Support to the DoD Comprehensive Review Working Group analyzing the impact of repealing "Don't ask, Don't tell"

Westat has conducted surveys of service members and their spouses designed to measure perceptions of how a repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) might affect military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, morale, family readiness, military community life, recruitment, and retention. The surveys were not designed to be a referendum on the issue of DADT repeal, nor can survey results alone answer the question of whether repeal should or should not occur. The surveys can, however, contribute to the decisionmaking process by providing information on what service members and their spouses think will be the likely impact of repeal. A majority of service members perceive that the effect of a repeal of DADT will be neutral -- that is, it will have either 'no effect' or will affect their immediate unit 'equally as positively as negatively.' A smaller, but still substantial, group said that repeal will affect their unit 'very negatively/ negatively,' and an even smaller group said that repeal will affect their immediate unit 'very positively/ positively.' This pattern of responses holds true across all the major areas of interest, including unit cohesion, unit effectiveness (both for those who have been deployed to a combat zone and those who have not), personal and unit readiness, and personal morale. This same pattern of the relative size of neutral, negative, and positive perceptions also extends to questions relating to the impact of repeal on retention and recruitment.