WASHINGTON -- The US military allowed at least 36 gay soldiers last year to stay in uniform, despite efforts by their commanders or fellow soldiers to have them discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, according to a review of hundreds of cases in which soldiers sought to remain in uniform without denying their homosexuality.
The number of soldiers allowed to stay despite being identified as gay -- 36 of 120 contested cases -- was substantially higher than in 2004, when 22 of 125 soldiers prevailed, and three times as many as in 2003, when only 12 of 107 were able to persuade their commanders or a military review board to keep them in uniform, the data show.
The Pentagon declined to explain why more gay soldiers were being retained, but the lawyers who represent soldiers challenging cases under the policy say the Pentagon seems to have softened its stance on homosexuality.
The lawyers attributed the change both to a growing acceptance of gays within the ranks and to the military's need to keep more highly trained soldiers in the Iraq War.
"As the country has changed, so have the people in the military," said Sharra Greer, director of law and policy at the nonprofit Service Members' Legal Defense Network, which represents gay soldiers challenging their dismissals. "More commanders are not enforcing [don't ask, don't tell] strictly."
In several of the cases over the past year, service members who were found to have listed their homosexuality on Internet dating sites were reprimanded but returned to duty, according to the case files. In other cases, senior officers were swayed by a service member's strong performance reviews.
"The equations for commands have shifted," Greer said. "They are under enormous pressure to retain people. They do a cost-benefit analysis and we are hearing the same thing: 'I really don't care if you are gay and I am not going to kick you out.' "
Recent studies have shown that many soldiers dismissed in past years under "don't ask, don't tell" tended to be in highly trained specialties now in demand, including linguists and medical technicians.
Meanwhile, observers have noted that the Defense Department has recently softened its position on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
For many years the Pentagon's public position was that the policy was crucial to maintaining "good order and discipline" and that having gay soldiers serve openly in the ranks would harm unit cohesion.
But recently, the military has stopped defending the policy, and merely notes that it is the law.
The number of soldiers allowed to stay despite being identified as gay -- 36 of 120 contested cases -- was substantially higher than in 2004, when 22 of 125 soldiers prevailed, and three times as many as in 2003, when only 12 of 107 were able to persuade their commanders or a military review board to keep them in uniform, the data show.
The Pentagon declined to explain why more gay soldiers were being retained, but the lawyers who represent soldiers challenging cases under the policy say the Pentagon seems to have softened its stance on homosexuality.
The lawyers attributed the change both to a growing acceptance of gays within the ranks and to the military's need to keep more highly trained soldiers in the Iraq War.
"As the country has changed, so have the people in the military," said Sharra Greer, director of law and policy at the nonprofit Service Members' Legal Defense Network, which represents gay soldiers challenging their dismissals. "More commanders are not enforcing [don't ask, don't tell] strictly."
In several of the cases over the past year, service members who were found to have listed their homosexuality on Internet dating sites were reprimanded but returned to duty, according to the case files. In other cases, senior officers were swayed by a service member's strong performance reviews.
"The equations for commands have shifted," Greer said. "They are under enormous pressure to retain people. They do a cost-benefit analysis and we are hearing the same thing: 'I really don't care if you are gay and I am not going to kick you out.' "
Recent studies have shown that many soldiers dismissed in past years under "don't ask, don't tell" tended to be in highly trained specialties now in demand, including linguists and medical technicians.
Meanwhile, observers have noted that the Defense Department has recently softened its position on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
For many years the Pentagon's public position was that the policy was crucial to maintaining "good order and discipline" and that having gay soldiers serve openly in the ranks would harm unit cohesion.
But recently, the military has stopped defending the policy, and merely notes that it is the law.
