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Support to the DoD Comprehensive
Review Working Group Analyzing the
Impact of Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't
Volume 1: Findings From the Surveys
Prepared for: Prepared by:
Department of Defense Westat
Comprehensive Review Working Group 1600 Research Boulevard
1600 Defense Pentagon Rockville, Maryland 20850-3129
Washington, DC 20301-1600 (301) 251-1500
Summary of Survey Findings ......................................................................................................1
1 Project Introduction .................................................................................................... 15
2 Service Member and Spouse Survey Background Information .................................. 17
2.1 Purpose of the surveys ................................................................................................ 17
2.2 Brief description of survey methods ........................................................................... 17
2.3 Data analysis ............................................................................................................... 21
How To Read This Report ....................................................................................... 23
3 Profile of Service Member Survey Respondents ........................................................ 24
4 Findings From the Service Member Survey ............................................................... 27
4.1 What is the likely impact of repeal? ........................................................................... 29
Unit Cohesion .......................................................................................................... 30
Unit Effectiveness .................................................................................................... 38
Morale ...................................................................................................................... 45
Military Readiness ................................................................................................... 49
Retention .................................................................................................................. 54
Recruitment.............................................................................................................. 63
Family Readiness ..................................................................................................... 66
Housing .................................................................................................................... 69
Policy Implementation ............................................................................................. 74
4.2 What is the past experience with Service members believed to be gay or
lesbian? ...................................................................................................................... 76
4.3 What characteristics affect Service members' views about the impact repeal
might have? ............................................................................................................... 83
4.4 Overall, what are the main issues associated with repeal for Service members? ....... 85
5 Findings From the Spouse Survey .............................................................................. 87
Profile of Spouse Survey Respondents .................................................................... 88
Acquaintance With Gay or Lesbian Individuals ...................................................... 93
Retention and Referrals ........................................................................................... 95
Family Readiness and Military Life ...................................................................... 108
Housing .................................................................................................................. 125
Page i
6 Analysis of Service Member Comments .................................................................. 132
6.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 132
6.2 Methods .................................................................................................................... 132
6.3 Results ...................................................................................................................... 134
6.4 Limitations to these findings .................................................................................... 143
7 Analysis of Spouse Comments ................................................................................. 144
7.3 Results For Item 36—Perceived Impact of Repeal on Family Readiness ................ 148
7.4 Results For Item 44—Additional Comments About Family Readiness or Other
Effects of Repeal ..................................................................................................... 157
7.5 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 161
Part 1: Appendix A – Appendix N Page
Appendix A: Survey Methods .......................................................................................... A-1
Appendix B: 2010 DADT Service Member Web Survey Screen Shots ............................ B-1
Appendix C: 2010 DADT Spouse Survey ......................................................................... C-1
Appendix D: Service Member Survey Item Frequencies .................................................. D-1
Appendix E: Service Member Survey Items by Service ....................................................E-1
Appendix F: Service Member Survey Items by Component .............................................. F-1
Appendix G: Service Member Survey Items by Pay Grade Group ................................... G-1
Appendix H: Service Member Survey Items by Age Group ............................................. H-1
Appendix I: Service Member Survey Items by Gender ....................................................... I-1
Appendix J: Service Member Survey Items by Army Specialty ........................................ J-1
Appendix K: Service Member Survey Items by Navy Specialty ...................................... K-1
Appendix L: Service Member Survey Items by Marine Corps Specialty ..........................L-1
Appendix M: Service Member Survey Items by Air Force Specialty .............................. M-1
Appendix N: Service Member Survey Items by Coast Guard Specialty ........................... N-1
Part 2: Appendix O – Appendix AL Page
Appendix O: Service Member Survey Items by Served with Gay or Lesbian
Service Member (Serving with Currently, Have Served with in the Past,
Have Never Served with) .......................................................................................... O-1
Appendix P: Service Member Survey Items by Served with Gay or Lesbian Service
Member (Have Served with, Have Never Served with) ............................................ P-1
Appendix Q: Service Member Survey Items by Army Component .................................. Q-1
Appendix R: Service Member Survey Items by Navy Component ................................... R-1
Appendix S: Service Member Survey Items by Marine Corps Component ....................... S-1
Appendix T: Service Member Survey Items by Air Force Component .............................T-1
Appendix U: Service Member Survey Items by Coast Guard Component ....................... U-1
Appendix V: Regression Analysis Results ........................................................................ V-1
Appendix W: Spouse Survey Item Frequencies ............................................................... W-1
Appendix X: Spouse Survey Items by Service .................................................................. X-1
Appendix Y: Spouse Survey Items by Service Member Component ............................... Y-1
Appendix Z: Spouse Survey Items by Army Component ..................................................Z-1
Appendix AA: Spouse Survey Items by Navy Component ............................................ AA-1
Appendix AB: Spouse Survey Items by Air Force Component ..................................... AB-1
Appendix AC: Spouse Survey Items by Marine Corps Component............................... AC-1
Appendix AD: Spouse Survey Items by Coast Guard Component ................................ AD-1
Appendix AE: Spouse Survey Items by Army Gender ................................................... AE-1
Appendix AF: Spouse Survey Items by Navy Gender ................................................... AF-1
Appendix AG: Spouse Survey Items by Air Force Gender ............................................ AG-1
Appendix AH: Spouse Survey Items by Marine Corps Gender ..................................... AH-1
Appendix AI: Spouse Survey Items by Coast Guard Gender ........................................... AI-1
Appendix AJ: Spouse Survey Items by Service Member Pay Grade ...............................AJ-1
Appendix AK: Spouse Survey Items by Service Member spouse Age .......................... AK-1
Appendix AL: Spouse Survey Items by Service Member Spouse Acquaintance
with Gays or Lesbians............................................................................................ AL-1
SUMMARY OF SURVEY FINDINGS
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.
Service Member Survey Findings
Several findings from the Service member survey were consistent across the major subject areas of
the Comprehensive Review Working Group review and across different groupings of Service
members. Service members rated their current units highly across the main subject areas of unit
cohesion, effectiveness, readiness, and morale. Ratings of current unit morale were somewhat lower
than the ratings for other areas, but were still relatively high. A regression analysis of the factors that
influence Service members' ratings of their current units found that having good NCOs and having
good officers were the strongest predictors of Service members' immediate unit cohesion ratings;
Service members' ratings of their current units' cohesion was the strongest predictor of ratings of
current unit effectiveness, morale, and readiness. Service members who rated their current unit
cohesion as high were more likely to rate other aspects of the current unit as high. Although other
Service member characteristics were associated with the assessments of their current units, these
relationships were not as influential.
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. The pattern can be seen clearly in Figure 1, which summarizes
survey results concerning the impact of DADT repeal across the main subject areas. Note that
neutral is the sum of "no effect" and "equally as positively as negatively" responses and that for
retention, positive responses were indications that the Service member would stay longer and
negative responses were indications that the Service member would leave sooner.
Expected Impact of DADT Repeal Across the Main Subject Areas
% Positively % Neutral % Negatively % Don't know
Unit Cohesion
Effectiveness ‐ Combat Deployed
Effectiveness ‐ Non‐com bat Deployed
Readiness
Retention*
When the study team assessed the experience of having served in a unit with a Service member
believed to be gay or lesbian, the data also showed a consistent pattern across the unit
characteristics of task cohesion, morale, and performance. Large majorities of Service members with
such experience rated their units highly across all three characteristics, although unit morale was
rated somewhat lower than cohesion or performance. These Service members' unit ratings did not
vary by whether the unit member believed to be gay or lesbian was a leader, coworker, or
subordinate. When asked how much Service members' beliefs that a unit member was gay or
lesbian affected the unit, about one half of Service members responded "not at all."
When we divided Service members into three groups on the basis of their experience serving with a
gay or lesbian Service member, those Service members who currently serve with a Service member
they believe to be gay or lesbian were consistently the least likely to believe that the impact of the
repeal of DADT would be negative, followed by those who have served with gay or lesbian Service
members in the past. Those who said they have never served with a gay or lesbian Service member
were the most likely to have negative perceptions about the impact of a repeal. Although Marine
Corps members were consistently more likely than other Service members to perceive negative
effects of repeal across all the major subject areas, this same "current/past/never" pattern held true
for Marines as well.
Regression analysis confirmed and extended these findings. Five multiple linear regression analyses
were conducted to identify Service member characteristics that were statistically significant
predictors of the following post-repeal outcomes of interest: unit cohesion, non-combat
effectiveness, combat effectiveness, personal morale, and readiness. The results were generally
consistent across these five models. Overall, Service members' experience in serving in a unit with a
leader, coworker, and/or subordinate they believed to be gay or lesbian was the strongest predictor
of their perceptions about the impact of a repeal of DADT on their unit. The influence of gender,
minority status, and age were also consistent across all five models. Being female and being a
minority were associated with more positive assessments of the impact of DADT repeal, while rising
age was associated with more negative assessments. Component was not significant in the unit
cohesion, combat effectiveness, and readiness regressions. For non-combat effectiveness and
morale, the Reserve Component had more negative perceptions about the impact of repeal than did
Active Duty Service members. Currently serving with a Service member believed to be gay or lesbian
was a significant and positive predictor of Service members' views about the impact of repeal in all
five post-repeal equations. Having good NCOs/POs and having good officers over a unit were also
positively associated with Service members' perceptions about the impact of repeal in all five
equations.
Repeal's impact on retention was analyzed using a logistic regression model. In the regression
results, the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Service members had odds ratios that were less than
one, indicating they were less likely than Army Service members to be considering leaving post
repeal. The odds that a Marine Corps Service member was considering leaving post repeal were 43%
higher than the odds that an Army Service member was considering leaving post repeal. Service
members who had served in the past with a Service member they believed to be gay or lesbian and
those who have never served with a Service member believed to be gay or lesbian had greater odds
of considering leaving the military post repeal (29% and 36%, respectively) than did Service
members currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian.
More details about survey findings are presented next, organized around eight survey topics.
How do Service members assess current cohesion, effectiveness, morale, and readiness in their
immediate units?
ƒ Service members rated cohesion in their current immediate units positively (average
score of 3.94 on a 5-point scale).
ƒ Service members rated task cohesion in their immediate units slightly more positively
than social cohesion; also, they rated unit horizontal cohesion more positively than unit
vertical cohesion.
ƒ Service members currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian (who
may or may not be in the Service member's immediate unit) rated their immediate units
as being somewhat less cohesive than did those who served in the past or have never
served with someone they believed to be gay or lesbian. This finding was confirmed in
the regression analysis of Service members' assessments of unit cohesion in their
immediate units, where currently serving with a gay or lesbian Service member was a
significant, negative (though small) predictor of current unit cohesion.
ƒ Overall, having good NCOs and having good officers were the strongest predictors of
Service members' immediate unit cohesion ratings.
Unit Effectiveness
ƒ Large majorities of Service members currently deployed to a combat zone rated their
immediate units as "very effective/effective" in a field environment or out to sea (83.7%),
during a crisis or negative event (78.1%), and in combat situations (69.5%).
ƒ Large majorities of Service members who have never been deployed or never been
deployed to a combat zone also rated their immediate units as "very effective/effective"
on a daily basis (88.0%) and during a crisis or negative event (80.9%).
ƒ Service members currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian rated
their immediate units as being somewhat less effective than did those who served in the
past or have never served with someone they believed to be gay or lesbian. This finding
was not confirmed in the regression analysis of current unit effectiveness, where (when
controlling for all other variables in the regression equation) currently serving with a
Service member believed to be gay or lesbian was a significant—and positive—predictor
of both combat and non-combat effectiveness.
ƒ Current unit cohesion was the strongest predictor of both combat and non-combat unit
effectiveness.
Unit and Personal Morale
ƒ Service members were most likely to rate current unit morale and own morale as "very
high/high" (43.5% and 56.5%, respectively).
ƒ National Guard members' ratings for unit morale (54.1% "very high/high") and personal
morale (66.8% "very high/high") were notably higher than those for the Active Duty or
Reserve Components.
ƒ Unit cohesion was the strongest predictor of unit morale. Having good officers was the
second strongest predictor.
Unit and Personal Readiness
ƒ In general, Service members were quite positive about both unit and personal
readiness—69.7% said their units were "very well prepared/well prepared"; 82.5% said
the same about their personal readiness.
ƒ Unit cohesion was the strongest predictor of military readiness.
What is the likely impact of the repeal of DADT on unit cohesion, effectiveness, personal morale, and
readiness?
ƒ Perceived effect of a repeal of DADT was similar for unit cohesion, effectiveness,
personal morale, and readiness:
A majority of Service members said repeal of DADT would have a neutral impact—that
is, have "no effect" on or would affect "equally as positively as negatively"—all items
associated with unit cohesion, effectiveness, personal morale, and readiness with
two exceptions—effectiveness "in a field environment or out to sea" for those who
have been combat deployed (44.4% neutral) and "how Service members in your
immediate unit trust each other" (48.8% neutral).
A smaller but substantial percentage of Service members said the impact would be
negative (mostly ranging between 20% to 33% across the four unit characteristics).
A small percentage of Service members said the impact would be positive (ranging
from 5% to 19% across the four unit characteristics).
ƒ Service members currently serving with a Service member they believe to be gay or
lesbian were consistently less likely to say that unit cohesion, unit effectiveness, their
personal morale, and military readiness would be affected negatively by repeal.
Regression analysis confirmed this finding. "Currently serving with" was a small but
significant and positive predictor of Service members' perceptions about the impact of
repeal on unit cohesion, effectiveness, morale, and readiness.
ƒ Generally, Service members in the Marine Corps were more likely than other Service
members to have negative perceptions about the impact of repeal on unit cohesion,
effectiveness, personal morale, and readiness.
ƒ Service members who have been combat deployed responded most negatively about the
impact of repeal on unit effectiveness "in a field environment or out to sea" (44.3%
overall and 59.4% for Marines).
ƒ In general, female Service members were substantially less likely to perceive negative
impacts following repeal than male Service members not only for unit cohesion,
effectiveness, personal morale, and readiness, but for all of the issues asked about in
the survey.
What is the likely impact of the repeal of DADT on retention and recruitment?
ƒ Regarding their current plans, 58.7% of Service members said they will definitely or
probably stay in the military until retirement; 19.6% probably or definitely intend to leave
at the end of their current obligation.
ƒ Regardless of current military career intentions, the majority of Service members (62.3%)
said their military career plans will not change after repeal.
ƒ 18.5% of all Service members reported they would consider leaving sooner than their
current intentions if repeal occurs. This is the group of Service members who "switched"
their military career intentions when considering DADT repeal. They were not considering
leaving, but said repeal will cause them to "think about leaving sooner" or "leave
sooner."
ƒ Among all Service members, Marine Corps members were most likely to say they will
consider leaving sooner or will leave sooner than planned (38.1%) if repeal occurs.
ƒ If DADT is repealed, those currently serving with a Service member they believe to be gay
or lesbian were more likely to consider staying in the military longer, less likely to
consider leaving sooner, and more likely to say that their career plans will not change,
compared with Service members who are not currently serving with a someone believed
to be gay or lesbian.
ƒ 7.6% of Service members said all factors they selected as most important in their
decisions about future military service were less important than repeal. For these Service
members, if repeal occurs, it will be the most important factor in their career decisions,
according to the survey results.
ƒ A strong majority of Service members said they are currently willing to recommend
military service to others (ranging from 79.5% of Marines to 91.9% of Coast Guard
members).
ƒ Among Service members currently willing to recommend military service, 57.3% said
repeal will have a neutral effect on their willingness to recommend military service;
26.2% said it will have a negative effect (39.2% of Marines said it will have a negative
effect).
What is the likely impact of the repeal of DADT on family readiness?
ƒ Currently, 70.3% of Service members said they usually attend military social functions—
by themselves (21.0%) or with family members (49.3%), and 48.1% said they usually
attend military family programs—by themselves (8.0%) or with family members (40.1%).
ƒ Among the Service members who attend military social programs with family members,
46.9% said they will likely continue to attend such programs, 32.8% said they are likely to
stop attending, and 6.1% will attend alone if a gay or lesbian Service member and
partner also attend.
ƒ Among the Service members who participate in military family programs with family
members, 41.1% said they will likely continue to do so, 37.0% are likely to stop
participating, and 9.3% will participate alone if a gay or lesbian Service member and
partner also participate.
ƒ Marine Corps members were more likely than members in the other Services to say they
will not continue to participate in social events if a gay or lesbian Service member and
What will Service members most likely do if DADT is repealed and they are assigned to share
sleeping quarters or bath facilities with open bay showers with a gay or lesbian Service member?
Sleeping quarters
ƒ 38.3% of Service members have shared a room, berth, or field tent with a Service
member they believed to be gay or lesbian.
ƒ 66.6% of Service members who have shared a room, berth, or field tent with a Service
member believed to be gay or lesbian (group 1) said they would most likely take no
action or would discuss expectations about behavior, compared with 44.6% of Service
members who have not shared sleeping quarters (group 2).
ƒ 17.9% of group 1 and 32.9% of group 2 said they would likely talk to a leader to see if
they have other options if assigned to share sleeping quarters with a gay or lesbian
Service member.
Bath facilities
ƒ 50.1% of Service members have been assigned to share bath facilities also used by
someone they believed to be gay or lesbian.
ƒ Differences were less notable between those who have already been assigned to share
bath facilities with an open bay shower (group 1) and those who have not (group 2).
Among group 1, 73.2% would take no action, talk to the person, or avoid taking showers
at the same time, compared with 62.4% in group 2.
they have other options.
Wartime situation
ƒ In a wartime situation, Service members would be more likely to either take no action or
discuss expectations about behaviors regarding sharing of sleeping quarters and bath
facilities.
What will Service members most likely do if they lived in on-base housing and a gay or lesbian
Service member was living with a partner on base?
ƒ About 18% of Service members said they would probably move off base if they lived in
on-base housing and a gay or lesbian Service member and partner also lived there. This
was true whether the Service member has mostly lived on base for the last 24 months or
ƒ When asked what they would do if a gay or lesbian Service member moved on base with
his or her partner, a majority of Service members who have mostly lived on base for the
last 24 months said they would get to know them like any other neighbors (38.7%),
would make a special effort to get to know them (1.4%), or, even if they felt
uncomfortable, would stay on base because other factors are more important in their
decisions about where to live (22.0%).
If DADT is repealed, how easy or difficult will it be for leadership as they start implementing the
change in policy?
ƒ Service members consider it more likely to be easy than difficult for leadership to "hold
Service members to the high standards of military personal conduct regardless of their
sexual orientation."
ƒ Most difficult challenge for leadership: "Make sure all Service members are treated with
respect by their coworkers (50.1% of Service members and 65.1% of Marines said this
would be "very difficult/difficult").
ƒ Next most difficult challenge for leadership: "Treat Service members in the same manner
regardless of their sexual orientation" (45.8% of all Service members and 61.6% of
Marines said this would be "very difficult/difficult").
ƒ The warfare community was more likely than the non-warfare community to say these
challenges will be difficult.
ƒ Service members who said "all" or "most" of the officers over their immediate unit are
good leaders were less likely to say that implementation will be "very difficult/difficult"
across all five implementation items asked about in the survey, compared with Service
members who said only "some," "a few," or "no" officers over their unit were good
leaders.
What is the past experience with Service members believed to be gay or lesbian?
ƒ The data showed a similar pattern across the unit characteristics of task cohesion,
morale, and performance:
Service members' ratings of the units in which they served with a Service member
they believed to be gay or lesbian did not vary by whether the unit member believed
to be gay or lesbian was a leader, coworker, or subordinate. This was true for the
three unit characteristics of task cohesion, morale, and performance.
Large majorities rated these units highly across all three characteristics, although
unit morale was rated somewhat lower than task cohesion or performance.
When asked how much Service members' beliefs that a unit member was gay or
lesbian affected the unit, about one half of the Service members responded "not at
Less than 20% of Service members said the effect of serving with someone believed
to be gay or lesbian was "mostly negative" across all three issues of task cohesion,
morale, and unit performance.
ƒ For all three characteristics, Marine Corps members were more likely than other Service
members to say that Service members' beliefs that a unit member was gay or lesbian
had an effect and that the effect was "mostly negative."
ƒ Those Service members who served in combat with a unit member of any rank who was
believed to be gay or lesbian also rated unit performance highly (80.2% reported the unit
performed "very well/ well" in combat); when considering past experience in combat,
differences between the Marine Corps and other Services were not as large.
Spouse Survey Findings
Like the Service member survey findings, findings from the spouse survey on the expected impact of
DADT repeal were consistent across the survey's major subject areas. A large majority of spouses
(generally about three quarters) said that the effect of a repeal of DADT will be neutral—that is, it will
have no effect on their family readiness, their preferences, or their actions. A smaller group, usually
less than 20%, said that repeal will have a negative effect, and a very small group (between 1% and
5%) said the impact will be positive. This pattern of responses holds true across all the major areas
of interest, including family readiness; attendance at social events, deployment-support programs,
and family support programs; retention; and referrals. The pattern can be seen clearly in Figure 2,
which summarizes survey results concerning the impact of DADT repeal across the main subject
areas. Note that for attendance questions, a "positive response" indicates that spouses said they
would attend these events more often after repeal and a negative response indicates that they
would attend less often after repeal. For retention and referral, "positive responses" indicate that
spouses said they would want their military spouse to stay longer or that they would be more likely to
recommend military service; "negative responses" indicate that spouses said they would want their
military spouse to leave sooner or that they would be less likely to recommend military service.
Spouses were also asked about their actions if DADT is repealed, they live in on-base housing, and a
gay or lesbian Service member lived in their neighborhood with their partner. In this situation, a
majority of spouses (64.9%) said they "would stay on-base"; 20.8% said they "would try to move
out." Another 14.3% of spouses responded that that they did not know what they would do. (This
question had no "neutral" response category.)
Spouses were more likely than Service members to report having family members, friends, or
acquaintances whom they believed to be gay or lesbian, and spouse perceptions regarding the
impact of DADT varied by the level of acquaintance (i.e., having one acquaintance believed to be gay
or lesbian, having more than one, and having none). In general, spouses with more than one such
acquaintance were consistently more likely to indicate that a repeal of DADT would have no impact.
For example, 81.6% of spouses with more than one acquaintance believed to be gay or lesbian said
repeal would have no effect on their family readiness, compared with 73.3% of those with one such
acquaintance and 69.8% of those who reported having no acquaintances believed to be gay or
lesbian.
Expected Impact of DADT Repeal Across Main Subject Areas of Spouse Survey
% Positive % Neutral % Negative % Don't know
Family readiness
Attendance at informal 72%
military social events 18%
Attendance at deployment- 76%
support activities 13%
Attendance at family support 75%
programs 15%
A summary of the major spouse survey findings is presented next. The findings are organized into
four subject areas: spouse acquaintance with gay or lesbian individuals, retention and referrals,
family readiness and military life, and housing.
