This article asks what impact, if any, the “don’t ask, don’t
tell”policy might have on the U.S. military’s reputation.

Click here for a pdf of this study.

This article asks what impact, if any, the “don’t ask, don’t
tell”policy might have on the U.S. military’s reputation. Original
empirical research is presented to suggest that the policy harms the
military’s reputation in four ways: the policy is inconsistent with
public opinion, it prompts many journalists to criticize the armed
forces while attracting almost no favorable media coverage, it
provides a vehicle for antimilitary protesters to portray military
culture as conflicting with widely accepted civilian values, and it is
inconsistent with the views of junior enlisted service members.