior official to serve at the Pentagon, I was witness to and honored to be an active participant in the historic process that led to the ban on discrimination against lesbian and gay service members: men and women who had been hiding in plain sight while risking their lives to serve their country honorably. In this volume, Jim Parco and Dave Levy provide what is perhaps the most comprehensive account to date of the evolution of US government policy regarding LGBT service members. Their study includes outstanding firsthand narratives by many friends who played central roles in the repeal of Don’t Ask/Don’t tell, including Sue Fulton, Jonathan Lee and former Congressman Patrick Murphy. Parco and Levy provide the opportunity for scholars, experts and ordinary citizens from all walks of life to share in those journeys and in the very positive results that were achieved."
Douglas B. Wilson, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for the United States
Preface James E. Parco, Department of Economics and Business, Colorado College, USA, and David A. Levy, Department of Management, US Air Force Academy, USA
Foreword: The Political Battle for Repeal: Personal Reflections from the Frontlines Patrick Murphy, Former Congressman, US House of Representatives, USA
Section I: Agents for Change
1: The President’s Pleasant Surprise: How LGBT Advocates Ended "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Nathaniel Frank, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School, USA
2: Politics of Paranoia Aaron Belkin, Department of Political Science, San Francisco State University, USA
3: OutServe: An Underground Network Stands Up Sue Fulton, Communications Director, OutServe, USA
4: The Rise of Repeal: Policy Entrepreneurship and "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" Christopher Neff, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney, Australia, and Luke Edgell, Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney, Australia
Section II: Policy Evolution
5: From Exclusion to Acceptance: A Case History of Homosexuality in the US Court of Military Appeals Kellie Wilson-Buford, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
6: Formalizing the Ban: My Experience in the Reagan Administration Larry Korb, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, USA, and Alex Rothman, Research Associate, Center for American Progress, USA
7: The Comprehensive Review Working Group and DADT Repeal at the Department of Defense in 2010 Jonathan Lee, Department of Defense, USA
8: Outing the Costs of Civil Deference to the Military Elizabeth Hillman, Hastings College of the Law, University of California, USA
9: Gays in the U.S. Military: Reviewing the Research and Conceptualizing A Way Forward Armando X. Estrada, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, USA, Gia A. DiRosa, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, USA, and Arwen H. DeConstanza, U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, USA
Section III: Organizational Implications
10: Policy and Paradox: Grounded Theory at the Moment of DADT Repeal James E. Parco, Department of Economics and Business, Colorado College, USA, and David A. Levy, Department of Management, US Air Force Academy, USA
11: The Myth of the Warrior: Martial Masculinity and the End of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell L. Michael Allsep, Department of Leadership and Strategy, Air Command and Staff College, USA
12: If We Ask, What They Might Tell: Clinical Assessment Lessons from LGBT Military Personnel Post-DADT Heliana Ramirez, School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, USA, Stephen J. Rogers, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, USA, Harriet L. Johnson, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, USA, Jon Banks, Wanda P. Seay, Billy L. Tinsley and Andrew W. Grant
13: Mental Health Characteristics of Sexual Minority Veterans Bryan N. Cochran, Department of Psychology, University of Montana, USA, Kimberly Balsam, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, Palo Alto University, USA, Annesa Flentje, Department of Psychology, University of Montana, USA, Carol A. Malte, Puget Sound Health Care System, United States Veterans Administration, USA and Tracy Simpson, Puget Sound Health Care System, United States Veterans Administration, USA
14: Transgender People in the Military: Don’t Ask? Don’t Tell? Don’t Enlist! Adam F. Yerke, Chicago School of Professional Psychology—Los Angeles, USA and Valory Mitchell, California School of Professional Psychology—Los Angeles, USA
15. One Year Out: An Assessment of DADT Repeal’s Impact on Military Readiness Aaron Belkin, Department of Political Science, San Francisco State University, USA, Morten Ender, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, US Military Academy, USA, Nathaniel Frank, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School, USA, Stacie Furia, Palm Center, School of Law, University of California – Los Angeles, USA, Gary Packard, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, US Air Force Academy, Tammy S. Schultz, National Security and Joint Warfare, U.S. Marine Corps War College, USA, Steven Samuels, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, US Air Force Academy, USA and David R. Segal, Center for Research on Military Organization, University of Maryland, USA
Appendices
Appendix I: Title 10, Section 654 of the United States Code. "Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces" (1993)
Appendix II: Executive Summary, Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of DADT
Appendix III: H.R.6520 – Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Biography
Jim Parco is an Associate Professor of Economics and Business at Colorado College, USA. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the College of William & Mary. He previously taught at the Air Command & Staff College, USA, and at the US Air Force Academy. He retired from active-duty in 2011. He has co-authored The 52nd Floor: Thinking Deeply about Leadership, Attitudes Aren’t Free: Thinking Deeply about Diversity in the U.S. Armed Forces and Echoes of Mind: Thinking Deeply about Humanship.
Dave Levy is a Professor of Management at the US Air Force Academy. He served on active-duty from 1988-1998 and received his Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Cornell University, USA. He has co-authored The 52nd Floor: Thinking Deeply about Leadership, Attitudes Aren’t Free: Thinking Deeply about Diversity in the U.S. Armed Forces and Echoes of Mind: Thinking Deeply about Humanship.