Acquaintance With Gay or Lesbian Individuals
ƒ 71.1% of spouses said they have one (12.1%) or more than one (59.0%) family member,
friend, or acquaintance whom they believe to be gay or lesbian.
ƒ When asked whether their military spouse worked with someone they believed to be a gay or
lesbian Service member, 34.8% said yes, 26.4% said no, and more than a third of spouses
(38.8%) said they did not know.
ƒ Of those who said yes, more than half (51.7%) reported not knowing the individual well at all,
and 45.7% said that the individual participated in military social activities the same amount
as most other Service members.
ƒ Spouses' views regarding the potential impact of a DADT repeal varied by whether spouses
have family members, friends, or acquaintances whom they believe to be gay or lesbian. In
general, spouses with more than one such acquaintance were less likely to indicate that a
repeal of DADT would have an impact regardless of the issue being asked about.
Retention and Referrals
ƒ Overall, a majority of spouses (65.9%) feel "very positive/positive" about their spouses'
military service, while 30.9% feel "an equal mix of positive and negative feelings."
ƒ Coast Guard and Air Force spouses had the highest percentages of positive feelings (78.2%
and 74.2%, respectively); Army and Marine Corps spouses had the lowest (61.1% and 63.4%,
ƒ A majority of spouses (67.0%) indicated a preference for their spouses to remain in the
military until retirement.
ƒ Spouses indicated a variety of factors they and their military spouses consider when making
decisions about future service in the military. The three most frequently cited factors were
"current pay and benefits" (49.3%), "retirement benefits" (38.9%), and "medical care"
(29.2%).
ƒ A majority of spouses said a repeal of DADT would be "very unimportant/unimportant"
(40.1%) or "neither important or unimportant" (27.7%) to them in making decisions about
their spouses' future in the military.
ƒ Overall, 73.8% of spouses said a repeal of DADT would have no effect on their preference for
their military spouses' future military plans; 11.8% said they would want their military spouse
to leave military service sooner.
ƒ 67.2% said that a repeal of DADT would not affect their willingness to recommend military
service to a family member or close friend.
Family Readiness and Military Life
ƒ 61.4% of spouses rated their families as being "very ready/ready" to handle the challenges
of military life, while 26.8% indicated their families were about "an equal mix of feeling ready
and unready," and 5.7% of spouses said their families were "very unready/unready."
ƒ 47.9% of spouses said they have attended very few or no informal military social events in
the past 12 months; 60.5% said they have attended very few or no deployment-support
gatherings during their military spouses' most recent deployment.
ƒ 57.8% of spouses said that family support programs are "very important/important," 29.7%
said they are "neither important nor unimportant," and 12.5% said they are "very
unimportant/unimportant."
ƒ A large majority of spouses (77.2%) said that a repeal of DADT would have no effect on their
family readiness. This percentage was higher among those spouses who rated their families
as "very ready/ready" (80.7%) than it was among spouses who rated their families as "about
an equal mix of ready and unready" (76.6%) and "very unready/unready" (68.0%).
ƒ A majority of spouses said the presence of the partner of a gay or lesbian Service member
would not affect how often they attend informal military social events (72.0%) or deployment-
support activities (76.4%). However, the spouses who reported having attended more of
these events in the last 12 months were more likely to say that the presence of a gay or
lesbian partner would negatively affect their attendance.
ƒ A majority of spouses (75.1%) said that the presence of the partner of a gay or lesbian
Service member would not affect their participation in family support programs; 15.2% said
they would participate less often.
ƒ 43.0% of spouses did not think any special activities or communications would be necessary
to prepare or assist spouses in understanding the new policy if DADT is repealed. Smaller
percentages said they would like the military to provide information about the repeal in
printed materials (37.4%), on the Web (34.3%), and through Family Readiness Group/Work-
Life Program leaders (21.2%). When spouses who believe that repeal would reduce their
family readiness were asked what family readiness programs they would turn to for
assistance in sustaining family readiness, more than half of these spouses (54.6%) said they
would turn to Family Support Programs, 45.4% would turn to Military OneSource, 39.4% to
deployment-support programs, and 31.3% to on-base chapels.
ƒ A majority of spouses (68.5%) said they would turn to their military spouses if they have
concerns about the impact of DADT repeal. Smaller percentages said they would not need
someone to talk to (31.4%) or that they would turn to a family member (26.8%).
ƒ 79.7% of spouses live in civilian housing, 16.2% live in on-base housing, and 4.1% live in
military housing off-base.
ƒ 24.1% of Active Duty spouses currently live in on-base housing. Much smaller percentages
(less than 2%) of Reserve and National Guard spouses live in on-base housing.
ƒ A majority of spouses (71.9%) said they prefer living in civilian housing, 21.6% preferred on-
base housing, and 6.5% preferred military housing off-base. Spouses most commonly
selected "the safety of the community" (58.5%) and "cost of housing" (56.8%) as the most
important factors they would consider given a choice on where to live.
ƒ 44.2% of spouses said a repeal of DADT would be "very unimportant/unimportant" to them
in choosing where to live, and 27.7% said it would be "neither important nor unimportant."
ƒ A majority of spouses (64.9%) said they would stay on-base if a gay or lesbian Service
member lived in their neighborhood with his or her partner, whereas 20.8% said they would
try to move out.
ƒ 63.1% of spouses said if they lived on-base with a gay or lesbian Service member and
partner as neighbors they would get to know the gay or lesbian Service member like any
other neighbor.
1 Project Introduction
In the January 27, 2010, State of the Union address, President Obama announced that he will work
with Congress to repeal 10 U.S.C. §654, the policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces
known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review of the
issues associated with implementing a repeal of this law. This review is being conducted by a high-
level, inter-Service working group appointed by the Secretary, called the Comprehensive Review
Working Group (CRWG). The CRWG was tasked with developing recommendations for how to
implement a repeal of DADT, if that occurs. The CRWG developed a set of research questions to
guide its efforts. This Project Introduction includes descriptions of some of the information sources
the CRWG used to answer its research questions.
To help it assess the impacts, if any, that a repeal of the law would have on unit cohesion, morale,
military effectiveness, military readiness, family readiness, retention, and recruitment, the CRWG
contracted with Westat to conduct surveys, focus groups, and other data collection efforts designed
to systematically engage Service members and their spouses in the CRWG review. Westat conducted
the following specific tasks for the CRWG:
ƒ Task 1: Conduct a survey of the men and women of the Armed Forces and a separate survey
of Service member spouses. This effort included all Services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine
Corps, and Coast Guard) and all Components of the Armed Forces (Active Duty, National
Guard, and Reserves).
Westat conducted the surveys according to industry standards and provided representative
estimates of overall populations and important subgroups (or domains) of interest.
ƒ Task 2: Support and conduct Information Exchange Forums (IEFs), Leadership Discussion
Groups, focus group discussions, and Family Readiness discussions with Service members
and their spouses.
Westat supported and staffed 79 IEFs, 93 focus groups, 39 Leadership discussions, and 9
Family Readiness discussions. The IEFs were large group meetings where two to three CRWG
leaders discussed the general purpose of the surveys and the focus groups and fielded
questions from the audience. A senior officer and/or civilian as well as a senior enlisted
advisor attended the IEFs. Westat analyzed data from all of these activities to identify topics
of interest and recurring themes or patterns.
ƒ Task 3: Provide confidential communication mechanisms for Service members.
At the end of the Service member survey, Service members were invited to provide feedback
to DoD about the repeal in two ways:
o (1) They could submit a written comment on the CRWG Online Inbox at
www.defense.gov/dadt (users needed a CAC card to access this DoD website).
o Service members could link directly to a website where they could have a confidential
online dialogue/discussion with Westat researchers. Service members were not
asked to provide any personal information during the dialogue, and if any was
provided, Westat deleted the personal information before providing findings to the
DoD. Westat did not share the personal information with anyone.
Westat analyzed the data from these confidential communication mechanisms to identify
topics of interest and recurring themes or patterns.
ƒ Task 4: Produce a final report detailing the data collection methods, summarizing the data
collected, and providing an analysis of findings in terms of major issues and topics identified
and how those differ across subgroups.
The final report from Westat's data collection activities comprises three volumes. Volume 1
contains the analysis of the quantitative data from the Service member and spouse surveys
and written comments from the Service member survey. Volume 2 describes the results of
the analysis of qualitative data collected from the discussion groups, the focus groups, the
IEFs, the online inbox, and the confidential online dialogue. Volume 3 contains a description
of study methods, including detailed descriptions of both the survey methods and the study
methods used in the qualitative analyses. The survey methods section includes a description
of the sample design, survey development, survey administration, response rates, a
nonresponse analysis, and a discussion of the method for creating analytic weights to allow
for the estimation of population values from survey respondents.
The remainder of Volume 1 includes information about, and detailed findings from, the Service
member and spouse surveys. First, we provide background information on the purpose of the
surveys and a brief description of the survey methods. We then report detailed findings for the
Service member survey, followed by detailed findings for the spouse survey. Volume 1 is
accompanied by 38 appendices—Appendices A through AL—that contain a discussion of survey
methods, copies of the two survey instruments, a detailed discussion of regression analysis results,
and 34 data appendices showing item response frequencies overall and by important subgroups for
both Service member and spouse surveys.
2 Service Member and Spouse Survey Background Information
Section 2 addresses the purpose of the surveys and includes a brief summary of survey methods.
2.1 Purpose of the surveys
The surveys were designed to measure perceptions of how a repeal of 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.
Research questions—formal statements of what analysts want to discover from the survey results—
were developed for both the Service member and spouse surveys. The primary research questions
for the Service member survey included the following:
ƒ What is the likely impact of repeal on unit cohesion, morale, military effectiveness, and
ƒ What is the past experience with Service members believed to be gay or lesbian?
ƒ What demographic and service characteristics and military experiences affect Service
members' views about the impact repeal might have?
ƒ Overall, what are the main issues associated with repeal for Service members?
The primary research questions for the spouse survey included the following:
ƒ What is the likely impact of repeal on recruitment, retention, family readiness, and military
community life, including use of military programs and services?
ƒ How and from whom would spouses like to receive information or support about a repeal of
DADT, if that occurs?
ƒ Does acquaintance with gay or lesbian individuals affect spouses' views regarding the
potential impact of a DADT repeal?
2.2 Brief description of survey methods
Section 2.2 briefly describes the target population, sample design, questionnaire development,
survey administration, weighting, and survey response rates of both the Service member and spouse
surveys. These and other survey methods topics, including sample design and selection, data
weighting, and nonresponse analysis are described in more detail in Appendix A of this volume and
in even greater detail in Volume 3 (Study Methods) of this report.
2.2.1 Target population
Service member survey. The overall target population of the Service member survey included both
Active Duty and Reserve Component members. Among Active Duty members, the target population
was members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, up to and including pay
grade O-6 with at least 6 months of service as of June 15, 2010 (1,416,741 Active Duty Service
members). The target population of the National Guard and Reserve members was Guard and
Reserve members of the Army National Guard, the Army Reserve, the Naval Reserve, the Air National
Guard, the Air Force Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve, up to and
including pay grade O-6 with at least 6 months of service as of June 15, 2010 (831,193 Reserve and
National Guard members). Service members of the National Guard or Reserve who have been
activated under authority of Title 10 or Title 32 were included in the population of National Guard
and Reserve Service members, not the population of Active Duty Service members.
Spouse survey. For the spouse survey, the target population was spouses of Active Duty and National
Guard and Reserve members included in the target population of the Service member survey. The
target population size for Active Duty spouses was 703,586; the size for spouses of Reserve and
National Guard members was 370,250. Spouses of activated Reserve or National Guard members
were included in the population of Reserve and National Guard spouses, not the population of Active
Duty spouses. Both spouse populations excluded spouses in dual-military marriages—that is,
spouses who themselves were Active Duty, National Guard, or Reserve members.
2.2.2 Sample design
For both surveys, the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) developed the sample design and
provided it to Westat for review. DMDC used data from its personnel files to create sampling frame
strata. DMDC selected the samples from the frames and updated the sample files for both surveys
just prior to administration.
Service member sample size. The Service member sample population included 199,962 Active Duty
Service members and 199,894 Reserve and National Guard members.
Spouse survey sample size. For the spouse survey, the sample population included 69,986 spouses
of Active Duty members and 80,200 spouses of Reserve and National Guard members.
2.2.3 Questionnaire development
Westat worked closely with the CRWG to create survey questionnaires for both the Service member
and spouse surveys. For the Service member survey, the CRWG provided an initial question bank
and terms of reference for the study. (The terms of reference, which provided guiding principles for
the study, are included at the end of Appendix A). For the spouse survey, CRWG identified topics of
interest and guiding principles. Westat also used information collected in early focus groups and IEFs
to identify issues related to a repeal of DADT that are important to Service members and spouses.
The survey development process for both surveys was iterative and included reviews by the DMDC
and by Service Chiefs and representatives for the five Services. Westat conducted two rounds of
cognitive interviews with Service members recruited by the CRWG to pretest drafts of the Service
member survey. Because of time constraints, Westat was unable to conduct cognitive interviews to
pretest the spouse survey.
Service member survey. Westat programmed the Service member survey for administration via a
secure web site. (Appendix B includes screens shots of the Service member survey.)
Spouse survey. For the spouse survey, Westat developed a scannable paper survey for delivery by
postal mail. (Appendix C includes a copy of the spouse survey.)
2.2.4 Survey administration
Service member survey. Survey administration for the Service member survey began on July 7,
2010, and continued through August 15, 2010. Five reminder notices were sent to Service member
nonrespondents, with two of the notices sent by both email and postal mail and the other three by
email only. In addition, the individual Services independently sent communications encouraging
participation in the survey to their Service members.
Spouse survey. The Service member spouse survey was administered later, beginning on August 13,
2010, and continuing through September 27, 2010. Reminder notices were sent to spouse
nonrespondents, followed by a second copy of the survey and a final reminder.
2.2.5 Weighting
The process of weighting refers to the calculation of a sampling weight for each survey respondent.
Weighting is appropriate when the sample design is complex (that is, sample members do not all
have the same probability of selection) and there is nonresponse to the survey. The sample designs
for the Service member and spouse surveys included oversampling (to provide adequate sample
sizes for CRWG domains of interest)—resulting in unequal probabilities of selection. In addition, there
were many nonrespondents. Weights were calculated to achieve the survey objective of making
inferences from the data collected from respondents to all members of the survey target
populations. Without the weights, calculated aggregate estimates would be biased.
Calculation of the weights for each of the two surveys was a three-step process: First, statisticians
calculated base weights that took into account the oversampling that was performed during sample
selection. Second, they adjusted the initial weights to take into account differences in response rates
across demographic categories. Third, they adjusted the weights to take into account known
information about the demographic structure of the two survey populations.
In Section 3, which presents demographic characteristics and deployment history of Service member
respondents, the data are unweighted. In Section 4, which presents findings on the Service member
survey measures, the data are weighted. Note, however, that when counts (Ns) appear in any tables
in the findings sections, they represent unweighted counts of respondents who answered the
questions. Section 5 discusses the spouse survey findings. The section starts with a presentation of
demographic characteristics of spouse respondents (unweighted data), followed by a presentation of
survey findings (weighted data).
2.2.6 Response rates
Service member survey. The Service member survey had an overall weighted response rate of 28%.
The weighted response rate was 28% for Active Duty members and 27% for Reserve Component
members.1 Weighted Active Duty response rates by Service were:
ƒ Army – 19%
ƒ Navy – 28%
ƒ Marine Corps – 29%
ƒ Air Force – 39%
ƒ Coast Guard – 54%
Weighted Reserve Component response rates were:
ƒ Army National Guard – 22%
ƒ Army Reserve – 25%
ƒ Navy Reserve – 33%
ƒ Marine Corps Reserve – 20%
ƒ Air Force National Guard – 38%
1The unweighted response rates were similar to the weighted. For example, the overall unweighted response rate was 29%, with the Active
Duty sample having a slightly higher unweighted response rate than the Reserve sample (30% vs. 28%, respectively).
ƒ Air Force Reserve – 39%
ƒ Coast Guard Reserve – 39%
Spouse survey. The spouse survey had an overall weighted response rate of 29%. The weighted
response rate was 28% for Active Duty spouses and 32% for Reserve Component spouses. Weighted
Active Duty spouse response rates by Service were:
Weighted Reserve Component spouse response rates were:
See Volume 3 (Study Methods) of this report for weighted response rates by each of the domains of
interest—for example, Service by pay grade group.
2.3 Data analysis
Descriptive analyses. Analysts computed descriptive statistics, including counts, percentages,
means, and standard deviations, for characteristics of respondents and the survey measures. Also,
they produced cross-tabulations and calculated correlations between current assessments of unit
characteristics and post-repeal perceptions of the effect of DADT repeal on the same unit
characteristics. In addition, they developed response scale scores and calculated average response
scores for selected items.
To further analyze the survey data, the study team created new variables that grouped Service
members on the basis of whether or not they reported having served with Service members they
believed to be gay or lesbian. For an analysis of Service members' assessments of their current
immediate units, responses were compared for two "served with" groups:
ƒ Service members who are currently serving with a Service member they believe to be gay or
lesbian (i.e., those who answered "Yes" to survey question 34), and
ƒ Service members who are not currently serving with a Service member they believe to be gay
or lesbian (i.e., those who answered "No" to survey question 34).
For an analysis of Service members' perceptions regarding the impact of DADT repeal, responses
were compared for three "served with" groups:
lesbian (i.e., those who answered "Yes" to survey question 34);
ƒ Service members who served in the past, but are not currently serving, with a Service
member they believed to be gay or lesbian (i.e., those who answered "No" to survey question
34, but answered "Yes" to either survey question 35, 36, or 37); and
ƒ Service members who have never served with a Service member they believed to be gay or
lesbian (i.e., those who answered "No" to survey questions 34, 35, 36, and 37).
Another created variable used in the analysis divided Service members into warfare and non-warfare
communities. The warfare community was defined as Service members with military occupational
specialties of Army Combat Arms; Navy Surface, Aviation, and Submarine; Marine Combat Arms; Air
Force Operations; and Coast Guard Afloat and Aviation.
Multivariate regression analysis for the Service member survey. To examine how various
demographic and service characteristics, current unit assessments, past unit experiences, and
Service members' overall assessments of leadership in their current unit (independent variables)
were related to perceptions about the impact of repealing DADT (dependent variables), analysts
conducted multivariate regression analyses. These analyses provided information about the
relationship between each independent variable included in the model and the dependent variable
(i.e., the outcome of interest), controlling for the potential influence of every other variable in the
Logistic regression. To predict the impact of DADT repeal on Service members' military career
intentions, Westat used a logistic regression model and reported odds ratios for the model. Logistic
regression is used to predict the probability of the occurrence of an event, which by definition is
constrained to be between 0 and 1. Odds ratios can range from 0.00 to infinity, with 1.00 as the
point at which the odds are considered equal (that is, the variable has no effect on military career
intentions). In a logistic regression, an odds ratio greater than 1.00 means the independent variable
is positively associated with the dependent variable; the larger the odds ratio, the stronger the
No regression analyses were conducted using the spouse survey data.
HOW TO READ THIS REPORT
In this report, we generally present results for the total population only; however, we also report on
differences among various demographic and service-related subgroups for whom data may or may
not be included in the tables. (When the data are not included in the tables, we note where the data
can be found in the data appendices.) Subgroups whose data were examined included Service,
Component, gender, pay grade group, and warfare community. In addition, we report on the "served
with" subgroups described in Section 2.3 for the Service member survey and "acquaintance with gay
or lesbian individuals" subgroups for the spouse survey.
Because the survey estimates in this report are based on a large number of survey completes,
differences between groups shown in tables can be considered statistically significant. Unless noted
otherwise, we used a criterion of a difference of 5 percentage points or more to select and highlight
differences among subgroups for both the Service member and spouse survey. Note that all Service
member percentage estimates in Section 4 of this report are weighted data. When counts (Ns)
appear in the tables in Section 4, they are unweighted (i.e., actual) counts of respondents. Complete
survey response data for the Service member survey are included in Appendices D–U, which contain
the frequency distributions of responses to each survey question (Appendix D) and question
responses by Service, Component, gender, pay grade, age group, military specialty, "served with"
groups, and Service by Component. Percentages in the appendices are weighted data; counts
(labeled "N") in the appendices are actual counts of respondents.
Spouse results are presented in Section 5. As with the Service member results, survey results are
weighted data, although when counts (Ns) appear in the tables, they are unwieghted. Complete
spouse survey response data are included in Appendices W–AL, which contain the frequency
distribution of responses to each survey question (Appendix W) and question responses by Service,
Component, pay grade, age group, Service by gender, and Service by Component.
The data analysis starts with a look at the characteristics of survey respondents for the Service
member survey in Section 3. In Section 4, the discussions of the Service member survey results have
been organized around the research questions presented in the beginning of Section 2.1 and the
subject areas to be addressed by the CRWG review. Section 5 contains the results of the spouse
survey. It begins with the characteristics of spouse survey respondents, followed by the spouse
survey results organized by major subject area. The final two sections, Section 6 and Section 7,
present qualitative findings from written comments made on the Service member survey and
the spouse survey.
3 Profile of Service Member Survey Respondents
This section includes information on survey respondent demographic characteristics and deployment
status. All data presented in Section 3 are unweighted.
Table 3.1 presents demographic characteristics for respondents overall and by Service. Survey
respondents had the following demographic characteristics:
ƒ 51.7% were Active Duty service members, 18.5% were National Guard members, and 29.7%
were Reserve members;
ƒ 47.6% were 25 to 38 years old;
ƒ most were male (83.0%);
ƒ 73.8% were non-minority (i.e., non-Hispanic White); and
ƒ 62.4% were enlisted, 34.2% were officers, and 3.3% were warrant officers.
Among all respondents, 8.8% were currently deployed at the time of the survey, 65.7% had been
deployed at some point in the past for 30 days or more but were not currently deployed, and 25.5%
had never been deployed (Table 3.2). In this instance, deployed could mean to a combat zone or, in
the case of the Navy and Coast Guard, in a ship out to sea.
