Publications

Publications by Topic

Polls And Surveys / Public And Military Opinion

Gays And Lesbians in Foreign Militaries

Recruiting

  • U.S. Military Integration of Religious, Ethnic, and Racial Minorities in the Twentieth Century
    May 1, 2001

    Throughout the twentieth century, the American military has brought together cultural, religious, and racial groups even when civilian life has been characterized by considerable prejudice towards such groups. Indeed, military integration has often proceeded at a faster pace than civilian integration. This publication describes five examples of this.

  • U.S Military Policies Concerning Homosexuals
    November 1, 2001

    Throughout the U.S. military’s history, its treatment of sexual minorities has varied both as medical and popular understandings about homosexuality have shifted and as the needs of the armed forces themselves have changed. Military regulations have moved increasingly away from criminal prosecution to the discharge of homosexual service members in response to changing views among medical professionals about the root causes of homosexuality. The U.S. armed forces presently maintain a complete ban on the service of sexual minorities, regardless of conduct or performance.

  • A History of the Service of Ethnic Minorites in the U.S. Armed Forces
    June 1, 2003

    U.S. military has repeatedly been forced to
    attenuate the divisions, antagonisms and distrust that have troubled American
    culture more broadly. This necessity
    has stemmed from the unique position of the armed forces as both a defensive
    and a “total” institution in American civic life.

  • Financial Analysis of Don't Ask, Don't Tell: How Much Does the Gay Ban Cost?
    February 1, 2006

    In February 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the costs of discharging and replacing service members fired for homosexuality during the first ten years of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.  This report addresses oversights in the methodology of that report leading to an estimated cost of $363.8 million, of 91 percent more than originally reported.

  • Opinions of Military Personnel on Sexual Minorities in the Military
    December 1, 2006

    This survey of current and
    recent military service personnel who have served in
    Iraq or Afghanistan (or in combat support roles directly
    supporting those operations) sought to explore the issue
    of sexual minorities in the United States military,
    specifically within the context of three key areas.

  • Balancing Your Strengths Against Your Felonies
    September 1, 2007

    This article deals with
    ex-offender employment in the U.S. Armed Forces, one context in which
    the necessity of balancing strengths against felonies is taken very
    seriously.

Legal Issues

Transgender Military Issues

Unit Cohesion

  • U.S. Military Integration of Religious, Ethnic, and Racial Minorities in the Twentieth Century
    May 1, 2001

    Throughout the twentieth century, the American military has brought together cultural, religious, and racial groups even when civilian life has been characterized by considerable prejudice towards such groups. Indeed, military integration has often proceeded at a faster pace than civilian integration. This publication describes five examples of this.

  • Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Military
    January 1, 2003

    A definitive edited volume of lively debate, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Military presents the views of the leading scholars on sexual orientation and the military. This new and unprecedented anthology, published on the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, breaks new ground on U.S. military readiness in a time of war. For the first time, this book brings together a critical mass of experts of different points of view to debate whether the U.S. military’s gay ban is based on military necessity or prejudice.

  • The Pentagon's Gay Ban is Not Based on Military Necessity
    January 1, 2003

    The evidence that advocates of discrimination invoke to support the
    plausibility of the unit cohesion rationale does not constitute
    scientifically valid data.

  • A History of the Service of Ethnic Minorites in the U.S. Armed Forces
    June 1, 2003

    U.S. military has repeatedly been forced to
    attenuate the divisions, antagonisms and distrust that have troubled American
    culture more broadly. This necessity
    has stemmed from the unique position of the armed forces as both a defensive
    and a “total” institution in American civic life.

  • Does Social Cohesion Determine Motivation in Combat?
    July 30, 2006

    MacCoun, Kier and Belkin argue against the theory that successful unit performance is determined by social cohesion rather than task cohesion.

  • Report of the General/ Flag Officers' Study Group
    July 28, 2008

    July 2008 - A bipartisan study group of senior retired military officers, representing different branches of the service, conducted an in-depth assessment of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

  • Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America
    March 1, 2009

    This book by Palm Center Senior Research Fellow, Nathaniel Frank, presents the latest research and over a decade of evidence on gay service . Forthcoming, 2009.

  • Attitudes of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans Toward Gay and Lesbian Service Members
    October 29, 2009

    This paper presents additional analysis of the 2006 Zogby Poll commissioned by the Palm Center.  Data indicated no associations between knowing a lesbian or gay unit member and ratings of perceived unit cohesion or readiness.

Anti-Gay Harassment

Cost of "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

Implementation / Policy Transition

  • Sexual Orientation and Military Service
    December 1, 2005

    This paper addresses the issue of sexual orientation and military service  including an historical overview, critique of contemporary rationales and social psychological issues relevant to the organizational and individual changes that might follow from eliminating the ban on gay and lesbian personnel.

