A transcript of the report can be read below:

The military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was designed to allow gays to serve in the armed forces, as long as they don't disclose their sexuality. More than 11,000 soldiers have been discharged since the policy was established 13 years ago -- an average of more than two a day. Now there's a movement to end the ban on declared gays in the military. In this Assignment 7 report, we take a look at what happened in Britain.

Rob Nunn joined the Royal Navy in 1972 and went on to be an officer on a submarine. After 20 years of faithful service, his career abruptly ended, but not for something he did, for something he was.

Rob Nunn, Retired Royal Navy Officer: "In 1992 I was investigated and thrown out for being gay."

Like the U.S., the British Armed Forces did not allow gays in their ranks. Ultimately, the military was forced to change that policy.

In the fall of 1999, the European Court of Human Rights ruled the ban on gays in the U.K.'s military illegal. In January of 2000, the English government began allowing openly gay and lesbian people in the military.

The British Ministry of Defense acted swiftly to integrate the military, calling back soldiers who had been discharged for being gay.

Rob Nunn: "I got the phone call -- 'Are you going to go back?' So I said yes."

When he went back, Nunn says he was fully accepted.

Rob Nunn: "There was absolutely no discrimination, no animosity, no problems. My final job in the Navy was a training in charge of up to 350 trainee submariners."

Nunn retired in 2003, but he insists that concerns about sharing barracks and unit cohesion never materialized. Those are arguments made repeatedly by leaders of the U.S. military who declined to be a part of this report.

Earlier this year, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had strong words about gays in the military. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, General Peter Pace said the military was no place for gay soldiers.

General Peter Pace: "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral, and that we should not condone immoral acts."

General Pace likened homosexuality to adultery, which the military doesn't condone either.

A recent poll of the U.S. troops showed that many service members had no problem with gays serving or were neutral to the idea. Thirty-seven percent said gays and lesbians should not be allowed to serve.

Robb Nunn: "I would say that most have never had an issue, never caused a problem, and this thing about cohesion and all that, it's rubbish."

In fact, the British government agrees. The Ministry of Defense would not talk on camera, but told us in a written statement that "since lifting of the ban... there has been no impact on operational effectiveness or personnel management. Business continues as normal."

Nathaniel Frank, gay military researcher: "What you see coming out the British forces is that this issue of gays in the military is just a non-issue."

Nathaniel Frank is a researcher with the Palm Center at U.C. Santa Barbara. The center studies sexual minorities in the military. He is in England now studying gays in the British Armed Services.

Nathaniel Frank: "We've found evidence that their are actually known gays from Britain, from Austrailia and Canada fighting in foxholes with Americans, and according to the U.S. military's rationale for 'don't ask don't tell,' that should be impairing cohesion, but not a soul has suggested that it is."

In February, a bill was reintroduced that would lift the U.S. ban on gays in the military. Frank says because of the similarities in their structure, Britain's success will likely be touted at congressional hearings expected this summer.

Nathaniel Frank: "The U.S. has a history of learning from other countries' militaries, and not just in war tactics and technology, but in personnel issues and matters of culture, health care, housing, and in fact, gays in the military."

Currently, 24 countries around the world allow gays to serve openly in the military. The United States and Turkey are the only two NATO countries that ban gays.

Turkey's ban will likely fall if it gains entry to the European Union.
That will leave just the United States.

Rob Nunn: "I hope that you get to where we got to in 2000 because it's only fair. It's a human right to be able to do your job and not be persecuted for whatever, gender, creed, race, sexuality."