Respondent Demographics, Overall and by Service
Overall Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Coast Guard
N % N % N % N % N % N %
Active Duty 59,494 51.7% 11,488 37.7% 12,603 58.5% 10,740 64.7% 18,644 47.7% 6,019 81.1%
National Guard 21,335 18.5% 10,311 33.9% -- -- -- -- 11,024 28.2% -- --
Reserve 34,223 29.7% 8,634 28.4% 8,924 41.5% 5,869 35.3% 9,397 24.1% 1,399 18.9%
Age Group (Q98)
18-24 years 16,742 15.2% 3,779 13.0% 2,732 13.3% 3,620 22.9% 5,325 14.3% 1,286 18.0%
25-38 years 52,416 47.6% 12,968 44.5% 9,804 47.8% 8,340 52.7% 17,169 46.0% 4,135 57.8%
53 years or more 3,626 3.3% 1,510 5.2% 598 2.9% 73 0.5% 1,340 3.6% 105 1.5%
Gender (Q99)
Female 18,587 17.0% 4,810 16.6% 3,635 17.8% 1,165 7.4% 7,923 21.3% 1,054 14.8%
Male 90,893 83.0% 24,201 83.4% 16,794 82.2% 14,593 92.6% 29,253 78.7% 6,052 85.2%
(Q100/Q101)
Minority 28,553 26.2% 8,122 28.1% 6,227 30.6% 4,469 28.5% 8,313 22.5% 1,422 20.1%
Non-minority* 80,368 73.8% 20,794 71.9% 14,113 69.4% 11,193 71.5% 28,630 77.5% 5,638 79.9%
Enlisted/Officer (Q97)
Enlisted 68,665 62.4% 16,838 57.8% 13,064 63.7% 10,202 64.4% 22,891 61.3% 5,670 79.3%
Warrant Officers 3,678 3.3% 2,860 9.8% 188 0.9% 340 2.1% 5 0.0% 285 4.0%
Officers 37,625 34.2% 9,431 32.4% 7,263 35.4% 5,300 33.5% 14,437 38.7% 1,194 16.7%
Pay Grade Group
(Q97)
E1-E3 8,486 7.7% 1,772 6.1% 1,246 6.1% 1,954 12.3% 2,944 7.9% 570 8.0%
E4 13,523 12.3% 4,204 14.4% 2,253 11.0% 1,702 10.7% 4,079 10.9% 1,285 18.0%
E5-E6 26,938 24.5% 6,538 22.4% 5,425 26.4% 3,678 23.2% 8,448 22.6% 2,849 39.9%
E7-E9 19,718 17.9% 4,324 14.8% 4,140 20.2% 2,868 18.1% 7,420 19.9% 966 13.5%
W1-W5 3,678 3.3% 2,860 9.8% 188 0.9% 340 2.1% 5 0.0% 285 4.0%
O1-O3 16,688 15.2% 4,118 14.1% 3,399 16.6% 2,179 13.8% 6,290 16.8% 702 9.8%
O4 or above 20,937 19.0% 5,313 18.2% 3,864 18.8% 3,121 19.7% 8,147 21.8% 492 6.9%
Marital Status (Q9)
Now married 75,444 65.7% 20,244 66.7% 14,039 65.4% 10,597 63.9% 25,962 66.6% 4,602 62.1%
Legally separated/
filing for divorce 2,909 2.5% 825 2.7% 679 3.2% 489 2.9% 715 1.8% 201 2.7%
Divorced 9,392 8.2% 2,820 9.3% 1,720 8.0% 1,026 6.2% 3,293 8.4% 533 7.2%
Widowed 275 0.2% 100 0.3% 58 0.3% 17 0.1% 88 0.2% 12 0.2%
Never married 26,802 23.3% 6,378 21.0% 4,982 23.2% 4,450 26.8% 8,933 22.9% 2,059 27.8%
Note: Unweighted data.
*Non-Hispanic, White Service members.
Respondent Deployment History
Marine Coast
N Overall Army Navy Corps Air Force Guard
Have you ever been deployed for 30 days or more? (Q6)
Yes, and I am currently deployed 10,114 8.8% 12.9% 9.9% 7.0% 5.0% 12.8%
Yes, but I am not currently deployed 75,383 65.7% 64.2% 68.3% 73.5% 63.4% 59.0%
No 29,292 25.5% 22.9% 21.8% 19.6% 31.6% 28.2%
Since Sept. 11, 2001, have you been deployed to a combat zone
or area where you received imminent danger pay or hostile fire
pay? (Q7)
Yes 66,053 77.3% 86.9% 73.2% 88.8% 76.2% 25.0%
4 Findings From the Service Member Survey
The survey obtained the following information on Service members:
ƒ Service in the Armed Forces and characteristics of their immediate unit;
ƒ Assessment of immediate unit cohesion, effectiveness, morale, and readiness;
ƒ Current career intentions and factors influencing their career decisions;
ƒ Experience working with Service members they believe to be gay or lesbian;
ƒ Views on the impact repeal may have on immediate unit cohesion, morale, effectiveness,
and readiness;
ƒ Views on repeal implementation and how repeal will affect their career intentions and
willingness to recommend military service to others; and
ƒ Likely actions if repeal occurs regarding family readiness and housing/berthing/billeting
Several survey questions (regarding both current conditions and the expected impact of the repeal of
DADT) asked Service members to answer the questions in relation to their "immediate unit." In the
survey instructions, immediate unit was defined as the smallest group of people (generally expected
to be fewer than 20) the Service member currently works with on a daily basis. Commanders and
headquarters staff were instructed to use their immediate staff as their immediate unit. Table 4.1
presents the characteristics of Service members' immediate units for all Service members and by
Characteristics of Service Members' Immediate Units, Overall and by Service
Overall Army Navy Corps Air Force Guard
About how many people serve in your immediate unit? (Q2)
1 to 10 27.1% 26.4% 27.8% 26.3% 28.6% 26.3%
11 to 20 33.3% 31.0% 37.9% 36.0% 33.6% 32.0%
21 to 30 10.9% 9.6% 13.0% 12.3% 11.2% 13.8%
31 to 40 6.2% 6.2% 6.0% 6.5% 6.2% 6.7%
Larger than 50 16.2% 20.3% 10.3% 12.2% 14.2% 14.3%
Does your immediate unit include both men and women? (Q4)
Yes 80.0% 77.3% 85.9% 62.7% 89.4% 84.5%
No 20.0% 22.7% 14.1% 37.3% 10.6% 15.5%
Does your immediate unit include individuals of different races
or ethnicities? (Q5)
No 3.6% 3.4% 2.6% 2.2% 5.1% 6.0%
About how long have you worked in your unit? (Q3)
0 - 3 months 10.7% 10.5% 9.8% 13.7% 9.9% 17.7%
4 - 6 months 11.5% 11.3% 12.6% 15.1% 10.0% 5.9%
7 - 12 months 19.0% 19.7% 19.8% 19.3% 16.8% 17.3%
13 - 18 months 14.9% 14.8% 17.2% 15.0% 12.9% 18.6%
19 - 24 months 11.0% 11.3% 12.3% 10.7% 9.9% 10.0%
More than 2 years 32.8% 32.4% 28.3% 26.2% 40.6% 30.4%
Note: The survey defined immediate unit as the smallest group of people that Service members currently work with on a daily basis.
When answering questions about their immediate units, 27.1% of Service members were thinking
about a unit of 1 to 10 people and 33.3% were thinking about 11 to 20 people. Immediate units
tended to include both men and women (80.0% of all units) and individuals from different races or
ethnicities (96.4% of all units). The main exception was in the Marine Corps, where 37.3% of units
consisted of a single sex, possibly because of the existence of male-only combat units. Also, Reserve
units were more likely to include both men and women (89.3%) than Active Duty and National Guard
units (see Q4 Appendix F).
In the military, Service members often change units with new assignments or locations. However,
89.2% of Service members worked in their immediate unit for 4 or more months, suggesting a
sufficient level of familiarity with their immediate unit to be able to answer survey questions about
that unit.
4.1 What is the likely impact of repeal?
The Service member survey asked a series of questions about the possible impact of a repeal of the
DADT law. Survey respondents were asked "to think about the situation where DADT is repealed and
you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or
lesbian." The survey asked how, if at all, repeal would affect the following subject areas:
ƒ Unit cohesion,
ƒ Unit effectiveness and personal performance,
ƒ Personal morale,
ƒ Unit and personal readiness,
ƒ Retention, and
ƒ Recruitment.
Questions were also asked about the impact of repeal on issues related to family readiness, housing,
and how easy or difficult it would be for leaders to implement any change in the law. This section of
the report includes, for each subject area, baseline information about the subject area (for instance,
Service members' current assessments of unit cohesion in their immediate units) and then data on
Service members' perceptions about the effect of a DADT repeal on the same subject area.
Questions are often asked about how a repeal of
Unit Cohesion Findings at a Glance:
DADT might affect unit cohesion. Unit cohesion has
several dimensions, and the eight survey items
ƒ Service members reported positive
perceptions about current unit related to unit cohesion touched on four of them:
cohesion (average score of 3.94 on
a 5-point scale).
ƒ Social cohesion, which refers to the
ƒ Service members' rated unit task
cohesion slightly more positively emotional bonds of friendship, caring, and trust
than their unit social cohesion; also, between unit members;
they rated unit horizontal cohesion
more positively than unit vertical
cohesion. ƒ Task cohesion, which refers to the shared
ƒ Overall, having good NCOs and commitment among unit members to work together
having good officers were the
strongest predictors of Service and achieve the goals set for them;
members' unit cohesion ratings.
Post repeal
ƒ Horizontal cohesion, which relates to
ƒ A majority of Service members bonding between peers (Service member to Service
(53.6%) said repeal of DADT would member); and
have a neutral affect on overall unit
cohesion (no effect or an effect that
is equally positive and negative). ƒ Vertical cohesion, which relates to
ƒ 27.3% of Service members said bonding between leaders and their subordinates
repeal would affect overall unit
cohesion negatively. (Service member to leader and vice versa).
ƒ Service members currently serving
with a Service member they believe Service members used a 5-point Likert response
to be gay or lesbian were the least scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly
likely to say that unit cohesion would
be affected negatively by repeal. agree) to answer several positively worded items
ƒ Marines were more likely than other about their immediate units' current level of unit
Service members to perceive
negative effects of repeal on unit cohesion (Table 4.2). The items used in the current
cohesion. assessment of unit cohesion are from a validated
scale used in various military surveys to measure unit
cohesion. Thus, an average score was calculated for each item, each type of unit cohesion, and
overall. The neutral response "Neither agree nor disagree" was assigned a midpoint score of 3.00.
Any current assessment score higher than 3.00 represents a positive response (on average,
"strongly agree/agree") and any score lower than 3.00 represents a negative response (on average,
"strongly disagree/disagree").
Perceptions of current unit cohesion. In general, Service members were quite positive about current
unit cohesion. This was true across all Services and military Components. The average score for
overall unit cohesion, which averaged responses to all eight items asked in survey questions 14 and
15, was 3.94. Average scores for individual items ranged from a low of 3.74 for "Leaders in my
immediate unit have the skills and abilities to lead unit members into combat" to a high of 4.22 for
"Service members in my immediate unit work together to get the job done." Service members rated
task cohesion higher than social cohesion in their units (overall, 4.04 versus 3.88) and rated
horizontal cohesion higher than vertical cohesion in their units (overall, 3.99 versus 3.89). (See the
average scores in Table 4.2.)
Current Assessment of Unit Cohesion
Strongly agree Strongly
Average agree/ nor disagree/
Score StdDev Agree disagree Disagree
Overall 3.94 -- 74.8% 17.0% 8.2%
Social Cohesion 3.88 -- 72.1% 19.0% 8.9%
Service members in my immediate unit trust each other. (H) (Q14c) 3.82 0.92 69.0% 20.5% 10.5%
Service members in my immediate unit really care about each other. (H) (Q14d) 3.76 0.93 65.4% 24.2% 10.3%
Service members in my immediate unit can get help from their leaders on personal
problems. (V) (Q15a) 4.02 0.86 79.1% 13.7% 7.2%
Leaders in my immediate unit trust their unit members. (V) (Q15b) 3.83 0.88 70.9% 20.1% 9.1%
Leaders in my immediate unit care about their Service members. (V) (Q15d) 3.96 0.88 76.0% 16.3% 7.6%
Task Cohesion 4.04 -- 79.3% 13.7% 7.0%
Service members in my immediate unit work together to get the job done. (H)
(Q14a) 4.22 0.72 88.4% 7.5% 4.0%
Service members in my immediate unit pull together to perform as a team. (H)
(Q14b) 4.15 0.77 84.4% 10.4% 5.1%
Leaders in my immediate unit have the skills and abilities to lead unit members into
combat. (V) (Q15c) 3.74 1.00 65.1% 23.1% 11.9%
Horizontal Cohesion 3.99 -- 76.8% 15.7% 7.5%
Vertical Cohesion 3.89 -- 72.8% 18.3% 8.9%
Notes: (H) indicates that the item measures horizontal cohesion. (V) indicates that the item measures vertical cohesion. The average scores were calculated by assigning the
following points to each response and taking the average: Strongly disagree=1, Disagree=2, Neither agree nor disagree=3, Agree=4, and Strongly agree=5.
In Table 4.3, we summarize Service members' assessments of current unit cohesion by the two-
group "served with" variable described in Section 2.3 above. An important caveat to this analysis is
that the survey question that asked Service members if they currently serve with a male or female
Service member they believe to be gay or lesbian (Q34) did not specify that this individual be in their
immediate unit, whereas the assessment of current unit cohesion is specific to Service members'
immediate units. (This issue does not affect post-repeal comparisons by the "served with" groups.)
Given this caveat, Table 4.3 shows that Service members currently serving with a Service member
they believe to be gay or lesbian rated their overall unit cohesion lower (3.75 overall) than did
Service members not currently serving with a Service member they believed to be gay or lesbian
(4.04 overall). The same rating pattern appears in all four dimensions of unit cohesion. Whether or
not the lower unit cohesion ratings are due to serving with a Service member believed to be gay or
lesbian is not known from the data. However, Service members who are not currently serving with a
Service member they believed to be gay or lesbian were more likely to rate overall unit cohesion
positively (78.6% overall) than Service members who said they currently serve with someone they
believe to be gay or lesbian (68.1% overall).
Current Assessment of Unit Cohesion by Having Served With a Service Member Believed to Be Gay or Lesbian
Average Strongly Neither agree disagree/
Score agree/ Agree nor disagree Disagree
Overall 3.94 74.8% 17.0% 8.2%
Currently serving with 3.75 68.1% 19.7% 12.3%
Not currently serving with 4.04 78.6% 15.5% 6.0%
Social Cohesion 3.88 72.1% 19.0% 8.9%
Task Cohesion 4.04 79.3% 13.7% 7.0%
Horizontal Cohesion 3.99 76.8% 15.7% 7.5%
Vertical Cohesion 3.89 72.8% 18.3% 8.9%
Note: The average scores were calculated by assigning the following points to each response and taking the average: Strongly disagree=1, Disagree=2, Neither agree nor
disagree=3, Agree=4, and Strongly agree=5.
Predicting current unit cohesion. The study team developed a multiple linear regression model to
examine the factors influencing Service members' assessments of current unit cohesion. The model
(described in detail in Appendix V) used Service members' demographic characteristics, service
characteristics, unit characteristics, and whether or not Service members are currently serving with
someone they believe to be gay or lesbian to predict how Service members rated current cohesion in
their immediate units. The model accounted for 38.8% of the variance in current unit cohesion.
Overall, having good NCO leaders and good officers were the strongest predictors of Service
members' ratings of current unit cohesion. Whether or not a Service member is currently serving with
someone believed to be gay or lesbian was also a significant predictor of current unit cohesion, but
its overall effect was not as strong.
Perceived effect of repeal on unit cohesion. Service members were also asked how, if at all, unit
cohesion would be affected if DADT is repealed and they are working with a Service member in their
immediate unit who said he or she is gay or lesbian. The response scale ranged from 1 (Very
negatively) to 5 (Very positively) with an additional response of "No effect" added in the post-repeal
questions. The response category "Neutral" in Table 4.4 includes the "No effect" responses as well
as responses of "Equally as positively as negatively."
Overall, a majority of Service members (53.6%) said that a repeal of DADT would have either "no
effect" (20.7%) or would affect overall unit cohesion "equally as positively as negatively" (32.9%). A
smaller but still substantial group, 27.3% of Service members, reported that repeal will affect unit
cohesion either "very negatively/negatively." A smaller number, 19.1% of Service members, said that
repeal will affect unit cohesion "very positively/positively." In general, this same response pattern
exists for the individual unit cohesion items and for each dimension of unit cohesion as well (See
Table 4.4).
Impact of DADT Repeal on Unit Cohesion
Very Equally as Very
positively/ positively as No Total negatively/
Positively negatively effect neutral Negatively
Overall 19.1% 32.9% 20.7% 53.6% 27.3%
Social Cohesion 19.1% 33.3% 20.4% 53.8% 27.1%
How Service members in your immediate unit trust each other. (H)
(Q68c) 18.1% 31.2% 17.6% 48.8% 33.1%
How much Service members in your immediate unit care about each
other. (H) (Q68d) 18.0% 33.6% 18.4% 52.0% 30.0%
Service members in your immediate unit can get help from their leaders
on personal problems. (V) (Q69a) 19.9% 33.5% 21.9% 55.4% 24.7%
Leaders in your immediate unit trust their unit members. (V) (Q69b) 19.2% 33.8% 21.7% 55.4% 25.4%
Leaders in your immediate unit care about their Service members. (V)
(Q69d) 20.3% 34.6% 22.7% 57.3% 22.4%
Task Cohesion 19.1% 32.2% 21.1% 53.3% 27.6%
How Service members in your immediate unit work together to get the
job done. (H) (Q68a) 18.4% 32.1% 19.9% 52.0% 29.6%
How Service members in your immediate unit pull together to perform as
a team. (H) (Q68b) 19.4% 31.8% 19.3% 51.1% 29.5%
Leaders in your immediate unit have the skills and abilities to lead unit
members into combat. (V) (Q69c) 19.4% 32.7% 24.1% 56.7% 23.8%
Horizontal Cohesion 18.5% 32.2% 18.8% 51.0% 30.5%
Vertical Cohesion 19.7% 33.6% 22.6% 56.2% 24.1%
Notes: (H) indicates that the item measures horizontal cohesion. (V) indicates that the item measures vertical cohesion. The two neutral categories may not sum to the "Total
neutral" shown because of rounding.
The findings did not differ substantially by Component or Service with the exception of the Marine
Corps, as shown in Table 4.5. Marines were more likely than members of the other Services to
perceive that a repeal of DADT would affect unit cohesion "very negatively/negatively": "Very
negatively/negatively" percentages for the Marine Corps were 39.5% overall, 39.2% for social
cohesion, 40.0% for task cohesion, 44.1% for horizontal cohesion, and 34.8% for vertical cohesion.
The percentage of "very negative/negative" responses was highest for the social cohesion item "How
Service members in your immediate unit trust each other" for all Services, but was much higher for
Marines than for other Service members. For this item, 47.2% of Marines said a repeal of DADT
would have a negative impact, followed by 35.5% of Army members, 28.3% of Air Force members,
25.1% of Navy members, and 24.7% of Coast Guard members.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Unit Cohesion (Very Negatively/Negatively by Service)
Very negatively/Negatively
Overall 27.3% 29.4% 20.4% 39.5% 22.9% 20.8%
Social Cohesion 27.1% 29.3% 20.5% 39.2% 22.4% 20.6%
How Service members in your immediate unit trust each
other. (H) (Q68c) 33.1% 35.5% 25.1% 47.2% 28.3% 24.7%
How much Service members in your immediate unit care
about each other. (H) (Q68d) 30.0% 32.0% 23.1% 43.8% 25.1% 22.3%
Service members in your immediate unit can get help
from their leaders on personal problems. (V) (Q69a) 24.7% 26.4% 19.1% 35.0% 20.7% 20.0%
Leaders in your immediate unit trust their unit members.
(V) (Q69b) 25.4% 28.0% 18.5% 36.4% 20.2% 18.8%
Leaders in your immediate unit care about their Service
members. (V) (Q69d) 22.4% 24.5% 16.8% 33.5% 17.6% 17.0%
Task Cohesion 27.6% 29.6% 20.2% 40.0% 23.9% 21.2%
How Service members in your immediate unit work
together to get the job done. (H) (Q68a) 29.6% 31.9% 21.5% 42.8% 25.2% 22.3%
How Service members in your immediate unit pull
together to perform as a team. (H) (Q68b) 29.5% 31.8% 21.2% 42.8% 25.2% 21.8%
Leaders in your immediate unit have the skills and
abilities to lead unit members into combat. (V) (Q69c) 23.8% 25.0% 18.0% 34.4% 21.3% 19.4%
Horizontal Cohesion 30.5% 32.8% 22.7% 44.1% 26.0% 22.8%
Vertical Cohesion 24.1% 26.0% 18.1% 34.8% 19.9% 18.8%
Notes: (H) indicates that the item measures horizontal cohesion. (V) indicates that the item measures vertical cohesion.
Table 4.6 summarizes Service members' opinions about how repeal of DADT will affect unit cohesion
by the three-group "served with" variable, which divides Service members into those currently
serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian, those who served in the past with someone
they believe to be gay or lesbian, and those who report never having served with someone they
believed to be gay or lesbian. The purpose of analyzing the data by this new grouping was to examine
whether experience in serving with gay and lesbian Service members (and the "recentness" of that
experience) mitigates Service members' concerns regarding the impact of a repeal of DADT.
Similar to the overall findings on unit cohesion, a majority in each of the "served with" groups said a
repeal would affect unit cohesion either "equally positively or negatively" or would have "no effect"
on unit cohesion. For the currently serving with group, the percentages saying repeal would affect
unit cohesion "very positively/positively" and "very negatively/negatively" were nearly equal (about
23%). In general, the currently serving with group was less likely than the other two groups to
perceive that a repeal of DADT would affect unit cohesion negatively. This group was also more likely
than the other two groups to perceive that a repeal of DADT would affect unit cohesion positively.
The data presented on Service members in each group who said repeal will affect unit cohesion
either "very negatively/negatively" indicate that those who currently serve with a Service member
they believe to be gay or lesbian were least likely to say that unit cohesion would be affected "very
negatively/negatively" by repeal (23.8%), followed by those who have served in the past with
someone they believed to be gay or lesbian (29.0%) and those who never served with someone they
believed to be gay or lesbian (29.7%). This response pattern exists across all four dimensions of unit
cohesion asked about in the survey.
The largest difference between "served with" groups in negative perceptions about the impact of
repeal was for horizontal cohesion. Among those currently serving with someone believed to be gay
or lesbian, 25.7% said that repeal would affect horizontal cohesion "very negatively/negatively,"
compared with 33.9% of those who have never served with someone they believe to be gay or
Post-repeal Assessment of Unit Cohesion by Having Served With a Service Member Believed to be Gay or Lesbian
positively/ positively as Total negatively/
Positively negatively No effect neutral Negatively
Currently serving with 23.0% 30.7% 22.4% 53.1% 23.8%
Have served with in the past, but not now 15.5% 34.3% 21.2% 55.5% 29.0%
Have never served with 19.3% 33.9% 17.1% 50.9% 29.7%
Note: The two neutral categories may not sum to the "Total neutral" shown because of rounding.
There were also large differences between men and women in their views of how repeal would affect
unit cohesion. Men were generally more than twice as likely as women to say that repeal would
impact unit cohesion negatively for each survey item related to unit cohesion (Q68 and Q69 in
Appendix I). For instance, 36.1% of men, compared with 16.9% of women, responded that repeal
would affect "how service members in your immediate unit trust each other" "very negatively/
negatively." In general, female Service members were substantially less likely than male Service
members to perceive negative impacts following repeal for all of the major issues asked about in the
survey.