  • Report of the General/ Flag Officers' Study Group
    July 28, 2008

    July 2008 - A bipartisan study group of senior retired military officers, representing different branches of the service, conducted an in-depth assessment of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

  • How to End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
    May 11, 2009

    This report addresses political, legal, regulatory, and organizational steps to ensure a smooth end to "don't ask, don't tell."

  • Secretary of Defense Authority to Implement “Don't Ask, Don’t Tell” in a Manner Consistent With National Security
    July 6, 2009
  • A Self Inflicted Wound
    July 28, 2009
  • Recommendations to Pentagon Working Group on Gays in the Military
    February 17, 2010

    The Palm Center has released eight key recommendations to the Pentagon Working Group on gays in the military. These recommendations are intended as a first step in providing full support to the Working Group and acknowledging the importance of a thorough and timely process.

  • Gays in Foreign Militaries 2010
    February 23, 2010

    Twenty-five nations now allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. In many of those countries, debate before the policy changes was highly pitched and many people both inside and outside the military predicted major disruptions, but when inclusive policies were implemented, no more than three people in each country actually resigned.

  • What Does the Empirical Research Say about the Impact of Openly Gay Service on the Military?
    March 3, 2010
    Research on openly gay service is extensive, and includes over half a century of evidence gathered by independent researchers and the U.S. military itself, as well as the study of the experience of foreign militaries. The U.S. military’s own researchers have consistently found that openly gay service does not undermine cohesion, and the military has repeatedly sought to condemn or suppress these conclusions when they emerged. Yet no research has ever shown that open homosexuality impairs military readiness.
  • Memo for the Pentagon Working Group
    April 1, 2010
    The Pentagon Working Group (PWG) has recognized the dilemma of obtaining candid information from military members about “don’t ask, don’t tell” when communication of that information could lead to investigation and separation under the policy. If service members reveal they are gay during the review process, they have made a statement concerning their sexual orientation that is prohibited by 10 U.S.C. § 654 (b)(2).
  • Military Training Can Be Accomplished Quickly
    December 22, 2010

    Using case studies of other Pentagon training efforts, this study shows that: the Pentagon can quickly train all personnel regardless of status or location (including combat zones); training is not prerequisite to a policy going into force; the repeal of DADT does not necessitate formal and elaborate training programs.

Gays And Lesbians at War

  • U.S Military Policies Concerning Homosexuals
    November 1, 2001

    Throughout the U.S. military’s history, its treatment of sexual minorities has varied both as medical and popular understandings about homosexuality have shifted and as the needs of the armed forces themselves have changed. Military regulations have moved increasingly away from criminal prosecution to the discharge of homosexual service members in response to changing views among medical professionals about the root causes of homosexuality. The U.S. armed forces presently maintain a complete ban on the service of sexual minorities, regardless of conduct or performance.

  • Multinational Military Units and Homosexual Personnel
    February 1, 2004

    Since the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy itself has made it impossible to study
    the plausibility of the unit cohesion rationale directly, an examination of multinational military units may be the most direct
    option for assessing the plausibility of the unit cohesion rationale.

  • Gays and Lesbians at War: Military Service in Iraq and Afghanistan Under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
    September 1, 2004

    This study evaluates the impact of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on the capacity of gay troops to perform their duties as part of an effective military force. 

  • Research Note Assessing "Homosexuals and U.S. Military Policy: Current Issues"
    July 1, 2005

    A report released by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reaches several conclusions about the current status of gay service members in the U.S. military serving under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.  This note explains its misleading conclusions about the policy, and its effects on the status of gay service members.

  • Research Note on Pentagon Practice of Sending Known Gays and Lesbians to War
    July 1, 2007

    This paper presents an overview of Stop-Loss, provides a summary of available evidence from World War II to 2002 including a history of known gays serving during wartime, and includes discharge figues of the time.

  • Attitudes of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans Toward Gay and Lesbian Service Members
    October 29, 2009

    This paper presents additional analysis of the 2006 Zogby Poll commissioned by the Palm Center.  Data indicated no associations between knowing a lesbian or gay unit member and ratings of perceived unit cohesion or readiness.

Privacy in Military Showers

  • Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Military
    January 1, 2003

    A definitive edited volume of lively debate, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Military presents the views of the leading scholars on sexual orientation and the military. This new and unprecedented anthology, published on the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, breaks new ground on U.S. military readiness in a time of war. For the first time, this book brings together a critical mass of experts of different points of view to debate whether the U.S. military’s gay ban is based on military necessity or prejudice.

  • A Modest Proposal
    January 1, 2003

    The justification for excluding acknowledged homosexuals from the U.S. military is the unit cohesion rationale, the notion that lifting the gay ban would undermine combat performance. As a growing body of evidence has challenged the plausibility of this argument, the ban’s supporters increasingly have justified exclusion by the preservation of heterosexual privacy in the barracks and showers. We argue that lifting the gay ban will not undermine heterosexual privacy.

Sodomy

Gays And Lesbians in Police Departments

Public Dialogues About Palm Center Research and Methods