Socializing off-duty and unit cohesion. The survey asked Service members three questions about
socializing off-duty. The first question asked Service members: "For your immediate unit to work
together well, how important is it for unit members to socialize together off-duty?" The survey also
asked how often their immediate unit socialized together off-duty in the last 2 months. A third
question asked if DADT is repealed and their immediate unit includes a Service member who has
said he or she is gay or lesbian, how would that affect how often their immediate unit socializes
together off-duty.
Forty-six percent of Service members said that socializing together off-duty was "very important/
important" for their immediate unit to work together well (Table 4.7). Among these Service members
who said socializing off-duty was "very important/important," 36.1% reported that their immediate
unit had socialized together off-duty two or three times in the last 2 months and 19.3% reported
socializing together four or more times in the last 2 months.
Regardless of Service members' differing perceptions about the level of importance of socializing
together off-duty, 31.4% or more of Service members said that if DADT is repealed and they are
working with a Service member in their immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, the
number of times spent socializing together off-duty will "probably decrease." A substantial number of
Service members, however, said that repeal "would probably have no effect" on socializing together
off-duty (ranging from 41.5% among those who consider socializing together "very
important/important" to 50.1% among those who consider socializing together off-duty "very
Impact of DADT Repeal on Unit Socializing by Perceived Importance of Socializing Off-Duty
Of those who said, for their immediate unit to work together
well, socializing together off-duty was:
Very important/ Neither important Very unimportant/
Important nor unimportant Unimportant
(46.1%) (40.5%) (13.4%)
In the last 2 months, about how often has your immediate unit socialized
together off-duty? (Q25)
Not at all in the last 2 months 21.3% 33.9% 52.0%
Once 23.3% 28.7% 25.8%
Two or three times 36.1% 29.2% 17.7%
Four or more times 19.3% 8.2% 4.5%
If DADT is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your
immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would it
affect how often your immediate unit socializes together off-duty? (Q72)
Probably increase how much we get together 2.3% 1.5% 2.1%
Probably decrease how much we get together 41.9% 33.0% 31.4%
It would probably have no effect 41.5% 46.8% 50.1%
Don't know 14.4% 18.6% 16.4%
Marines, more than members of other Services, were more likely to say that socializing off-duty is
"very important/important" (54.3%, Q20 Appendix E). Among Marines who responded "very
important/important," 57.0% said that if DADT is repealed, it would probably decrease how much
their immediate unit gets together and 28.0% said it would probably have no effect (data not shown).
Unit effectiveness reflects how well military
Unit Effectiveness Findings at a Glance:
units perform the tasks assigned to them. The
survey explored the issue of whether Service
ƒ Service members currently deployed to a combat
zone were most likely to rate their immediate units as members believe that working with a Service
effective in a field environment or out to sea (83.7%),
during a crisis or negative event (78.1%), and in member who has said he or she is gay or
combat situations (69.5%). lesbian will affect unit effectiveness. The
ƒ Also, Service members who have never been
deployed to a combat zone rated their immediate survey first asked Service members to rate
units as effective on a daily basis (88.0%) and during how well their immediate units perform
a crisis or negative event (80.9%).
ƒ Service members currently serving with someone currently in various circumstances (e.g., day to
they believe to be gay or lesbian rated their units as day, in a crisis, or in an intense combat
being somewhat less effective than other Service
members. However, when controlling for other situation). The survey also asked Service
variables in a regression equation, "currently serving
with" was a positive and significant predictor of members about the impact of a repeal of
effectiveness in both non-combat and combat DADT on the level of effectiveness of their
ƒ Current unit cohesion was the strongest predictor of immediate units.
both current combat and non-combat unit
effectiveness. Perceptions of current unit effectiveness. The
Post repeal current assessment of unit effectiveness
ƒ A majority of Service members said repeal would
includes results for the following two groups:
have a neutral effect on unit effectiveness (about 60%
across the different circumstances), with one (1) Service members who are currently
exception—when, for those who have been combat
deployed, completing their mission in a field deployed to a combat zone (7% of Service
environment or out to sea. members) and (2) Service members who have
ƒ Service members deployed to a combat zone (now or
in the past) said repeal would negatively affect unit never been deployed or have never been
effectiveness most often in a field environment or out deployed to a combat zone (42% of Service
to sea (44.3% overall and 59.4% for Marines).
ƒ Service members currently serving with someone members).2 Service members used a 5-point
they believe to be gay or lesbian were more likely Likert scale ranging from 1 (Very ineffective)
than other Service members to say the impact of
repeal on effectiveness (both non-combat and to 5 (Very effective) to rate how effective their
combat) would be positive.
immediate unit was in completing its mission
under the different circumstances listed in
As shown in Table 4.8, a large majority of Service members (ranging from 69.5% to 88.0% across the
different circumstances) rated their immediate units as "very effective/effective" in all
circumstances. Service members currently deployed to a combat zone were least likely to say their
The remaining Service members (51%) served in a combat zone in the past and were asked about the effectiveness of their past unit,
not their current unit, and were therefore excluded from the current unit effectiveness analysis.
immediate units were "very effective/effective" when they were "in an intense combat situation."
Only a small number of Service members rated their current units as "very ineffective/ ineffective,"
ranging from 1.9% "on a day-to-day basis" for those who are non-combat deployed to 6.0% "in an
intense combat situation" for those who are currently deployed to a combat zone.
Service Members' Ratings of Current Unit Effectiveness
How effective is your immediate unit in
completing its mission...
Very Very
effective/ ineffective/
N Effective Neutral* Ineffective
Never Deployed or Never Deployed to a Combat Zone
On a day to day basis? (Q16a) 48,488 88.0% 10.1% 1.9%
When a crisis or negative event happens that affects your immediate unit? (Q16b) 48,420 80.9% 15.5% 3.6%
Currently Deployed to a Combat Zone
In a field environment or out to sea? (Q17a) 7,898 83.7% 13.5% 2.9%
When a crisis or negative event happens that affects your immediate unit? (Q17b) 7,899 78.1% 16.9% 5.0%
In an intense combat situation? (Q17c) 7,824 69.5% 24.5% 6.0%
*Includes those who responded "Equally as effective as ineffective."
Table 4.9 shows the same data by whether or not the Service member is currently serving with
someone they believe to be gay or lesbian (who may or may not be in the Service member's
immediate unit). Those currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian were less
likely to rate their immediate unit as "very effective/effective" and more likely to rate it as "very
ineffective/ineffective" than those not currently serving with someone believed to be gay or lesbian
across all circumstances.
Service Members' Ratings of Current Unit Effectiveness by Currently Serving With
How effective is your immediate unit in completing its mission...
Currently Serving With Not Currently Serving With
Very Very Very Very
effective/ ineffective/ effective/ ineffective/
N Effective Neutral* Ineffective N Effective Neutral* Ineffective
Never Deployed or Never Deployed to a
On a day to day basis? (Q16a) 14,832 84.2% 13.0% 2.8% 33,494 90.2% 8.5% 1.3%
When a crisis or negative event happens
that affects your immediate unit? (Q16b) 14,821 76.9% 17.9% 5.1% 33,437 83.2% 14.1% 2.7%
In a field environment or out to sea?
(Q17a) 3,257 79.8% 16.3% 3.9% 4,610 87.0% 11.0% 2.0%
that affects your immediate unit? (Q17b) 3,257 73.9% 19.2% 6.9% 4,611 81.8% 14.9% 3.4%
In an intense combat situation? (Q17c) 3,229 64.7% 27.6% 7.8% 4,564 73.7% 21.8% 4.5%
Predicting current unit effectiveness. Also described in Appendix V are two multiple linear regression
models that were used to examine the factors influencing Service members' assessments of unit
effectiveness in combat and non-combat situations. Like the current unit cohesion model, the
models used Service members' demographic characteristics, service characteristics, unit
characteristics, and whether or not Service members are currently serving with someone they believe
to be gay or lesbian to predict how Service members rated current unit effectiveness. The models
also included Service members' ratings of current unit cohesion as an independent variable. The
independent variables accounted for 44% of the variance in Service members' ratings of non-combat
unit effectiveness and 48% of the variance in combat unit effectiveness. In both equations, current
unit cohesion was by far the largest predictor of current unit effectiveness. Currently serving with a
Service member believed to be gay or lesbian was a significant (and positive) predictor of both non-
combat and combat effectiveness, indicating that Service members who currently serve with a
Service member believed to be gay or lesbian rated unit effectiveness more highly than those who
are not, controlling for all other variables included in the regression equation. This finding contradicts
the data in Table 4.9, which show that those currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or
lesbian rated unit effectiveness lower than those not currently serving with a Service member
believed to be gay or lesbian.
Perceived effect of repeal on unit effectiveness. Analysis of the expected effect of repeal was also
conducted for two separate groups: (1) Service members who have never been deployed or have
never been deployed to a combat zone and (2) Service members who have been deployed to a
combat zone now or at some time in the past. Similar to the findings on unit cohesion, a majority of
all Service members (ranging from 57.1% to 62.8% across all but one of the circumstances) said
repeal will have "no effect" or will affect unit effectiveness "equally as positively as negatively" (Table
4.10). A smaller, but still significant group (ranging from 20.0% to 30.6% across all but one of the
circumstances), said repeal would affect immediate unit performance "very negatively/ negatively."
An even smaller group (ranging from 11.4% to 17.4% across all circumstances) said that repeal
would affect performance "very positively/positively."
An exception to the pattern was the response of Service members deployed to a combat zone now or
in the past to the circumstance of being "in a field environment or out to sea." Among all Service
members in this group, 44.3% (and 59.4% of Marines—see Q71a in Appendix E) said performance
would be "very negatively/negatively" affected in this situation. Of note, among all survey items
related to the review's major subject areas, this item had the highest percentage of Service
members reporting negative perceptions about the impact of a repeal.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Unit Effectiveness
If DADT is repealed, how, if at all, would it affect your immediate unit's
effectiveness at completing its mission...
Equally as
Very positively Very
positively/ as Total negatively/
N Positively negatively No effect neutral Negatively
On a day to day basis? (Q70a) 47,484 17.4% 32.6% 29.3% 61.9% 20.8%
When a crisis or negative event happens that affects your
immediate unit? (Q70b) 47,432 17.2% 32.8% 29.9% 62.8% 20.0%
Combat Deployed Now or in the Past
In a field environment or out to sea? (Q71a) 64,609 11.4% 25.8% 18.6% 44.4% 44.3%
In an intense combat situation? (Q71c) 64,441 12.3% 31.4% 25.6% 57.1% 30.6%
Next, we present findings on perceptions about how a repeal of DADT would affect unit effectiveness
by the three "served with" groups described in Section 2.3 above. For all circumstances asked
about, Service members currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian were most
likely to say the impact of repeal on effectiveness would be positive and least likely to say it would be
negative (Table 4.11).
Currently Serving With Served With in the Past Never Served With
Neutral Neutral Neutral
Pos/ Equally Neg/ Pos/ Equally Neg/ Pos/ Equally Neg/
Very as pos No Total Very Very as pos No Total Very Very as pos No Total Very
pos as neg effect neutral neg pos as neg effect neutral neg pos as neg effect neutral neg
On a day to day basis? (Q70a) 20.9% 29.1% 31.9% 61.0% 18.0% 13.9% 34.2% 29.8% 64.0% 22.1% 17.4% 34.8% 25.3% 60.1% 22.5%
When a crisis or negative event happens that
affects your immediate unit? (Q70b) 20.5% 29.2% 32.5% 61.8% 17.8% 13.9% 34.4% 30.4% 64.9% 21.3% 17.4% 35.4% 26.0% 61.4% 21.2%
In a field environment or out to sea? (Q71a) 15.1% 25.9% 21.6% 47.4% 37.5% 8.7% 25.6% 18.3% 43.9% 47.4% 10.6% 26.0% 13.9% 39.9% 49.5%
affects your immediate unit? (Q71b) 16.4% 31.5% 26.8% 58.4% 25.2% 9.9% 34.5% 25.2% 59.8% 30.4% 11.5% 33.9% 19.8% 53.6% 34.9%
In an intense combat situation? (Q71c) 16.0% 30.1% 27.8% 57.9% 26.1% 9.7% 32.3% 26.1% 58.4% 31.8% 11.5% 32.1% 20.4% 52.5% 36.0%
Abbreviation notes - pos is positively, neg is negatively
Page 42 .
The survey also asked Service members how their job performance and their ability to fulfill their
mission during combat would be affected if DADT is repealed and they are working with a Service
member who has said he or she is gay or lesbian. As Table 4.12 shows, most Service members
(72.3%) said that repeal of DADT would have "no effect" on their job performance (57.9%) or would
affect their job performance "equally as positively as negatively" (14.3%). In contrast, 15.4% of
Service members said that repeal of DADT will affect their job performance either "very
negatively/negatively."
Impact of DADT Repeal on Effectiveness
If DADT is repealed and you are working with a Service member who has said he or
she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would...
That affect your own ability to fulfill your
Your job performance be affected? (Q74) mission during combat? (Q85)
Very positively/Positively 3.4% 3.1%
Equally as positively as negatively 14.3% 11.8%
Neutral No effect 57.9% 53.0%
Total neutral 72.3% 64.8%
Very Negatively/Negatively 15.4% 21.5%
Don't know/Does not apply 8.9% 10.6%
Negative perceptions about the impact of a repeal of DADT on Service members' own job
performance varied somewhat by Service. Among Navy Service members (at the low end), 11.2%
said their job performance would be affected either "very negatively/negatively," compared with
22.8% of Marine Corps Service members (at the high end; see Q74 in Appendix E).
The percentages of negative responses were slightly higher for job performance during combat
(Table 4.12). Among all Service members, 21.5% said their ability to fulfill their mission during
combat would be affected "very negatively/negatively." Corresponding percentages ranged from
14.8% for the Coast Guard to 30.8% for the Marine Corps (see Q85 in Appendix E).
Service members were also asked to identify the top three factors that enable them to fulfill their
mission during combat and how repeal of DADT would affect the importance of their chosen factors.
Responses to both questions are summarized in Table 4.13. For the first question, the most
commonly selected factor was "having unit members who work together as a team" (49.9% percent
of all Service members cited this factor). Teamwork was followed by "trust among unit members"
(48.2%) and "unit training/individual training" (39.1%). The top three factors cited were similar
across Components and Services. Service members in the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard,
however, cited "trust among unit members" most often (53.5% of Marines and 53.3% of Coast
Guard members; see Q83 in Appendix E).
Service members felt that these factors would be more important than they were before repeal for
35.7% of the total number of factors selected, that they would be as important as before repeal or
would not be impacted by repeal for 56.4% of the total number of factors selected, and would be
less important than before repeal for 7.9% of the total number of factors selected. Service members
were most likely to say that repeal would not change the importance of the factors that enable them
to fulfill their mission during combat, but in some instances the changes that will come with the
repeal of DADT will make the factors that enable them to fulfill their mission during combat even
more important.
Most Frequently Cited Factors That Enable Service Members to Fulfill Their Mission During Combat and How
DADT Repeal Affects Their Importance
Change in Importance After Repeal (Q84)
Percent of Service More Important Less Important
Members That Cited Than Before Than Before
Most Frequently Cited Factors These Factors (Q83) Repeal Repeal No Effect
Having unit members who work together as a team 49.9% 36.4% 6.1% 57.5%
Trust among unit members 48.2% 40.8% 9.0% 50.2%
Unit training/Individual training 39.1% 27.6% 4.5% 67.9%
Having NCOs/POs who lead by example 37.5% 37.7% 6.1% 56.2%
Unit morale 31.3% 36.2% 8.9% 54.9%
Clear task objectives 26.1% 23.5% 3.6% 72.9%
Having officers who lead by example 18.0% 38.4% 5.2% 56.4%
Individual unit members' technical capabilities 16.6% 22.7% 3.6% 73.7%
Unit members who get along well socially 9.3% 35.9% 11.8% 52.4%
Similar moral values among unit members 8.6% 46.2% 14.6% 39.2%
Length of time serving together 5.5% 29.3% 9.5% 61.2%
Having only heterosexual members in the unit 5.2% 63.1% 15.0% 22.0%
Diversity among unit members 4.0% 26.8% 4.5% 68.7%
Average -- 35.7% 7.9% 56.4%
Morale refers to the mental or emotional condition
Morale Findings at a Glance:
of a person or group as exhibited by their
confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline. Service
ƒ Service members were most likely to rate
current unit morale and their own morale as members were asked to rate current morale in their
"very high/high" (43.5% for unit morale and
56.5% for own morale). immediate units and their current personal morale.
ƒ National Guard members had notably higher The five response options for both items ranged
ratings for unit and personal morale.
from Very low to Very high, with Moderate as the
ƒ Unit cohesion was the strongest predictor of
unit morale. Having good officers was the middle response.
Perceptions of current morale. Overall, Service
ƒ Regardless of current level of morale, about
60% said the effect of repeal on their members were most likely to rate the level of morale
personal morale would be neutral. in their immediate units as "very high/high" (43.5%)
ƒ About one third said repeal will have a
and their personal level of morale as "very high/
negative effect on their personal morale.
ƒ Marines were more likely to say their morale high" (56.5%; Table 4.14). Morale did not vary much
would be negatively affected by repeal than across the Services. Notably, though, 54.1% of
other Service members.
ƒ Service members "currently serving with" a National Guard members rated unit morale as "very
Service member they believe to be gay or high/high" and 66.8% rated their personal morale
lesbian were least likely to believe that their
personal morale would be affected negatively as "very high/high."
(23.3% vs. 30.0% for "served in the past
with" and 30.8% for "never served with" a
Service member they believed to be gay or
lesbian).
Current Level of Morale
How would you rate your How would you rate your own
immediate unit's morale? (Q21) morale? (Q22)
Very high/High 43.5% 56.5%
Moderate 41.3% 30.4%
Very low/Low 15.27 13.12
Very low/Low 8.81 7.89
Very low/Low 10.64 9.34
Predicting current morale. As with unit effectiveness and unit cohesion, we used multiple linear
regression analysis to develop a model for predicting Service members' current unit morale. The
model used demographic characteristics, service characteristics, unit characteristics, the "currently
serving with" variable, and current unit cohesion as independent variables. The model accounted for
28% of the variance in current unit and personal morale. Overall, Service members' assessments of
current unit cohesion was the strongest predictor of Service members' current unit morale. This
single measure accounted for approximately 10% of the variance in current unit morale, beyond the
variance accounted for by the other 11 predictor variables. (See Appendix V for a detailed
description of this regression equation and the full regression results.)
Perceived effect of repeal on personal morale. All Service members were also asked how their
personal morale would be affected if DADT is repealed and they are working with a Service member
in their immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian. Some Service members (10.5%)
responded "Don't Know" to this question. Of those who gave a positive, negative, or neutral
response, a majority (ranging from 61.2% to 64.3% across the three response categories) said the
changes would either have "no effect" or would affect morale "equally as positively as negatively."
This was true regardless of whether Service members rated their current personal morale as high,
moderate, or low (Table 4.15). "No effect" was the most commonly selected response. Nearly one
third of Service members said the changes would affect their morale "very negatively/negatively." A
small percentage said it would affect their morale "very positively/positively." This pattern of
responses—a majority saying there will be no effect, followed by a smaller but substantial group
expecting a negative effect and small percentages expecting a positive effect—is similar to that
reported for unit cohesion and effectiveness.
Overall (including the "don't knows"), 27.9% of Service members said their morale would be affected
"very negatively/negatively" by a repeal of DADT. This percentage varied by Service, ranging from
20.6% of Navy Service members and 20.7% of Coast Guard members to 39.5% of Marine Corps
members (see Q73 in Appendix E).
Impact of DADT Repeal on Personal Morale by Current Level of Morale
Expected Post-Repeal Impact
If DADT is repealed and you are working with a Service
member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is Very Equally as Very
gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would your level of morale positively/ positively as Total negatively/
be affected? (Q73) Positively negatively No effect neutral Negatively
For Service members who rated their current level of
personal morale as: (Q22)
Very high/High 5.2% 15.2% 48.4% 63.6% 31.2%
Moderate 5.5% 15.3% 49.0% 64.3% 30.2%
Very low/Low 6.3% 11.9% 49.3% 61.2% 32.5%
The "post-repeal" findings on personal morale by experience in "serving with" Service members
believed to be gay or lesbian are summarized in Table 4.16. The findings exhibit the same response
pattern as noted for current assessment of personal morale—mostly perceptions of no effect,
followed by negative, then positive expectations. Service members "currently serving with" a Service
member they believe to be gay or lesbian were least likely to perceive that their personal morale will
be affected "very negatively/negatively" (23.3%). Corresponding percentages for the other two
groups were 30.0% for Service members who believe they have served with a gay or lesbian Service
member in the past and 30.8% for Service members who believe they have never served with a gay
or lesbian Service member.
Beliefs Regarding the Impact of DADT Repeal on Morale by Serving With a Gay or Lesbian Unit Member
If DADT is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your Currently serving Served with Never served with
immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, with gay/lesbian gay/lesbian Service gay/lesbian Service
would your level of morale be affected? (Q73) Service member member in the past member
Very positively/Positively 8.3% 3.0% 2.8%
Equally as positively as negatively 12.1% 13.4% 14.7%
Neutral No effect 48.2% 42.9% 37.8%
Total neutral 60.2% 56.3% 52.5%
Very negatively/Negatively 23.3% 30.0% 30.8%
Don't know 8.2% 10.6% 13.8%
MILITARY READINESS
Military readiness refers to the extent to which
Military Readiness Findings at a Glance:
individuals and units possess the required
resources and are trained to undertake their
ƒ In general, Service members were quite
positive about both unit and personal wartime missions. The survey asked Service
readiness; 69.7% said their units were "very
well prepared/well prepared," and 82.5% said
members to assess current personal and immediate
the same about their personal readiness. unit readiness and to say how they expect repeal of
DADT to affect both.
military readiness.
Perceptions of current unit readiness. Among all
ƒ The results were similar to results for unit Service members, a large majority reported that
cohesion, effectiveness, and morale. A their immediate units have enough trained (70.5%),
majority said the effect of repeal on unit and
own readiness would be neutral, followed by experienced (68.1%), and motivated (68.8%)
a smaller but still notable percentage saying
repeal will have a negative effect on both and personnel to perform mission-essential tasks (Table
a small percentage saying the effect will be 4.17). Service members were less sure of whether
positive on both.
ƒ Exception to general findings—47.0% of their units have enough deployable personnel, with
Marine Corp members said repeal would 58.0% saying "Yes," but 20.3% saying "Don't know."
have a negative effect on immediate unit
ability to train well together.
Service members also rated unit readiness and their
ƒ Service members currently serving with a
Service member they believe to be gay or personal readiness (Table 4.18). For both items, the
lesbian were least likely to say that military
readiness would be affected negatively by five response options ranged from "Very well
repeal.
prepared" to "Very poorly prepared." Service
members had positive perceptions about both
current unit and personal readiness: 69.7% said their immediate units were "very well prepared/well
prepared" to perform their missions, and 82.5% said the same about their personal readiness.
Having the Personnel Resources Required to Perform Immediate Mission Essential Tasks
Percent of Service Members Who Said...
To perform its immediate mission essential tasks, does your Don't Does Not
unit have enough... Yes No Know Apply
Trained personnel (Q18a) 70.5% 24.8% 4.7% --
Experienced personnel (Q18b) 68.1% 27.5% 4.3% --
Motivated personnel (Q18c) 68.8% 24.8% 6.4% --
Deployable personnel (Q19) 58.0% 21.7% 20.3% N=16,339
Current Level of Preparedness
How well prepared is your How well prepared are you to
immediate unit to perform its perform your military job?
mission? (Q23) (Q24)
Very well prepared/well prepared 69.7% 82.5%
Moderately well prepared 25.5% 15.1%
Very poorly prepared/poorly prepared 4.8% 2.5%
Predicting current readiness. We used multiple linear regression analysis to develop a model for
predicting Service members' ratings of their current readiness. Like the models for predicting unit
effectiveness and morale, the readiness model used demographic characteristics, service
characteristics, unit characteristics, the "currently serving with" variable, and current unit cohesion
as independent variables. The model accounted for 25% of the variance in Service members' ratings
of readiness. As with unit effectiveness and morale, current unit cohesion was the strongest
predictor of the dependent variable. (Again, see Appendix V for a detailed description of this
regression equation and the full regression results.)
Perceived effect of repeal on readiness. Service members were also asked to consider the situation
in which DADT is repealed and they are working with a Service member in their immediate unit who
said he or she is gay or lesbian. The survey asked how this would affect six items related to
readiness—three focused on unit readiness and three on personal readiness. Tables 4.19 and 4.20
present data on the expected impact of repeal by current level of readiness.
Once again, the responses in Table 4.19 on unit readiness have the same "post-repeal" pattern
reported earlier for unit cohesion, effectiveness, and morale. A large majority of Service members,
regardless of how they rated current unit readiness, perceived DADT repeal as having either "no
effect" or as affecting unit readiness "equally as positively as negatively." A smaller, but still
substantial, group viewed DADT repeal as affecting unit readiness "very negatively/negatively," and a
much smaller group (less than 8% for each item in this case) viewed repeal as affecting unit
readiness "very positively/positively." Service members who rated their current unit readiness as
"very poorly prepared/poorly prepared" were most likely to say that a repeal of DADT would affect
unit readiness, unit motivation, and the unit's ability to train well together "very negatively/
negatively."
There is an exception to the "post-repeal" pattern with the item "Your immediate unit's ability to train
well together" for an important subgroup of Service members. This item is one of three individual
items (across all the main subject areas) where close to (or more than) 50% of all Marines said that
the impact of repeal would be negative. Forty-seven percent of all Marine Corp members said that
the repeal of DADT would affect immediate unit ability to train well together either "very
negatively/negatively." The corresponding percentage for Service members overall was 31.3% (see
Q75f in Appendix E).
Expected Impact of DADT Repeal on Unit Readiness by Current Level of Unit Readiness
If DADT is repealed and you are working with a Service Very Equally as Very
member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is positively/ positively as Total negatively/
gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would it affect... N Positively negatively No effect neutral Negatively
For Service members who said their immediate unit was very
well or well prepared: (Q23)
Your immediate unit's readiness (Q75b) 82,797 7.4% 24.4% 48.1% 72.5% 20.2%
Your immediate unit's motivation (Q75d) 82,692 7.5% 24.1% 42.6% 66.7% 25.9%
Your immediate unit's ability to train well together (Q75f) 82,696 7.7% 23.3% 39.0% 62.3% 30.0%
For Service members who said their immediate unit was
moderately well prepared: (Q23)
For Service members who said their immediate unit was poorly
or very poorly prepared: (Q23)
Your immediate unit's readiness (Q75b) 3,643 4.6% 25.0% 36.3% 61.3% 34.1%
Your immediate unit's motivation (Q75d) 3,641 4.8% 24.1% 32.6% 56.6% 38.6%
Your immediate unit's ability to train well together (Q75f) 3,640 5.3% 22.8% 28.6% 51.4% 43.2%
The same data for personal readiness are presented in Table 4.20. Perceptions about the post-
repeal impact again follow the familiar pattern regardless of current level of personal readiness and
individual items about personal readiness, morale, and ability to train well. Neutral responses
(primarily responses of "no effect") dominated, followed by responses of "very negatively/negatively"
and then "very positively/positively." Current level of personal readiness appears to have had less of
an effect on how Service members viewed the impact of repeal than was true for unit readiness, but
those who rated their personal readiness as "very poorly prepared/poorly prepared" were most likely
to say that repeal of DADT would affect readiness, personal motivation, and personal ability to train
well "very negatively/negatively."
Expected Impact of DADT Repeal on Personal Readiness by Current Level of Personal Readiness
If DADT is repealed and you are working with a Service Very positively Very
member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is positively/ as Total negatively/
For Service members who said they were very well or well
prepared: (Q24)
Your personal readiness (Q75a) 94,232 7.2% 20.7% 60.8% 81.6% 11.3%
Your motivation (Q75c) 94,064 7.9% 17.9% 51.9% 69.8% 22.3%
Your ability to train well (Q75e) 94,035 7.3% 20.1% 51.8% 71.9% 20.8%
For Service members who said they were moderately well
For Service members who said they were poorly or very poorly
Your personal readiness (Q75a) 1,918 7.1% 24.2% 52.5% 76.6% 16.2%
Your motivation (Q75c) 1,914 7.6% 19.7% 44.8% 64.6% 27.8%
Your ability to train well (Q75e) 1,913 6.5% 22.3% 44.9% 67.3% 26.2%
Table 4.21 shows Service members' perceptions about how DADT repeal will affect readiness for the
three "served with" groups of Service members—those currently serving with a Service member
whom they believe to be gay or lesbian, those who have served in the past with a Service member
they believed to be gay or lesbian, and those who believe they have never served with a gay or
lesbian Service member. For all three "served with" groups, the distributions of responses were
similar to those for the overall findings. Also, the percentage of Service members who believe that
the repeal of DADT will "very negatively/negatively" affect readiness was lowest for the "currently
serving with" group, rose slightly for the "served with in the past" group, and was highest (although
not more than 34.3% across all six items) for the "never served with" group. This pattern holds
across all six readiness items.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Readiness by Having Served With a Gay or Lesbian Service Member
Currently Serve With Served With in the Past Never Served With
If DADT is repealed and
you are working with a Neutral Neutral Neutral
Service member in your
immediate unit who has Equally as Equally as Equally as
said he or she is gay or Very positively Very Very positively Very Very positively Very
lesbian, how, if at all, positively/ as No Total negatively, positively/ as No Total negatively, positively/ as No Total negatively,
would it affect... (Q75) Positively negatively effect neutral Negatively Positively negatively effect neutral Negatively Positively negatively effect neutral Negatively
Your personal readiness 9.6% 20.0% 60.0% 80.0% 10.4% 5.1% 21.3% 62.4% 83.7% 11.2% 6.9% 24.0% 55.5% 79.6% 13.6%
Your immediate unit's
readiness 9.4% 24.0% 48.4% 72.3% 18.3% 4.8% 26.5% 46.4% 72.9% 22.3% 6.5% 27.5% 42.1% 69.6% 24.0%
Your motivation 11.3% 17.7% 52.1% 69.8% 18.9% 5.5% 18.3% 52.8% 71.1% 23.4% 6.9% 20.8% 47.5% 68.3% 24.8%
motivation 9.7% 23.8% 43.5% 67.3% 23.0% 4.7% 26.0% 40.3% 66.3% 28.9% 6.4% 26.9% 36.6% 63.5% 30.1%
Your ability to train well 10.0% 19.5% 52.7% 72.2% 17.8% 5.1% 20.7% 52.2% 72.9% 22.0% 6.8% 22.8% 46.9% 69.8% 23.4%
ability to train well together 10.0% 23.0% 40.4% 63.4% 26.6% 4.9% 25.1% 36.3% 61.3% 33.8% 6.4% 25.9% 33.3% 59.3% 34.3%
The extent to which Service members may choose to
Retention Findings at a Glance:
leave the military following a repeal of DADT has been
of great interest to military leadership. The survey
ƒ 58.7% of Service members said they will
definitely or probably stay in the military until asked Service members to describe their current
retirement; 19.6% probably or definitely
intend to leave at the end of their current military career intentions and how their career
obligation. intentions may be affected by the repeal of DADT.
Post repeal Service members were also asked to identify the
ƒ Regardless of current military career
intentions, the majority of Service members factors they consider most important when deciding
(62.3%) said their military career plans will whether to remain in the military and how important,
not change after repeal.
ƒ 18.5% of all Service members reported they compared with a repeal of DADT, those factors are in
would consider leaving sooner than their Service members' career decisions.
current intentions if repeal occurs. This is the
group of Service members who "switched"
their military career intentions when Current military career plans. Currently, 37.9% of
considering DADT repeal. They were not
considering leaving, but said repeal will
Service members "definitely" intend to stay in the
cause them to "think about leaving sooner" or military until retirement and 20.8% said they will
"leave sooner."
"probably" stay in until retirement. Some Service
ƒ Among all Service members, Marine Corps
members were most likely to say they will members intend to stay in beyond their present
leave sooner than planned or will consider
leaving sooner than planned (38.1%). obligation but not necessarily until retirement: 5.6%
ƒ Those currently serving with a Service said they will "definitely" do so and 10.5% will
member they believe to be gay or lesbian
were more likely to consider staying in the "probably" do so. In contrast, 9.6% intend to
military longer, less likely to consider leaving "definitely" leave upon completion of their present
sooner, and more likely to say that their
career plans will not change, compared with obligation and 10.0% will "probably" do so. A small
Service members without that experience.
percentage (5.6%) have met requirements for
ƒ 7.6% of Service members said all factors
they selected as most important in their retirement eligibility but continue to serve (Table
decisions about future military service were
less important than repeal. For these Service 4.22).
members, repeal will be the most important
factor in their career decision.
Service Members Current Military Career Intentions
Current Military Career Plans (Q32) N %
Definitely stay in until retirement 54,834 37.9%
Probably stay in until retirement 21,550 20.8%
Definitely stay in beyond my present obligation, but not necessarily until retirement 4,308 5.6%
Probably stay in beyond my present obligation, but not necessarily until retirement 8,116 10.5%
Definitely leave upon completion of my present obligation 6,459 9.6%
Probably leave upon completion of my present obligation 7,269 10.0%
Have met retirement eligibility but continue to serve 12,119 5.6%
Perceived effect of a repeal of DADT on military career plans. How will a repeal of DADT affect
Service members' military career plans? Regardless of current military career intentions, a majority
of Service members (62.3%) said that, if DADT is repealed, their military career plans will not change
(see Q81 in Appendix D). Although 23.7% of Service members said they would think about leaving
sooner or leave sooner if repeal occurs, some of those Service members (5.23%, data not shown)
were already considering leaving upon completion of their present obligation. When these individuals
are subtracted from the total who said they would consider leaving sooner if repeal occurs, we find
that 18.5% of all Service members may consider leaving sooner than currently planned if DADT is
repealed. (These Service members have "switched" their military career intentions. They were not
considering leaving, but said repeal will cause them to think about leaving sooner or leave sooner
than planned.) Table 4.23 shows the impact of repeal on military career plans by current career
plans.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Military Career Plans
Current Military Career Plans (Q32)
Definitely/ Probably
Stay in Beyond my Definitely/ Probably Have Met
Definitely/ Probably Present Obligation Leave Upon Retirement
Stay in Until but not Until Completion of my Eligibility but
Retirement Retirement Present Obligation Continue to Serve
If DADT is repealed, how, if at all, will your military
plans be affected? (Q81) N=74,251 N=11,938 N=13,166 N=11,916
I will stay longer than I had planned 1.6% 2.4% 1.6% 0.4%
I will think about staying longer than I had planned 1.3% 3.2% 2.7% 0.3%
I will think about leaving sooner than I had planned 12.0% 13.3% 6.9% 10.5%
I will leave sooner than I had planned 9.5% 13.8% 19.9% 15.5%
My military career plans would not change 65.3% 54.2% 59.2% 65.4%
Don't know 10.3% 13.1% 9.7% 7.9%
Note: Ns reflect the number of Service members who responded to both Q32 and Q81.
The findings show only small differences in the possible impact of repeal on career intentions by
Component, but among the Services, Marine Corps members were most likely to say they will think
about leaving sooner (15.0%) or will leave sooner than they had planned (23.1%) and least likely to
say that their plans will not change (47.5%; Table 4.24). Looking at pay grade, those most likely to
say their career plans will not change included officers in pay grades O4-O6 (69.6%), enlisted Service
members in pay grades E7-E9 (67.9%), and officers in pay grades O1-O3 (65.7%). Enlisted Service
members in pay grades E1-E4 were most likely to say they would leave sooner (15.0%).
Military career plan results are presented for the "served with" groups at the bottom of Table 4.24.
Compared with those who believe they have never served with someone who is gay or lesbian, those
with current or past experience serving with a Service member they believe to be gay or lesbian were
more likely to say their career plans will not change.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Military Career Plans (Q81)
Think About Think About
Will Stay Staying Leaving Will Leave Plans Won't
Longer Longer Sooner Sooner Change Don't Know
Overall 1.7% 1.8% 11.1% 12.6% 62.3% 10.5%
Army 1.9% 2.0% 11.8% 14.2% 60.2% 9.8%
Navy 2.2% 2.2% 8.6% 7.9% 68.0% 11.2%
Marine Corps 0.7% 1.5% 15.0% 23.1% 47.5% 12.2%
Air Force 1.2% 1.4% 9.9% 8.2% 69.0% 10.3%
Coast Guard 1.7% 1.5% 9.1% 6.2% 67.5% 14.0%
Active Duty 1.7% 1.9% 10.9% 12.6% 62.2% 10.6%
Reserve 1.9% 1.9% 10.4% 11.5% 63.8% 10.5%
National Guard 1.6% 1.7% 12.2% 13.2% 61.3% 10.1%
Rank (from Q97)
Enlisted 1.8% 1.9% 10.8% 13.0% 61.5% 10.9%
Warrant Officers 1.0% 0.7% 13.8% 13.3% 62.1% 9.1%
Officers 1.0% 1.3% 12.5% 9.9% 67.5% 7.7%
Pay Grade (Q97)
E1-E4 2.5% 2.8% 10.3% 15.0% 57.4% 12.1%
E7-E9 0.9% 0.6% 10.9% 12.0% 67.9% 7.8%
W1-W5 1.0% 0.7% 13.8% 13.3% 62.1% 9.1%
O1-O3 1.3% 1.8% 12.8% 9.3% 65.7% 9.1%
O4 or above 0.6% 0.8% 12.2% 10.7% 69.6% 6.1%
Having served with a gay/lesbian Service
member (Q34, Q35, Q36, Q37)
Currently serve with 3.3% 3.1% 9.1% 11.7% 64.0% 8.9%
Served with in past 0.7% 1.0% 12.3% 12.7% 63.5% 9.7%
Never served with 1.0% 1.4% 12.1% 13.6% 57.7% 14.2%
Overall, Service members said the top three factors that are most important to them when deciding
whether to remain in the military are "job satisfaction," "retirement benefits," and the "current
economic situation and civilian job availability" (Table 4.25). The top three factors cited by National
Guard and Reserve members were somewhat different, with both most commonly citing "to serve
and defend my country," followed by "pay and allowances/bonuses" for the National Guard and
"retirement benefits" and then "job satisfaction" for the Reserves (see Q33 in Appendix F). There
were some differences by Service as well. For the Coast Guard, Air Force, and Navy, the three most
commonly cited factors were the same as for the Services overall, but not necessarily in the same
order. Army Service members most commonly cited "job satisfaction," "retirement benefits," and "to
serve and defend my country," whereas Marine Corps Service members most commonly cited "job
satisfaction," "current economic situation and civilian job availability," and "to serve and defend my
Most Frequently Cited Factors in Deciding Whether to Remain in the Military by Service
Percent of Service Members That Cited The Factors
Most Frequently Cited Factors (Q33) Overall Army Navy Corps Air Force Guard
Job satisfaction 30.5% 28.9% 30.9% 33.2% 31.7% 37.0%
Retirement benefits 30.4% 28.3% 33.6% 20.0% 36.4% 38.8%
Current economic situation and civilian job availability 26.5% 23.3% 29.6% 29.0% 29.2% 34.5%
Pay and allowances / Bonuses 26.1% 24.9% 29.5% 24.5% 26.5% 29.2%
To serve and defend my country 25.7% 27.8% 21.0% 26.2% 25.0% 19.8%
Quality of leadership 20.4% 22.6% 16.7% 25.8% 16.3% 14.1%
Family satisfaction with military 20.0% 20.8% 18.6% 22.3% 18.3% 19.7%
Years completed toward retirement 18.7% 18.3% 18.7% 11.4% 23.1% 20.4%
Family separations and stability 18.7% 19.6% 20.8% 19.1% 15.3% 15.9%
Health benefits 18.4% 17.0% 21.1% 14.7% 20.4% 27.1%
Education benefits 16.8% 16.2% 19.5% 14.1% 17.4% 15.1%
Camaraderie 14.4% 15.0% 11.8% 20.6% 12.8% 9.2%
Deployment-related considerations 12.3% 14.5% 10.0% 13.0% 9.6% 3.8%
Service members' moral values 6.5% 6.9% 5.6% 8.4% 5.7% 4.2%
Live by Service's core values 4.4% 5.0% 2.8% 6.4% 3.4% 3.2%
Other 4.1% 4.4% 4.1% 4.8% 3.4% 2.2%
Later in the survey, Service members were asked to state if the three factors they selected were
more important to their decisions about remaining in the military than a repeal of DADT, equally as
important to their decisions as a repeal of DADT, or less important to their decisions than a repeal
would be. Generally, for each factor, the majority of Service members who selected the factor as
important to them in deciding whether to remain in the military said that the factor was more
important to their decision than a repeal of DADT would be (Table 4.26). Across all factors, 53.3% of
the total number of factors cited would be more important than repeal, 22.0% of the factors would
be equally as important as repeal, and 12.1% would be less important than repeal.
Most Frequently Cited Factors in Deciding Whether to Remain in the Military and Their Importance Compared With Repeal
Importance Compared to Repeal (Q82)
Percent of Service Equally as
Members That Cited More Important Important as Less Important
Most Frequently Cited Factors (Q33) The Factors Than Repeal Repeal Than Repeal Don't Know
Job satisfaction 30.5% 54.4% 21.9% 12.3% 11.4%
Retirement benefits 30.4% 58.1% 20.8% 9.4% 11.8%
Current economic situation and civilian job availability 26.5% 54.8% 21.2% 11.3% 12.8%
Pay and allowances / Bonuses 26.1% 54.5% 21.4% 12.4% 11.7%
To serve and defend my country 25.7% 59.2% 20.1% 10.3% 10.4%
Quality of leadership 20.4% 52.4% 23.6% 11.9% 12.1%
Family satisfaction with military 20.0% 57.6% 20.0% 10.2% 12.2%
Years completed toward retirement 18.7% 58.8% 19.9% 10.3% 11.1%
Family separations and stability 18.7% 60.2% 19.6% 9.0% 11.3%
Health benefits 18.4% 54.9% 22.3% 9.5% 13.3%
Education benefits 16.8% 51.7% 24.2% 9.9% 14.2%
Camaraderie 14.4% 47.4% 24.3% 16.3% 12.0%
Deployment-related considerations 12.3% 52.7% 21.5% 13.8% 12.1%
Service members' moral values 6.5% 43.7% 28.3% 16.9% 11.2%
Live by Service's core values 4.4% 51.3% 23.5% 14.3% 11.0%
Other 4.1% 40.3% 19.3% 15.9% 24.5%
Average -- 53.3% 22.0% 12.1% 12.7%
The data on how Service members compared the importance of their selected factors with a repeal
of DADT are summarized in a different manner in Table 4.27. Forty-eight percent of Service members
said that all factors they selected as important to them when deciding whether to remain in the
military would be more important to them than repeal. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 7.6% of
Service members said that all factors they selected would be less important than repeal. The Service
members in this group were more likely to be in the Army and the Marine Corps than the survey
target population as a whole. They were also somewhat more likely to be male, non-minority, and
enlisted Service members than the survey target population as a whole.
Importance of Repeal Compared With Other Factors in Deciding Whether to Remain in the Military (Q82)
Percentage of
N Who Said
All Factors More Important Than Repeal 56,325 48.0%
All Factors Equally as Important as Repeal 16,789 16.0%
All Factors Less Important Than Repeal 7,607 7.6%
Mixed 30,538 28.5%
The findings in Table 4.27 varied little by Component, but across the Services the Marine Corps
differed from the other Services (Table 4.28). Only 38.7% of Marine Corps members said that all
factors important to their decision of whether to remain in the military were more important than
repeal, and 11.1% said that all factors were less important than repeal. Differences across the
"served with" groups also were not large, although 44.8% of the "never served with" group said all
factors were more important than repeal, compared with 50.6% of the "served in the past" group
and 47.3% of the "currently serving with" group. Finally, Table 4.28 also shows that the percentage
of Service members saying that all factors important to their decision of whether to stay in the
military are more important than repeal increases with pay grade. Officers were much more likely to
say that all factors that are important to their decision of whether to stay in the military were more
important than repeal (58.2% for O4 and above and 56.4% for O1-O3) than E1-E3 enlisted members
Importance of Repeal Compared With Other Factors in Deciding Whether to Remain in the Military (Q82) by
Percentage of Service Members Who Said
All factors All factors All factors
more equally less Mixed
N important important important responses
Overall 56,325 48.0% 16.0% 7.6% 28.5%
Active Duty 29,638 48.6% 15.7% 7.4% 28.3%
Reserve 16,584 47.7% 16.2% 7.2% 28.9%
National Guard 10,103 46.6% 16.5% 8.3% 28.6%
Army 14,580 47.4% 16.1% 8.4% 28.1%
Navy 11,191 50.9% 16.6% 5.7% 26.8%
Marine Corps 6,896 38.7% 15.3% 11.1% 34.9%
Air Force 19,909 51.4% 15.3% 5.8% 27.5%
Coast Guard 3,749 50.7% 17.1% 5.1% 27.1%
Pay grade
E1-E3 3,655 42.7% 17.9% 7.2% 32.3%
E4 5,970 43.9% 17.5% 8.4% 30.2%
E5-E6 13,012 48.6% 15.8% 7.9% 27.7%
W1-W5 1,805 49.8% 14.9% 8.9% 26.4%
O1-O3 9,383 56.4% 12.5% 5.6% 25.5%
O4 or above 11,892 58.2% 11.5% 5.5% 24.7%
Having served with
Currently serving with 17,185 47.3% 17.6% 7.7% 27.5%
Served with in the past 27,136 50.6% 14.0% 7.4% 28.0%
Never served with 11,923 44.8% 16.9% 7.6% 30.7%
The attitudes of a Service member's family about the Service member's military service may also
affect retention. The survey first asked Service members whether their spouses (or significant
others) and the rest of their family members feel "positively," "negatively," or have "an equal mix of
positive and negative feelings" about the Service members' military service. Later, Service members
reported on how family attitudes might change if DADT is repealed. For all groups, the percentage of
Service members who said their family members currently have negative feelings about their military
service was relatively small—less than 8% (Table 4.29, upper half). However, 42.3% of married
Service members (and 42.6% who have a significant other) said repeal of DADT will negatively affect
how their spouses (or significant others) feel about their military service (Table 4.29, bottom half).
Also, 36.0% of married Service members (and 40.0% of unmarried Service members) said that
repeal of DADT will negatively affect how the rest of their family feels about their military service.
Marine Corps members were more likely than other Service members to report that repeal of DADT
would negatively affect how their spouses, significant others, and other family members feel about
their military service (see Q76, Q77, and Q78 in Appendix E). Forty-two percent of married Marines
said their family members' feelings about their military service would be negatively affected.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Family Attitudes About Service Members' Military Service
Percent of Service members who said:
positive/ An equal mix of positive and negative/
How does your ... feel about your military service? Positive negative feelings Negative Not Sure
[for married service members]
... spouse (Q26) 60.8% 31.9% 6.4% 38.3%
... rest of family (Q28) 71.7% 23.1% 3.2% 26.3%
[for non-married service members]
... significant other (Q27) 51.1% 38.6% 7.9% 46.5%
... family (Q29) 72.1% 22.7% 3.2% 25.9%
If DADT is repealed, how, if at all, would the way your ... positively/ positively as Total negatively/ Don't
feel about your military service be affected? Positively negatively No effect neutral Negatively know
... spouse (Q76) 6.7% 10.3% 27.9% 38.2% 42.3% 12.8%
... rest of family (Q78) 4.8% 11.3% 32.0% 43.2% 36.0% 15.9%
... significant other (Q77) 11.5% 10.4% 21.0% 31.4% 42.6% 14.5%
... family (Q79) 8.0% 11.2% 24.8% 36.0% 40.0% 16.0%
The recommendations that Service members make
Recruitment Findings at a Glance:
to others who are considering military service are
important to military recruitment. The survey initially
ƒ A strong majority of Service members said
they are willing to recommend military asked Service members if they would ever
service to others (from 79.5% of Marines to
91.9% of Coast Guard members). recommend to a family member or close friend that
Post repeal he or she pursue service in the military. Later in the
ƒ 57.3% of Service members currently willing survey, a second question asked how, if at all, a
to recommend military service said repeal
would have a neutral effect on their repeal of DADT would affect Service members'
willingness to recommend military service; willingness to recommend military service to family
26.2% said it would have a negative effect.
ƒ 39.2% of Marines who are currently willing to members or close friends.
recommend military service said repeal
would negatively affect their willingness to do Current willingness to recommend military service.
Most military Service members (85.4%) said they
are willing to recommend military service to others,
with 69.5% indicating they have done so in the past (Table 4.30). Willingness to recommend military
service ranged from 79.5% among Marines to 91.9% among Coast Guard members. Willingness did
not vary substantially by Component, although Active Duty Service members were somewhat less
willing to recommend military service (82.6%) than Reserve (89.9%) or National Guard (90.6%)
members were.
Willingness to Recommend Military Service
Would you ever recommend to a family member or close friend that he or
she pursue service in the military? (Q30)
N % N %
Overall 102,643 85.4% 11,873 14.6%
Active Duty 51,439 82.6% 7,780 17.4%
Reserve 31,477 89.9% 2,575 10.1%
National Guard 19,727 90.6% 1,518 9.4%
Army 26,603 84.9% 3,692 15.1%
Navy 19,173 84.4% 2,266 15.6%
Marine Corps 14,513 79.5% 1,999 20.5%
Air Force 35,546 89.5% 3,342 10.5%
Coast Guard 6,808 91.9% 574 8.1%
Perceived effect of repeal on military service recommendations. Findings on the potential effect of
repeal of DADT on willingness to recommend military service are shown in Table 4.31 separately for
those currently willing to recommend military service and for those who are not. More than half of
Service members currently willing to recommend military service said that repeal would either have
no effect on their willingness to recommend (46.7%) or that repeal would affect their willingness to
recommend "equally as positively as negatively" (10.5%). Also among this group, 26.2% said their
willingness to recommend military service would be negatively affected and 6.6% said their
willingness would be positively affected. Among those who, in response to the initial question, said
they would not ever recommend military service to their friends or family, a small percentage (4.5%)
would be more willing to do so if DADT is repealed.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Willingness to Recommend Military Service
If DADT is repealed, how, if at all, will it affect your If yes, currently (Q30) If no, currently (Q30)
willingness to recommend to a family member or close
friend that he or she join the military? (Q80) N % N %
Positively 6,158 6.6% 462 4.5%
Equally as positively as negatively 10,265 10.5% 645 6.1%
Neutral No effect 46,977 46.7% 5,280 45.6%
Total neutral 57,242 57.3% 5,925 51.7%
Negatively 26,573 26.2% 3,886 33.7%
Don't know 9,531 9.9% 1,125 10.2%
Across the Services, the percentage reporting that repeal of DADT would negatively affect their
willingness to recommend military service was highest for the Marine Corps (Table 4.32). Among
Marine Corps members who are currently willing to recommend military service to others, 39.2%
said their willingness to recommend would be negatively affected by repeal. The percentage was
lowest for the Coast Guard (19.4%).
If yes, currently (Q30)
If DADT is repealed, how, if at all, will it affect Equally as
your willingness to recommend to a family positively
member or close friend that he or she join the as Total Don't
military? (Q80) N Positively negatively No effect neutral Negatively know
Overall 99,504 6.6% 10.5% 46.7% 57.3% 26.2% 9.9%
Army 25,779 6.8% 10.5% 45.4% 55.9% 28.1% 9.2%
Navy 18,555 7.5% 10.9% 50.5% 61.4% 20.2% 10.9%
Marine Corps 14,067 3.5% 11.6% 33.7% 45.3% 39.2% 11.9%
Air Force 34,471 6.7% 9.9% 51.8% 61.7% 21.8% 9.8%
Coast Guard 6,632 7.7% 10.5% 51.0% 61.5% 19.4% 11.4%
When the military talks about family readiness, they
Family Readiness Findings at a Glance:
are speaking of the ability of Service members and
ƒ 70.3% of Service members said they attend
their families to "successfully balance life, career,
military social functions—by themselves and mission events." Important to achieving family
(21.0%) or with family members (49.3%).
ƒ 48.1% said they usually attend military family
readiness is the support military families receive
programs—by themselves (8.0%) or with from one another. The military encourages this
family members (40.1%).
support by sponsoring military social events where
Service members and their families can get to know
ƒ If DADT is repealed, 46.9% of Service
members who attend military social functions and socialize with others in similar situations.
with family members said they will continue
to attend the programs if a gay or lesbian
Service member and partner also attend; The survey addressed family readiness by asking
32.8% said they are likely to stop doing so, questions about the attendance of Service
and 6.1% said they will attend alone.
ƒ If DADT is repealed and a gay or lesbian members and their families at military social
Service member participated in military functions and family programs. The survey asked
family programs with a partner, 41.1% of
Service members who participate in military Service members whether they and their families
family programs with family members said
they will continue to do so, 37.0% are likely attended these functions and how their attendance
to stop participating, and 9.3% are likely to at these functions might change if DADT is repealed
participate alone.
ƒ Marine Corps members were more likely
and a gay or lesbian Service member attended the
than members in the other Services to say functions with a partner. The results are presented
they would not continue to participate in
social events. in Tables 4.33 and 4.34.
Attendance at military social functions. Overall, 70.3% of Service members said they attend military
social functions either by themselves (21.0%) or with family members (49.3%). Of those who attend
military social functions by themselves, 55.6% said they will continue to participate after the repeal
of DADT, 24.9% reported they will stop participating, and 14.3% said they don't know what they are
most likely to do.
Those who attend military social functions with families were more likely than those who attend by
themselves to say they will stop participating (32.8% vs. 24.9%) if DADT is repealed and these events
are attended by gay and lesbian Service members and their partners. Among Service members who
currently attend social functions with family members, 46.9% said they will continue to participate if
DADT is repealed, and 11.2% said they don't know what they are most likely to do after a possible
repeal of DADT.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Attendance at Military Social Functions
Yes, with family
Military Social Functions Yes, by myself members No
N 23,221 61,222 26,386
Do you usually attend military social functions? (Q92) % 21.0% 49.3% 29.7%
Expected Post Repeal Impact
If DADT is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service member attended a military
social function with a same-sex partner, which would you most likely do? If yes, by myself, If yes, with family
(Q93) current members, current
Continue to participate 55.6% 46.9%
Stop bringing family members with me 2.3% 6.1%
Stop participating 24.9% 32.8%
Something else 3.0% 3.0%
Don't know 14.3% 11.2%
Attendance at military family programs. Nearly half of Service members usually attend military family
programs either by themselves (8.0%) or with their family (40.1%), as shown in Table 4.34. National
Guard and Reserve Service members are more likely than Active Duty Service members to attend
military family programs (see Q94 in Appendix F). If DADT is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service
member participated in military family programs with a partner, 53.1% of those who attend by
themselves and 41.1% of those who attend with family members said they will continue to
participate. Thirty-seven percent of those who attend with family members said they will stop
participating altogether, another 9.3% will stop bringing family members with them to these
programs, and 10.2% don't know what they are most likely to do.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Attendance at Military Family Programs
Military Family Programs Yes, by myself members No
N 8,044 49,330 52,717
Do you usually attend military family programs? (Q94) % 8.0% 40.1% 51.9%
Findings by Service. These questions appear to be less relevant to those serving in the Coast Guard:
37.6% of Coast Guard members do not attend military social functions, and 62.2% do not attend
military family programs (see Q92 and Q94 in Appendix E). Marine Corps Service members were
more likely than members in the other Services to say they most likely would not continue to
participate in social events if DADT is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service member attended these
events with a partner. Of Marine Corps members who attend these events, 40.4% said they are most
likely to stop attending military social functions and almost half (46.8%) said they are most likely to
stop participating in military family programs if DADT is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service
member attends such events with a partner (see Q93 and Q95 in Appendix E).
One issue surrounding the repeal of DADT involves
Housing Findings at a Glance:
privacy issues in housing/berthing/billeting policies.
The survey addressed these issues in three areas:
ƒ 38.3% of Service members reported that
they have shared a room, berth, or field tent sharing a room, berth, or field tent; assignment to
with a Service member they believed to be
bathroom facilities with an open bay shower; and
gay or lesbian.
ƒ 66.6% of Service members who have on-base housing. We report on each one separately.
already shared a room, berth, or field tent
with a Service member believed to be gay or Sharing room, berth, or field tent. Service members
lesbian (group 1) said they would likely take
no action or would discuss expectations were asked what actions they would take if DADT is
about behavior, compared with 44.6% of
Service members who have not shared repealed and they were assigned to share a room,
sleeping quarters (group 2). berth, or field tent with a Service member believed
ƒ 17.9% of group 1 and 32.9% of group 2 said
to be gay or lesbian. Table 4.35 presents these
they would likely talk to a leader about
options. results by whether or not the Service member
Bath facilities reported earlier that they had already shared a
room, berth, or field tent with a Service member
they have been assigned to share bath
facilities with open bay showers that are also they believed to be gay or lesbian.
used by Service members they believed to
be gay or lesbian
Those who have already shared a room, berth, or
ƒ Differences were less notable between those
who have already been assigned to share field tent with a Service member they believed to be
bath facilities with an open bay shower with
Service members believed to be gay or gay or lesbian were less likely to say they would take
lesbian and those who have not. Among the any action regarding such an assignment than those
first group, 73.2% would take no action, talk
to the person, or avoid taking showers at the without that experience. Overall, 38.3% of Service
same time, compared with 62.4% in the
second group. members reported they have shared a room, berth,
ƒ 14.5% of the first group and 20.1% of the or field tent with a Service member they believed to
second group said they would likely talk to a
leader about options. be gay or lesbian. Of these individuals, two thirds
On-base housing would either "take no action" (40.9%) or would
ƒ About 18% of Service members said they "discuss how we expect each other to behave or
would probably move off base if they lived in
on-base housing and a gay or lesbian conduct ourselves while sharing a room, berth or
Service member and partner also lived there. field tent" (25.7%). That is, these two thirds would
This was true whether the Service member
has mostly lived on base for the last 24 take no action or talk with the person, if there are
months or not.
any issues, without involving others.
Those who have not had the experience of sharing a room, berth, or field tent with a Service member
they believed to be gay or lesbian were less likely to say they would address the issue in this manner,
with 44.6% saying they would either "take no action" (21.4%) or "discuss how we expect each other
to behave. . . ." (23.2%). In a wartime situation, Service members recognize the situation with
housing is more constrained, and larger percentages of both groups said they would take no action
or talk with the person—71.7% of those who have shared a room, berth, or field tent with someone
they believed to be gay or lesbian and 52.5% of those who have not.
Relatively few Service members in either group (less than 3%) would "talk to a chaplain, mentor or
leader about how to handle the situation," but 32.9% of the Service members who have not shared a
room, berth, or field tent with a Service member believed to be gay or lesbian (and 17.9% of those
who have) would "talk to a leader to see if I have other options." These percentages also fall for both
groups when considering a wartime situation. Less than 10% of Service members in both groups
said they would do "something else."
What a Service Member Might Do if Assigned to Share Housing With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member After Repeal of
DADT by Experience With Shared Housing
Service member has... % has shared % has not shared
Shared a room, berth, or field tent with a Service member you N 27,757 57,416
believed to be homosexual? (Q86) % 38.3% 61.7%
chaplain,
mentor, or
Discuss how we leader about Talk to a leader
If DADT is repealed, which are you most likely to Take no expect each how to handle to see if I have Something
do if... action other to behave the situation other options else Don't know
You are assigned to share a room, berth or field
tent with someone you believe to be a gay or
lesbian Service member? (Q88)
If has shared... 40.9% 25.7% 1.5% 17.9% 8.3% 5.7%
If has not shared... 21.4% 23.2% 2.6% 32.9% 8.8% 11.0%
If a wartime situation made it necessary for you to
share a room, berth or field tent with someone
you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service
member? (Q89)
If has not shared... 25.2% 27.3% 2.6% 27.9% 7.0% 9.9%
Marine Corps Service members differed from other Service members in their responses to this
question (Table 4.36). Although the responses of Marine Corps Service members followed the same
pattern as those of Service members overall, Marine Corp members were less likely to say they will
deal with the issue without involving others by taking no action or discussing how they expect each
other to behave (51.8% for those who have shared quarters with a Service member believed to be
gay or lesbian and 32.6% for those who have not). Also, they were more likely to say they would ask a
leader if there are other options (28.8% of those who have shared quarters with a Service member
believed to be gay or lesbian and 40.5% of those who have not).
DADT by Experience With Shared Housing: Marine Corps
Shared a room, berth, or field tent with a Service member you N 2,558 8,438
If has shared... 24.7% 27.1% 2.0% 28.8% 11.3% 6.1%
If has not shared... 11.9% 20.7% 3.3% 40.5% 14.1% 9.5%
If has not shared... 15.1% 27.1% 2.5% 34.8% 10.5% 10.0%
Sharing bath facilities with open bay showers. About half (50.1%) all Service members reported that
they have been assigned to share bath facilities with open bay showers that are also used by Service
members they believed to be gay or lesbian (Table 4.37). Among this group, 73.2% said that if they
are in the same situation after a repeal of DADT, they will handle the situation by taking no action
(39.7%), using the shower at a different time than the Service member thought to be gay or lesbian
(22.1%), or discussing how they expect each other to behave and conduct themselves (11.4%). Of
those who have not been assigned to share such bath facilities with a gay or lesbian Service
member, 62.4% reported one of these same three responses. These percentages increased by a
small amount when Service members were asked about a wartime situation.
Of those who have shared such bath facilities, 14.5% will talk to a leader to see if they have other
options, compared with 20.1% of those who have not. These percentages fall, but by only 2 points
for both groups, when considering a wartime situation.
Across all Service members, responses were not substantially different by Service except for the
Marine Corps. Marines, compared with Service members overall, were less likely to say they would
"take no action" (13.8% vs. 26.7% overall) and more likely to "talk to a leader to see if I have other
options" if they have to share bath facilities with an open bay shower that are also used by Service
members they believe to be gay or lesbian (38.1% vs. 28.1% overall). (See Q88 in Appendix E.)
What a Service Member Might Do if Assigned to Share Bath Facilities With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member After Repeal of DADT
by Experience With Shared Bath Facilities
Been assigned to share bath facilities with an open bay shower that is N 36,005 49,235
also used by Service members you believed to be homosexual? (Q87) % 50.1% 49.9%
Use the shower Talk to a
at a different Discuss chaplain, Talk to a
time than the how we mentor, or leader to
Service member expect leader about see if I
If DADT is repealed, which are you most Take no thought to be each other how to handle have other Something
likely to do if... action gay/lesbian to behave the situation options else Don't know
You are assigned to bath facilities with an open bay
shower with someone you believe to be a gay or
If has shared... 39.7% 22.1% 11.4% 1.0% 14.5% 7.1% 4.2%
If has not shared... 24.2% 27.8% 10.4% 1.3% 20.1% 6.6% 9.7%
share bathroom facilities with an open bay shower
with someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian
Service member? (Q91)
DADT repeal and on-base housing. Service members were also asked what they would most likely do
if DADT is repealed and they had on-base housing and a gay or lesbian Service member was living
with a same-sex partner on base. Table 4.38 presents data on how Service members would react in
such a situation for those Service members who have mostly lived in military family housing during
the past 24 months. The latter group made up 10.3% of the overall population and includes 15.2%
of Active Duty, 1.1% of National Guard, and 2.4% of Reserve Component members (see Q11 in
Appendix F).
Of those who have mostly lived in military family housing during the past 24 months, 40.1% said they
would treat the gay or lesbian Service member and his or her partner like any other neighbors
(38.7%) or would make a special effort to get to know them (1.4%). Twenty-two percent said they
would feel uncomfortable with the situation, but the following other factors would be more important
to them in determining where they live: cost of moving (9.8%); quality of on-base housing (6.7%); and
access to the exchange, commissary, and morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) facilities (5.5%).
Another 17.5% said they would probably move off base, and 13.5% don't know what they would do.
These findings were similar for Service members as a whole (i.e., both those who mainly live on base
and those who do not). (See Appendix D, Q96.)
Table 4.38 also shows these data by Service. Again, the Marine Corps Service members are the
outliers, with almost one quarter of Marines who lived mostly on base over the past 24 months
saying that in this situation they would probably move off base.
The DADT Repeal and On-Base Housing by Service
Have mostly lived in military family housing during the last 24 months
(Q11=4)
If DADT is repealed and you had on-base housing and a
gay or lesbian Service member was living with a same-sex All Marine Coast
partner on base, what would you most likely do? (Q96) Services Army Navy Corps Air Force Guard
N=10,632 N=2,383 N=1,973 N=2,080 N=3,529 N=667
I would get to know them like any other neighbors. 38.7% 37.2% 44.4% 26.9% 42.3% 41.6%
I would make a special effort to get to know them. 1.4% 1.3% 1.5% 1.2% 1.2% 3.2%
I would be uncomfortable, but access to the exchange,
commissary, and MWR facilities is more important to me than
who my neighbors are when deciding where to live. 5.5% 5.8% 5.4% 6.4% 4.8% 6.5%
I would be uncomfortable, but the quality of on-base housing is
more important to me than who my neighbors are when
deciding where to live. 6.7% 6.8% 6.3% 9.0% 6.0% 5.7%
I would be uncomfortable, but the cost of moving makes it
unlikely I would leave on-base housing. 9.8% 10.0% 8.7% 11.9% 9.1% 10.2%
I would probably move off-base. 17.5% 19.6% 11.6% 24.6% 15.6% 12.0%
Something else 6.9% 7.6% 5.5% 6.2% 7.2% 4.1%
Don't know 13.5% 11.7% 16.5% 13.9% 13.9% 16.7%
POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
Service members were asked to assess how easy or
Policy Implementation Findings at a Glance:
difficult they thought it would be for leadership as
ƒ Service members consider it more likely to they start implementing a repeal of DADT. The
be easy than difficult for leadership to "hold
Service members to the high standards of
assessment included the five items listed in Table
military personal conduct regardless of their 4.39. The response scale ranged from 1 (Very
difficult) to 5 (Very easy), with a Don't know
ƒ Most difficult challenge for leadership: "Make
sure all Service members are treated with response option. A small percentage of Service
respect by their coworkers" (50.1% of all
Service members and 65.1% of Marines members, about 3%, responded "Don't know"
responded that this would be "very difficult/ across the five items.
difficult").
ƒ 2nd most difficult challenge for leadership:
Perceptions about ease/difficulty in implementing
"Treat Service members in the same manner
regardless of their sexual orientation" (45.8% policy. Only one of the five items listed was more
of all Service members and 61.6% of
Marines responded that this would be "very often thought to be "very easy/easy" (39.1%) than
difficult/ difficult").
"very difficult/difficult" (35.1%) for leadership: "Hold
ƒ The warfare community believes these
challenges to be more difficult than the non- Service members to the high standards of military
warfare community.
personal conduct regardless of their sexual
ƒ Service members who said "all" or "most" of
the officers over their immediate unit are orientation." The item with the highest percentage
good leaders were less likely to say that
of "very difficult/difficult" responses among all
implementation will be "very difficult/difficult"
across all five implementation items, Service members (50.1%) was "Make sure all
compared with Service members who said
"some," "few," or "no" officers in their Service members are treated with respect by their
immediate unit are good leaders. coworkers" (among the Marine Corps, the
percentage was 65.1%; Q67d in Appendix E). The
second most difficult challenge for leadership, according to Service members, will be to "Treat
Service members in the same manner regardless of their sexual orientation"—45.8% of all Service
members (and 61.6% of Marines) said they thought this would be "very difficult/difficult" for
Warfare vs. non-warfare communities. Table 4.39 also shows Service members' perceptions about
the ease or difficulty in implementing a new policy for the warfare and non-warfare communities. The
warfare community is more likely than the non-warfare community to view implementation as being
"very difficult/difficult" across all five implementation items. The largest difference in "very difficult/
difficult" responses was for the item "Make sure all Service members are treated with respect by
their coworkers"; 54.8% of warfare community Service members said this would be difficult for
leadership, compared with 47.6% of non-warfare community Service members.
Service Members' Beliefs Regarding Ease or Difficulty of Implementing DADT Repeal Policies
Equally as Difficult/
If DADT is repealed, how easy or difficult do you think it will be for leadership as they start Very easy/ easy as Very
implementing the policy to... (Q67) Easy difficult difficult Don't know
Hold Service members to the high standards of military personal conduct regardless of
their sexual orientation? 39.1% 22.4% 35.1% 3.5%
Treat Service members in the same manner regardless of their sexual orientation? 30.2% 20.9% 45.8% 3.0%
Provide the same opportunities to all Service members regardless of their sexual
orientation? 36.1% 22.4% 38.2% 3.2%
Make sure all Service members are treated with respect by their coworkers? 25.7% 21.4% 50.1% 2.7%
Enforce good order and discipline? 35.8% 23.6% 37.7% 2.9%
Warfare Community
Non Warfare Community
Good leadership may help in making implementation less difficult. Responses about the ease or
difficulty of implementation on the same five items were analyzed by whether or not Service
members reported that the officers over their immediate unit are good leaders. Service members
who said "all" or "most" of the officers over their immediate unit are good leaders were less likely to
say that implementation will be "very difficult/difficult" across all five items. In units with good
leaders, more Service members said implementation would be easy than difficult for leadership for
three of the five items. But in units where Service members said that only "some," "a few," or "none"
of the officers over their immediate unit were good leaders, more Service members said
implementation would be difficult than easy across all five items (Table 4.40).
Influence of Leadership Quality on Service Members' Views of Ease or Difficulty of Implementation
Percent Who Said All or Most Officers Percent Who Said Some, a Few, or No
in Immediate Unit are Good Leaders Officers in Immediate Unit are Good
(Q13) Leaders (Q13)
Equally Equally
Very as easy Difficult/ Very as easy Difficult/
If DADT is repealed, how easy or difficult do you think it will be easy/ as Very Don't easy/ as Very Don't
for leadership as they start implementing the policy to... (Q67) Easy difficult difficult know Easy difficult difficult know
Hold Service members to the high standards of military
personal conduct regardless of their sexual orientation? 41.2% 22.3% 33.0% 3.5% 35.4% 22.5% 38.9% 3.3%
Treat Service members in the same manner regardless of
their sexual orientation? 32.5% 21.2% 43.2% 3.1% 26.5% 20.4% 50.4% 2.7%
Provide the same opportunities to all Service members
regardless of their sexual orientation? 38.5% 22.5% 35.8% 3.2% 32.1% 22.3% 42.5% 3.0%
Make sure all Service members are treated with respect by
their coworkers? 27.7% 21.7% 47.9% 2.7% 22.7% 20.8% 53.9% 2.5%
Enforce good order and discipline? 38.4% 23.3% 35.4% 2.9% 31.4% 23.9% 42.0% 2.7%
4.2 What is the past experience with Service members believed to be gay or lesbian?
Although the DADT policy prohibits gay and lesbian Service members from serving openly in the
military, gay and lesbian individuals can—and do—serve without revealing their sexual orientation.
Thirty-six percent of Service members reported that they are currently serving with someone whom
they believe to be gay or lesbian (Table 4.41). Marine Corps Service members were least likely to
report currently serving with a Service member they believe to be gay or lesbian (24.9%); Navy
Service members were most likely to report this experience (46.0%; see Q34 in Appendix E).
When asked if, over the course of their careers, they had ever worked in a unit with a Service
member they believed to be gay or lesbian, 38.5% of Service members said they have worked in a
unit with a gay or lesbian leader, 69.3% said they have worked in a unit with a gay or lesbian
coworker, and 49.1% said they have worked in a unit with a gay or lesbian subordinate. Overall, 77%
of Service members have served (either now or in the past) with a male or female Service member
whom they believed to be gay or lesbian.3 Of those who reported having served with a gay or lesbian
Service member at some point in their careers, 34.6% served "in combat" with a Service member
whom they believed to be gay or lesbian. Among Army Service members, 44.6% of those who believe
they have served with a gay or lesbian Service member did so in combat, the highest percentage
across all Services (see Q62 in Appendix E).
The 77% represents the unduplicated percentage of Service members who reported ever working with a Service member
(of any rank) believed to be gay or lesbian.
Percent Having Served With Service Members Believed to Be Gay or Lesbian
N % Yes % No
Do you currently serve with a male or female Service member you believe to be gay or lesbian? (Q34) 114,634 36.0% 64.0%
In your career, have you ever worked in a unit with a Service member you believed to be gay or lesbian?
Worked in a unit with a gay/lesbian leader (Q35) 114,595 38.5% 61.5%
Worked in a unit with a gay/lesbian coworker (Q36) 114,589 69.3% 30.7%
Worked in a unit with a gay/lesbian subordinate (Q37) 114,693 49.1% 50.9%
Did you ever serve in combat with a Service member of any rank whom you believed to be gay or
lesbian? (Q62) 87,015 34.6% 65.4%
What was the impact of serving with a gay or lesbian Service member on the units involved? Survey
questions asked about unit task cohesion (i.e., the ability to work together), unit morale, and unit
performance when a unit had a leader, coworker, or subordinate who was believed to be gay or
lesbian. Followup questions were asked only of those who believed that they were not the only
person in their unit to think that the unit member was gay or lesbian. The followup questions asked
how much the belief that a unit member was gay or lesbian affected the unit and whether the effect
was "mostly positive," "mostly negative," or "about equally positive and negative."
Unit cohesion. Regardless of whether the unit member believed to be gay or lesbian was a leader,
coworker, or subordinate, a large majority of Service members (from 76.1% to 76.9%) rated the
ability to work together in these units as "very good/good"; from 14.8% to 15.6% of Service
members rated the ability to work together as "neither good nor poor"; and about 8.3% of Service
members rated the ability to work together as "very poor/poor" (Table 4.42).
Ratings of the ability to work together in these units varied by Service. About 80% of Navy, Air Force,
and Coast Guard Service members, compared with 68.4% of Marines, rated the ability of these units
to work together as "very good/good" (Appendix E, Q39a).
Impact of Serving With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member: Unit Cohesion
Percent of Service members rating unit's ability to work
together as:
Neither good nor
Very good/Good poor Poor/Very poor
If unit member believed to be gay/lesbian is a...
Leader (Q39a) 76.9% 14.8% 8.3%
Coworker (Q47a) 76.6% 15.0% 8.4%
Subordinate (Q55a) 76.1% 15.6% 8.3%
When asked how, among all the factors affecting how well Service members worked together in
these units, the belief that the Service member was gay or lesbian affected how well Service
members in these units worked together, the most common response among Service members was
"not at all" (47.5% for coworkers, 49.1% for subordinates, and 50.5% for leaders). A relatively small
number of Service members, 8.1% to 9.2%, responded "a lot," 16.6% to 18.3% said "some," and
16.4% to 18.9% said "a little." The effect on the unit's ability to work together was reported to be
"mostly positive" by 5.3% to 6.7% of Service members, "mostly negative" by 15.8% to 19.8%, and
"about equally positive and negative" by about 20%. The remainder said there was no effect (Table
Results for these questions were fairly steady across Components and Services with the exception of
the Marine Corps. Marine Corps members were least likely to say that the Service member believed
to be gay or lesbian did not affect that unit's ability to work together at all (33.4% to 36.6%) and were
most likely to say that the effect was "mostly negative" (24.6% to 28.9%). (See Appendix E, Q40,
Q41, Q48, Q49, Q56 and Q57.)
If unit member believed to be gay/lesbian is a:
Leader Coworker Subordinate
How much did the Service members' belief that the unit member was Q40 Q48 Q56
gay/lesbian affect the unit's ability to work together?* N=35,901 N=43,545 N=17,596
A lot 9.2% 8.7% 8.1%
Some 16.6% 18.3% 18.1%
A little 16.4% 17.8% 18.9%
Not at all 50.5% 47.5% 49.1%
No basis to judge 7.2% 7.6% 5.8%
Q41 Q49 Q57
Was the effect on the unit's ability to work together...* N=35,866 N=43,506 N=17,576
Mostly positive? 6.7% 5.5% 5.3%
Mostly negative? 15.8% 19.3% 19.8%
About equally positive and negative? 19.7% 20.0% 20.0%
Not applicable** 57.8% 55.2% 54.9%
*These questions were asked of respondents only if they noted that other unit members also believed the leader, coworker, or subordinate to be gay or lesbian.
**Those who responded "Not at all" or "No basis to judge" to the previous questions.
Unit morale. Ratings of unit morale for these units also differed little by whether the unit member
believed to be gay or lesbian was a leader, coworker, or subordinate (Table 4.44). The percentage of
Service members rating unit morale as "very good/good" in a unit where a unit member (leader,
coworker, subordinate) was believed to be gay or lesbian ranged from 67.9% (for a unit with a leader
believed to be gay or lesbian) to 70.3% (for a unit with a subordinate believed to be gay or lesbian).
From 18.1% to 19.1% of Service members rated unit morale as "neither good nor poor," and 10.6%
to 14.1% rated unit morale as "very poor/poor." The most common response to how the belief that a
unit member (whether a leader, coworker or subordinate) was gay or lesbian affected the unit's
morale was "not at all" (53.5% for leaders, 53.8% for coworkers, and 53.9% for subordinates; Table
4.45). The effect on unit morale was reported to be "mostly positive" by a small percentage of
Service members (2.9% to 3.6%), "about equally positive and negative" by 16.6% to 17.6% of
Service members, and "mostly negative" by 18.1% to 19.7% of Service members, with the remainder
saying there was no effect. Marine Corps Service members were least likely to say that the Service
member believed to be gay or lesbian did not affect the unit's morale (38.6% to 39.8%) and most
likely to say that the impact was "mostly negative" (26.9% to 28.6%). (See Appendix E, Q42, Q43,
Q50, Q51, Q58 and Q59.)
Impact of Serving With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member: Unit Morale
Percent of Service members rating unit's morale as:
Leader (Q39b) 67.9% 18.1% 14.1%
Coworker (Q47b) 69.1% 18.8% 12.0%
Subordinate (Q55b) 70.3% 19.1% 10.6%
gay/lesbian affect the unit's morale?* N=35,886 N=68,223 N=50,389
Was the effect on the unit's morale...* N=35,844 N=68,142 N=50,324
Unit effectiveness. As with unit cohesion and morale, there were few reported differences by leader,
coworker, and subordinate regarding unit performance (Tables 4.46 and 4.47). Unit performance
was generally thought to be "very good/good" by a large majority of Service members (ranged from
77.4% to 77.8% across responses for leader, coworker, and subordinate). A majority of Service
members (57.3% to 58.6%) reported that the presence of a leader, coworker, or subordinate who
was believed to be gay or lesbian affected unit performance "not at all." Among all Service
members, 15.7% to 18.3% said the effect on unit performance was "mostly negative," 2.2% to 2.9%
said the effect was "mostly positive," 14.6% to 15.4% said the effect was "about equally positive and
negative," and the remainder said there was no effect (Table 4.47). Marine Corps members were
least likely to say that the belief that a unit member was gay or lesbian had no effect on performance
(43.2% to 44.1%) and were most likely to say the effect was "mostly negative" (23.6% to 26.7%).
(See Appendix E, Q44, Q45, Q52, Q53, Q60 and Q61.)
Impact of Serving With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member: Unit Effectiveness
Percent of Service members rating unit's performance as:
Leader (Q39c) 78.1% 14.6% 7.3%
Coworker (Q47c) 78.1% 15.0% 6.9%
Subordinate (Q55c) 77.4% 15.7% 6.9%
Impact of Serving With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member: Effectiveness
gay/lesbian affect the unit's performance?* N=35,816 N=68,206 N=50,350
Was the effect on the unit's performance...* Q45 Q53 Q61
N=35,781 N=68,124 N=50,287
Experience in combat. As we noted above, 34.6% of Service members have served "in a combat
situation" with another Service member they believed to be gay or lesbian. Among Service members
with that experience in combat, 80.2% said their unit performed "very well/well" in combat, 15.3%
said the unit performed "neither well nor poorly," and 4.5% said their unit performed "very
poorly/poorly" (Table 4.48). Service members who said these units performed "very poorly/poorly"
were much more likely than the other Service members to report that the presence of a unit member
believed to be gay or lesbian affected unit performance. Among Service members who said their unit
performed "very well/well," 65.9% said the belief that a unit member was gay or lesbian affected
unit performance "not at all." In comparison, 21.8% of Service members who said the unit performed
"neither well nor poorly" and 5.3% of Service members who said the unit performed "very poorly/
poorly" responded "not at all" (Table 4.49).
Although only a small portion of Service members who have served in a combat situation with
another Service member they believed to be gay or lesbian said their unit performed "very
poorly/poorly" in combat (4.5%), more than half of this group (52.9%) said that the Service
members' belief that a unit member was gay or lesbian affected combat performance "a lot" and
85.4% said the effect was "mostly negative" (Table 4.49). On the other hand, among the 80.2% of
Service members who said their unit performed "very well/well" in combat, 65.9% said that the
presence of a unit member believed to be gay or lesbian had no effect at all on unit combat
performance. Among this same 80.2%, those who thought there was an effect of the belief on
combat performance were more likely to say the effect on combat performance was "about equally
positive and negative" (13.3% of all Service members) than to say "mostly negative" (11.5%) or
"mostly positive" (4.2%). Marine Corps members did not differ as substantially from members of
other Services in their assessments of the effect on combat performance, compared with their
assessments of the effect on unit cohesion, unit morale, and overall unit performance.
Impact of Serving With a Gay/Lesbian Service Member on Combat Effectiveness
How did that unit perform in combat? (Q64)
Did you ever serve in a combat Overall Very well/Well Neither well nor poorly Poorly/Very poorly
situation with a Service member
of any rank whom you believed to
be homosexual? (Q62) N % N % N % N %
Yes 25,487 34.6% 20,789 80.2% 3,578 15.3% 1,006 4.5%
If the Service member said the unit performed in combat: (Q64)
How much did the Service members' belief that the unit Very well/Well Neither well nor poorly Poorly/Very poorly
member was gay/lesbian affect the unit's combat
performance?* (Q65) N % N % N %
A lot 522 3.1% 382 11.8% 533 52.9%
Some 2,361 12.8% 956 28.6% 259 29.3%
A little 2,570 13.3% 836 25.9% 89 10.5%
Not at all 12,160 65.9% 642 21.8% 56 5.3%
No basis to judge 886 5.0% 366 11.9% 18 1.9%
Was the effect on the unit's combat performance:* (Q66)
Mostly positive 674 4.2% 39 1.2% 1 0.1%
Mostly negative 2,260 11.5% 1,177 35.5% 818 85.4%
About equally positive and negative 2,501 13.3% 951 29.6% 62 7.4%
Not applicable** 13,046 71.0% 1,008 33.7% 74 7.2%
*These questions were asked of respondents only if they noted that other unit members also believed the Service member to be gay or lesbian.
Summary findings on experience in serving with gay or lesbian Service members. The assessments
of experience of serving in a unit with a Service member believed to be gay or lesbian show a similar
pattern across the unit characteristics of task cohesion, morale, and performance. Service members'
ratings of these units did not vary by whether the unit member believed to be gay or lesbian was a
leader, coworker, or subordinate. Large majorities rated these units highly across all three
characteristics, although unit morale was rated somewhat lower than cohesion or performance.
When asked how much Service members' beliefs that a unit member was gay or lesbian affected the
unit, about half of the Service members said "not at all" (47.5% to 50.5% for unit cohesion at the low
end and 57.3% to 58.6% for unit performance at the high end). Less than 20% of Service members
said the effect of serving with someone believed to be gay or lesbian was "mostly negative" across
all three issues of task cohesion, morale, and unit performance.
For all three characteristics, Marine Corps members were more likely than other Service members to
feel that Service members' beliefs that a unit member was gay or lesbian had an effect and that the
effect was "mostly negative." Those Service members who served in combat with a unit member of
any rank who was believed to be gay or lesbian also rated unit performance highly (80.2% reported
the unit performed "very well/well" in combat), but in this area differences between the Marine
Corps and other Services were not as large.
4.3 What characteristics affect Service members' views about the impact repeal might have?
Predicting the impact of DADT repeal on unit cohesion, unit effectiveness, readiness, and personal
morale. Westat developed five separate multiple linear regression models to examine the
characteristics that influence Service member perceptions about the impact of DADT on unit
cohesion, non-combat unit effectiveness, combat unit effectiveness, readiness, and personal
morale. (See Appendix V for details on the model specifications and results.) The variance accounted
for by each of the models ranged between 18% and 22%:
ƒ 21% of the variance was accounted for in the post-repeal unit cohesion model;
ƒ 18% of the variance was accounted for in the post-repeal noncombat unit effectiveness
model;
ƒ 22% of the variance was accounted for in the post-repeal combat unit effectiveness
ƒ 22% of the variance was accounted for in the post-repeal personal morale model; and
ƒ 20% of the variance accounted for in the post-repeal readiness model.
The results were consistent in all five of the estimated models. Overall, Service members' past
experience serving in a unit with a leader, coworker, and/or subordinate they believed to be gay or
lesbian was the strongest predictor of their perceptions about the impact of repealing DADT on their
units. For example, when Service members rated past units in which they served with a Service
member believed to be gay or lesbian as having poor unit cohesion, they were more likely to say that
the impact of repeal on unit cohesion would be negative. Those who rated past units as having good
unit cohesion were more likely to believe that the impact of repeal would be positive, although this
influence was not as strong.
The influence of gender, minority status, and age were also consistent across all five estimated
models. Being female and being a minority Service member were associated with more positive
perceptions about the impact of a DADT repeal, while rising age was associated with more negative
perceptions. Component was not significant for the unit cohesion, combat effectiveness, and
readiness regressions. For non-combat effectiveness and morale, the Reserve Component members
were more likely than Active Duty Service members to have negative views on the impact of a repeal.
Currently serving with a Service member believed to be gay or lesbian was a significant and positive
predictor of Service members' perceptions about the impact of repeal in all five equations. Those
who were currently serving with a Service member they believe to be gay or lesbian were more likely
to be positive about the impact of a repeal than those not currently serving with someone they
believe to be gay or lesbian. Having good NCOs/POs and having good officers over a unit were also
positively associated with Service members' opinions about the impact of repeal in all five equations.
Note that the estimated coefficients in these regression equations were often relatively small in size,
indicating that the average differences between subgroups, although significant, were small.
Predicting Service members' retention intentions. Repeal's impact on retention was analyzed using a
logistic regression model. Logistic regression is a variant of multiple regression analysis. It assesses
the relationship between a dichotomous outcome variable of interest (e.g., Service members who
reported being likely to leave the military vs. Service members who reported being unlikely to leave)
and several predictor variables. Logistic regression allowed the analysis team to estimate the odds of
an event occurring (e.g., the odds of leaving the military) on the basis of the values from the
predictor variables.
The dependent variable for this analysis was coded as 0 if the Service member said [in response to
Q81] "my military career plans will not change," "I will stay longer than I had planned," or "I will think
of staying longer than I had planned." The dependent variable was coded as 1 if the Service member
said "I will leave sooner than I had planned" or "I will think about leaving sooner than I had planned."
The probability of Y=1 (i.e., the percentage of Service members who responded to Q81 by saying "I
will think about leaving sooner than I had planned" or "I will leave sooner than I had planned) was
.246.
The independent variables for this analysis include Service, gender, minority/non-minority status,
age group, Component, the three-group "served with" variables, whether a unit has good NCO/PO
leaders, whether a unit has good officers over it, current military career intentions, how important
repeal of DADT will be to Service members' decisions on whether to remain in the military, and
military years of service. All of these variables except age group were included in this equation as
dummy variables. How the dummy variables were constructed is described in detail in Appendix V.
The logistic regression model had a "pseudo" R-square value of 0.3174 (i.e., the model accounted
for 32% of the variance in how repeal will affect the military career plans of Service members).
Almost all independent variables were significant at the p < .01 level with the exception of the
following: Reserve Component, having current intentions of leaving upon completion of their present
obligation, and years of service. These three variables were not significant.
Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Service members had regression results with odds ratios that were
less than one, indicating that they were less likely to be considering leaving post repeal than Army
Service members were. The odds that a Marine Corps Service member is considering leaving post-
repeal were 43% higher than the odds that an Army Service member is considering leaving post-
repeal. Service members who have served in the past with a Service member they believed to be gay
or lesbian and those who have never served with a Service member believed to be gay or lesbian
had greater odds of considering leaving the military post repeal (29% and 36%, respectively) than
those currently serving with someone they believe to be gay or lesbian.
4.4 Overall, what are the main issues associated with repeal for Service members?
To identify the main issues associated with repeal for Service members, we looked across all
questions that asked about the impact of DADT repeal and determined the percentages of Service
members who reported negative perceptions. For some questions, a negative response was a
"negatively" or "very negatively" rating of the expected impact, but for others it was more specific to
the question, such as "I will leave sooner than I had planned" or "I will think about leaving sooner
than I had planned" for a question about the impact on retention. The following questions (or
question items) exhibited the largest negative responses from Service members and can be
considered the main issues associated with repeal for Service members, according to the survey
ƒ How would your immediate unit's effectiveness at completing its mission be affected by
DADT . . . in a field environment or out to sea? Forty-four percent of Service members
who have been deployed to a combat environment since September 11, 2001, said that
effectiveness in a field environment or out to sea would be affected "negatively" or "very
negatively" by repeal.
ƒ How would the repeal of DADT affect . . . how Service members in your immediate unit
trust each other? Thirty-four percent of Service members said this aspect of social
cohesion would be "very negatively" or "negatively" affected by repeal.
ƒ How would the repeal of DADT affect . . . your immediate unit's ability to train well
together? Thirty-one percent of Service members said this aspect of unit readiness
would be "very negatively" or "negatively" affected by repeal.
DADT . . . in an intense combat situation? Thirty-one percent of Service members who
have been deployed to a combat environment since September 11, 2001, said that unit
effectiveness in an intense combat situation would be affected "very negatively" or
ƒ How would the repeal of DADT affect . . . how much Service members in your immediate
unit care about each other? Thirty percent of Service members said this aspect of social
The only other repeal-related survey questions that gave rise to negative responses by 30% or more
of the relevant Service members were questions related to how Service members will likely react if a
gay or lesbian Service member participates in military social functions and family programs with a
same-sex partner. Thirty-seven percent of Service members who usually attend military family
programs said they would "stop participating in military family programs altogether" if DADT is
repealed and a gay or lesbian Service member participated in the program with a partner. Similarly,
32.8% of those who usually attend military social functions said they would "stop attending military
social functions" if a gay or lesbian Service member attended with a partner.
The above represent the issue areas that are of most concern to Service members as a whole when
considering a possible repeal of DADT.
5 Findings From the Spouse Survey
The spouse survey obtained the following information from spouses of Service members:
ƒ Demographic information about themselves and their families;
ƒ Their military spouses' service in the Armed Forces;
ƒ Their acquaintance with gay and lesbian individuals;
ƒ Views on their military spouses' current military service, their preference for their military
spouses' career intentions, and the factors most important when making decisions
related to their military spouses' future military careers;
ƒ Views on how repeal will affect their preferences for their military spouses' career
intentions and their own willingness to recommend military service to others;
ƒ How they rate the readiness of their family to handle the challenges of military life, views
on how repeal will affect their family readiness, and what family readiness programs they
would turn to for assistance in sustaining family readiness; and
ƒ Likely actions if repeal occurs regarding on-base housing and attendance at military
social events, family programs, and deployment-support programs.
In this section, responses to survey questions are organized into five areas: a profile of spouse
survey respondents (their demographics), military spouses' acquaintance with gay and lesbian
individuals, retention and referral issues, readiness and military life issues, and housing issues.
Information about military spouses' acquaintance with gay and lesbian individuals was used to
examine whether this experience mitigates spouses' concerns regarding the impact of the repeal of
DADT.
PROFILE OF SPOUSE SURVEY RESPONDENTS
A total of 44,266 spouses of military Service members responded to this survey. This part of Section
5 contains a description of the characteristics of the respondents to the spouse survey. Key findings
are highlighted in the bulleted list. Tables 5.1–5.3 display more details. The data in these tables are
unweighted, while data in all other spouse data tables are weighted. See Section 2.2.5 for a brief
discussion of weighting, and Appendix A for more details on how weighting was accomplished for
both the Service member and spouse surveys. Respondents to the spouse survey had the following
ƒ A majority (54.7%) were 26 to 40 years old; 32.0% were 41 years or older.
The distribution by age was similar across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast
Marine Corps spouse respondents were younger, on average: About one fourth
(25.7%) were 25 years old or younger; 16.7% of Marine Corps spouse respondents
were more than 40 years old.
ƒ Most were female (93.8%), and most (77.0%) were non-minority (i.e., non-Hispanic White).
† Coast Guard spouse respondents were more likely to be non-minority (85.4%) than
responding spouses in other Services.
ƒ Spouse survey respondents represented all five Services:
† Army - 33.7%
† Navy – 17.1%
† Marine Corps – 15.9%
† Air Force – 25.8%
† Coast Guard – 7.5%
ƒ 10.6% had previously served in the military.
ƒ Nearly half (47.2%) had at least a bachelor's degree.
ƒ A majority (58.6%) had been married to their military spouse for 10 or fewer years; the
average length of marriage was 10 years.
† 29.0% had been married to their military spouse for 11 to 20 years; a small
proportion (12.4%) had been married more than 20 years.
† Marine Corps spouse respondents had been married for shorter periods of time—on
average, 8 years; 71.4% had been married 10 years or fewer, and 5.2% had been
married more than 20 years.
ƒ A majority (76.3%) had children living at home.
ƒ About half (49.8%) had Active Duty spouses and half did not (50.2%).
ƒ A majority of respondents (58.7%) were married to Service members with a pay grade of E1-
E9; 35.4% had military spouses with a pay grade of O1-O6.
† Coast Guard spouses were more likely to be married to Service members with higher
pay grades—a majority (52.0%) had military spouses in pay grades O1-O6.
ƒ 13.0% had military spouses who were currently deployed.
ƒ A majority of respondents (74.2%) had military spouses who had been deployed at least once
since September 11, 2001. This percentage was higher for spouses whose military spouse
was in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps and lower for those with military spouses in the Air
Force and Coast Guard. Coast Guard spouses reported 22.4% of the time that their military
spouses deployed four or more times since September 11, 2001; some of the Coast Guard
spouses may be interpreting "deployment" differently from spouses in other Services.
Spouse Demographics, Overall and by Service
Military Spouses' Service
Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Coast Guard
Overall (33.7%) (17.1%) (15.9%) (25.8%) (7.5%)
Age (Q38)
Up to 20 years old 629 1.4% 163 1.1% 127 1.7% 222 3.2% 101 0.9% 16 0.5%
21 to 25 years old 5,265 12.0% 1,475 10.0% 873 11.6% 1,578 22.5% 1,115 9.8% 224 6.8%
26 to 30 years old 8,078 18.4% 2,681 18.1% 1,309 17.4% 1,654 23.6% 1,849 16.3% 585 17.8%
41 years old or more 14,048 32.0% 5,147 34.8% 2,364 31.5% 1,170 16.7% 4,292 37.9% 1,075 32.7%
Female 41,367 93.8% 13,996 94.1% 7,049 93.6% 6,940 98.6% 10,272 90.3% 3,110 94.4%
Male 2,741 6.2% 875 5.9% 485 6.4% 95 1.4% 1,100 9.7% 186 5.6%
Race/Ethnicity (Q42
and Q43)
Minority 10,021 23.0% 3,728 25.3% 2,063 27.6% 1,619 23.2% 2,137 19.0% 474 14.6%
Non-minority 33,632 77.0% 11,006 74.7% 5,400 72.4% 5,350 76.8% 9,098 81.0% 2,778 85.4%
Ever served in the
military (Q4)
Yes, previously
but not now 4,703 10.6% 1,712 11.5% 849 11.2% 512 7.3% 1,336 11.7% 294 8.9%
No 39,471 89.4% 13,173 88.5% 6,703 88.8% 6,531 92.7% 10,054 88.3% 3,010 91.1%
Highest level of schooling
completed (Q37)
12 years or less of
school, but no high
school diploma,
certificate, or GED 676 1.5% 313 2.1% 120 1.6% 94 1.3% 125 1.1% 24 0.7%
diploma or GED 4,563 10.4% 1,778 12.0% 768 10.2% 724 10.3% 1,074 9.4% 219 6.6%
Some college credit,
but no degree 11,571 26.3% 4,085 27.5% 2,064 27.4% 1,963 27.9% 2,738 24.1% 721 21.9%
(e.g., AA, AS) 6,462 14.7% 2,364 15.9% 1,066 14.2% 989 14.1% 1,603 14.1% 440 13.4%
(e.g., BA, AB, BS) 13,551 30.8% 4,153 28.0% 2,263 30.1% 2,230 31.7% 3,712 32.6% 1,193 36.2%
Master's,
professional, or
(e.g., MA, MS, MD,
JD, DVM, DDS, PhD) 7,242 16.4% 2,152 14.5% 1,246 16.6% 1,027 14.6% 2,119 18.6% 698 21.2%
Spouse Demographics - Marriage and Children, Overall and by Service
Married 43,465 98.3% 14,597 98.0% 7,407 98.0% 6,911 98.2% 11,268 98.8% 3,282 99.3%
Separated 740 1.7% 301 2.0% 154 2.0% 128 1.8% 135 1.2% 22 0.7%
Years married (Q2)
5 years or less 15,650 35.5% 4,939 33.2% 2,702 35.8% 3,464 49.2% 3,513 30.8% 1,032 31.3%
6 to 10 years 10,193 23.1% 3,563 24.0% 1,759 23.3% 1,566 22.2% 2,522 22.1% 783 23.7%
11 to 15 years 7,118 16.1% 2,432 16.4% 1,239 16.4% 962 13.7% 1,902 16.7% 583 17.7%
16 to 20 years 5,685 12.9% 1,873 12.6% 1,048 13.9% 684 9.7% 1,584 13.9% 496 15.0%
21 to 25 years 3,280 7.4% 1,125 7.6% 527 7.0% 296 4.2% 1,079 9.5% 253 7.7%
years 2,220 5.0% 930 6.3% 277 3.7% 69 1.0% 790 6.9% 154 4.7%
Years Married -
Average (Q2) 44,266 10 14,916 11 7,573 10 7,054 8 11,415 12 3,308 11
Children living at
home (Q40)
Yes 33,655 76.3% 11,558 77.8% 5,732 76.1% 5,207 74.0% 8,649 76.0% 2,509 76.2%
No 10,441 23.7% 3,298 22.2% 1,804 23.9% 1,829 26.0% 2,727 24.0% 783 23.8%
Percent with children
living at home by
child's age group
5 years old or less 18,191 54.2% 5,899 51.1% 3,052 53.4% 3,495 67.4% 4,362 50.6% 1,383 55.2%
6 to 12 years old 15,976 47.6% 5,693 49.3% 2,791 48.8% 2,331 44.9% 3,995 46.3% 1,166 46.6%
13-17 years old 10,145 30.2% 3,746 32.5% 1,785 31.2% 1,171 22.6% 2,743 31.8% 700 28.0%
18 years old or
older 5,539 16.5% 2,204 19.1% 891 15.6% 468 9.0% 1,615 18.7% 361 14.4%
Military Spouses' Service Characteristics, Overall and by Service
Spouses' Component
(Q3)
Army, Active Duty 5,458 13.6% 5,458 40.6% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Army National
Guard, Army
Reserve 7,980 19.9% 7,980 59.4% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Navy, Active Duty 4,346 10.8% -- -- 4,346 66.2% -- -- -- -- -- --
Navy Reserve 2,220 5.5% -- -- 2,220 33.8% -- -- -- -- -- --
Air Force, Active
Duty 3,658 9.1% -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,658 34.4% -- --
Air National
Guard, Air Force
Reserve 6,972 17.4% -- -- -- -- -- -- 6,972 65.6% -- --
Marine Corps,
Active Duty 4,040 10.1% -- -- -- -- 4,040 63.9% -- -- -- --
Reserve 2,285 5.7% -- -- -- -- 2,285 36.1% -- -- -- --
Coast Guard,
Active Duty 2,477 6.2% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,477 77.5%
Reserve 720 1.8% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 720 22.5%
Spouses' pay grade
E1-E4 8,194 18.5% 2,690 18.0% 1,464 19.3% 1,616 22.9% 2,101 18.4% 323 9.8%
W1-W5 2,595 5.9% 1,996 13.4% 177 2.3% 196 2.8% -- -- 226 6.8%
O1-O3 6,852 15.5% 1,862 12.5% 1,281 16.9% 1,000 14.2% 1,919 16.8% 790 23.9%
Spouse currently
deployed?
Yes 5,737 13.0% 2,500 16.8% 1,130 15.0% 830 11.8% 950 8.3% 327 9.9%
Number of times
spouse deployed
since September 11,
2001 (Q6)
Never 11,207 25.8% 2,896 19.6% 1,644 22.3% 1,153 16.5% 4,081 36.6% 1,433 45.3%
1 time 12,138 28.0% 5,147 34.9% 1,798 24.4% 2,049 29.3% 2,659 23.8% 485 15.3%
2 times 9,387 21.6% 3,973 26.9% 1,484 20.1% 1,876 26.9% 1,723 15.5% 331 10.5%
3 times 4,993 11.5% 1,661 11.3% 984 13.4% 1,080 15.5% 1,060 9.5% 208 6.6%
4 or more times 5,688 13.1% 1,073 7.3% 1,455 19.8% 825 11.8% 1,626 14.6% 709 22.4%
To investigate whether acquaintance with gay or lesbian
Acquaintance With Gay or Lesbian
Individuals Findings at a Glance: individuals mitigates the concerns spouses may have
with a repeal of the DADT policy, the survey asked
ƒ 71.1% of spouses said they have one
(12.1%) or more than one (59.0%) spouses whether they had one or more family members,
family member, friend, or
friends, or acquaintances, including coworkers, whom
acquaintance whom they believe to be
gay or lesbian. they believe to be gay or lesbian. Spouses were also
ƒ 34.8% of spouses reported that their asked whether their military spouse had worked with
military spouse has worked with an
individual he or she believed to be gay someone he or she believed to be a gay or lesbian
or lesbian on a daily basis; 51.7% of
Service member. If yes, spouses were asked how well
these spouses said that they do not
know that individual well at all. they knew that individual and how much the individual
ƒ Spouse views regarding the potential participated in military social activities.
impact of a DADT repeal varied by
whether spouses have family
members, friends, or acquaintances The data in Table 5.4 show that 71.1% of spouses said
whom they believe to be gay or
they had one (12.1%) or more than one (59.0%) family
lesbian. In general, spouses with more
than one such acquaintance were less member, friend, or acquaintance whom they believe to
likely to indicate that a repeal of DADT
would have an impact regardless of be gay or lesbian. These percentages were quite similar
the issue being asked about. across the Services. Spouses were more likely than
Service members to say they have gay or lesbian
acquaintances (71.1% vs. 58.8%, respectively; see
Q102 in Appendix D for Service member data).
When asked if their military spouse had ever worked on a daily basis with an individual he or she
believed to be a gay or lesbian Service member, 34.8% said yes, 26.4% said no, and more than a
third of spouses (38.8%) said they did not know. The Service with the greatest percentage of
spouses saying yes was the Navy (45.9%), and the Service with the greatest percentage saying no
was the Marine Corps (35.0%).
For those spouses who said yes (their military spouse has worked on a daily basis with an individual
believed to be gay or lesbian), the survey asked how well they themselves knew that individual and
how much the gay or lesbian Service member participated in military social activities. Spouses were
most likely to report not knowing the individual very well at all (51.7%), and 38.8% did not know
about the individual's participation in military social activities. Just under half of spouses (45.7%)
reported that the individual participated about the same as most other Service members in the
community. Relatively small percentages reported that the individual participated more (6.2%) or
less (9.2%) than most other Service members.
Acquaintance With Gay/Lesbian Individuals
Overall Spouses' Service
Marine Air Coast
N % Army Navy Corps Force Guard
Do you have any family members, friends, or acquaintances, including
coworkers, whom you believe to be gay or lesbian? (Q7)
Yes, one 5,236 12.1% 11.9% 11.5% 14.1% 12.5% 10.6%
Yes, more than one 27,091 59.0% 57.5% 63.2% 57.1% 58.9% 66.5%
Has your spouse ever worked on a daily basis with an individual he or she
believed to be a homosexual Service member? (Q8)
Don't know 17,916 38.8% 40.8% 36.4% 38.1% 37.4% 33.0%
How well did you know that individual? (Q9)
Very well 1,331 9.9% 10.5% 9.5% 7.9% 9.7% 9.2%
Well 1,938 14.8% 14.9% 13.5% 12.8% 16.4% 15.8%
Somewhat well 3,241 23.7% 24.1% 22.5% 24.3% 24.2% 21.6%
Not well at all 7,513 51.7% 50.5% 54.5% 55.0% 49.6% 53.4%
Compared with other Service members in the community, how much did that
Service member participate in military social activities? (Q10)
More than most other Service members in the community 830 6.2% 6.3% 5.7% 4.8% 7.2% 5.4%
Less than most other Service members in the community 1,346 9.2% 9.5% 7.8% 10.8% 9.4% 9.5%
About the same as most other Service members 6,338 45.7% 46.5% 44.1% 45.5% 45.9% 47.0%
Don't know 5,497 38.8% 37.6% 42.5% 38.8% 37.5% 38.1%
*Questions were answered thinking about the Service member with whom their spouse worked most recently if their spouse worked with more than one.
Spouse views regarding the potential impact of a DADT repeal varied by whether spouses have
family members, friends, or acquaintances, including coworkers, whom they believe to be gay or
lesbian. In general, spouses with more than one such acquaintance were less likely to indicate that a
repeal of DADT would have an impact on retention and referral, family readiness and military life,
and housing, compared with spouses with one such acquaintance and spouses without any such
acquaintances. Spouses with one such acquaintance and those without any such acquaintances
tended to respond similarly to questions about the impact of a DADT repeal. Specific results by "level
of acquaintance" with gay and lesbian individuals are presented below for each issue area.
Retention and Referrals Findings at a Retention
Glance:
Current Because military career plans are often a family decision,
ƒ 65.9% of spouses said they feel how spouses view their military spouses' military service is
"very positive/positive" about their
military spouse's current military an issue for the retention of Service members. The survey
service; 30.9% had "an equal mix of asked spouses several questions related to retention,
positive and negative feelings."
ƒ Coast Guard and Air Force spouses including questions about their military spouses' current
had the highest percentages of military career intentions, the factors that are important in
positive feelings (78.2% and 74.2%,
respectively). Percentages of their family decisionmaking about military service, and
spouses with positive feelings were their own preferences for their military spouses' future
lowest among Army (61.1%) and
Marine Corps (63.4%) spouses. career intentions. Spouses were also asked how a repeal
ƒ 67.0% of spouses said they prefer of DADT would affect their preference for their military
their military spouses to remain in
the military until retirement. spouses' future military career plans.
ƒ The three most frequently cited
factors spouses said they and their Current feelings and preferences about military spouses'
military spouses consider when
making decisions about a future in future service in the military. When asked how they feel
the military were current pay and about their military spouses' service overall, a majority of
benefits (49.3%), retirement benefits
(38.9%), and medical care (29.2%). spouses (65.9%) answered "very positive/positive" (Table
Post repeal 5.5). Almost one third (30.9%) answered "an equal mix of
ƒ A majority of spouses said a repeal positive and negative feelings"; a small percentage (3.2%)
of DADT would be "very unimportant/
unimportant" (40.1%) or "neither
reported they had "very negative/negative" feelings. The
important nor unimportant" (27.7%) Coast Guard and Air Force had the highest percentages of
in making decisions about their
spouses' future in the military. spouses with "very positive/positive" feelings toward their
ƒ 73.8% of spouses said repeal would military spouses' military service (78.2% and 74.2%,
have no effect on their preference for
their military spouse's plans for his or
respectively). The Army and Marine Corps had the lowest
her future in the military; 11.8% said percentages of positive responses (61.1% and 63.4%,
they would want their military spouse
to leave military service sooner. respectively). Active Duty spouses and Reserve
ƒ 67.2% of spouses said a repeal of Component spouses had similar responses to this
DADT would not affect their
willingness to recommend military
question. Spouses were slightly more positive about their
service to a family member or close military spouse's military service than married Service
friend.
members said they were in the Service member survey.
When married Service members were asked how their
spouses felt about their military service, 60.8% responded "very positive/positive," 31.9% said "an
equal mix of positive and negative feelings," and 6.4% said "very negative/negative" (see Table 4.29
in Section 4).
How Spouses Feel About Their Military Spouses' Current Military Service
Overall, how do you feel about your spouse's current military service? (Q12)
An equal mix of
Very positive/ positive and Very negative/
Component/Service N positive negative feelings negative
Overall 44,266 65.9% 30.9% 3.2%
Army 14,916 61.1% 35.1% 3.8%
Navy 7,573 67.8% 28.5% 3.7%
Marine Corps 7,054 63.4% 33.5% 3.1%
Air Force 11,415 74.2% 24.0% 1.8%
Coast Guard 3,308 78.2% 20.3% 1.5%
Army 5,480 58.8% 37.2% 4.0%
Air Force 3,676 72.7% 25.3% 2.0%
Overall 9,032 67.6% 29.4% 2.9%
Coast Guard 814 75.5% 21.8% 2.7%
The survey also asked spouses to describe their military spouses' current military career intentions
and their own preferences regarding their military spouses' career intentions. A majority of spouses
(71.9%) said their military spouses either definitely (51.8%) or probably (20.1%) intend to stay in the
military until retirement (Table 5.6). Less than 10% of spouses said their military spouses definitely
or probably intend to stay beyond their present obligation but not necessarily until retirement (9.5%)
or that their military spouses definitely or probably intend to leave upon completion of their present
obligation (9.6%).
Spouses' preferences were largely consistent with what they believe their military spouses' career
intentions to be (see the bottom panel of Table 5.6). A majority of spouses (67.0%) said they prefer
their military spouses to remain in the military until retirement. Smaller percentages preferred that
their military spouses remain until their present obligation ends but not necessarily until retirement
(10.0%) and that their military spouses leave upon completion of their present obligation (9.2%). The
remaining 13.8% said they do not have a strong preference. Coast Guard (62.4%) and Air Force
(60.5%) spouses were more likely than other Service spouses to say that their military spouses
intend to definitely stay until retirement. Also, Coast Guard and Air Force spouses were more likely to
say that they prefer that their military spouses remain in the military until retirement.
Spouse Perceptions and Preferences for Military Spouses' Career Intentions
Overall Military Spouses Service and Component
N % Army Navy Corps Air Force Guard
Which one of the following statements best describes
your spouse's current military career intentions? (Q13)
Definitely stay in until retirement 24,415 51.8% 48.1% 54.7% 41.1% 60.5% 62.4%
Probably stay in until retirement 8,405 20.1% 20.9% 19.1% 20.9% 19.3% 18.7%
Definitely stay in beyond present obligation, but not
necessarily until retirement 1,322 3.8% 3.9% 4.5% 5.4% 2.6% 2.3%
Probably stay in beyond present obligation, but not
Definitely leave upon completion of present
obligation 1,631 4.9% 5.6% 4.4% 9.0% 2.5% 1.9%
Probably leave upon completion of present
Have met retirement eligibility but will continue to
serve 2,888 4.5% 4.6% 4.3% 2.7% 5.0% 6.8%
Don't know 1,646 4.4% 5.4% 3.6% 4.3% 3.1% 2.7%
Which of the following best describes your preference for
your spouse's military career intentions? (Q14)
Remain in the military until retirement 30,684 67.0% 63.2% 69.3% 57.3% 75.5% 78.8%
Remain in the military beyond present obligation, but
not necessarily until retirement 3,698 10.0% 10.4% 10.4% 14.0% 7.6% 7.5%
Leave upon completion of his or her present
obligation 3,564 9.2% 10.9% 8.1% 12.1% 5.8% 4.7%
I do not have a strong preference 6,063 13.8% 15.4% 12.3% 16.6% 11.1% 8.9%
Spouses' preferences for their military spouses' military career intentions were likely affected by how
a spouse feels about his or her military spouse's current military service. Spouses who reported
feeling "very positive/positive" about their military spouses' current military service were three times
more likely to say they prefer to have their military spouses remain in the military until retirement
than spouses who reported feeling "very negative/negative" about their military spouses' current
military service (77.7% vs. 25.4%, respectively Table 5.7). The majority of spouses who reported
feeling "very negative/negative" about their military spouses' current military service (54.1%) would
prefer that their military spouse leave the military upon completion of his or her present obligation.
Spouses' Preferences for Their Military Spouses' Military Career Intentions by How Spouses Feel About Their Military
Spouses' Current Military Service
Overall, how do you feel about your spouse's current
military service? (Q12)
An equal mix
Very of positive Very Never
Which of the following best describes your preference for your spouse's positive/ and negative negative/ thought
military career intentions? (Q14) Overall positive feelings negative about it
Respondents 43,851 31,110 11,324 1,143 274
Remain in the military until retirement 67.0% 77.7% 49.0% 25.4% 45.1%
Remain in the military beyond present obligation, but not necessarily until
retirement 10.0% 8.3% 14.3% 5.7% 0.8%
Leave upon completion of his or her present obligation 9.2% 3.2% 17.3% 54.1% 7.1%
I do not have a strong preference 13.8% 10.7% 19.4% 14.9% 47.0%
The six most important factors spouses said they and their military spouses consider when making
decisions about a future in the military were current pay and benefits (49.3%), retirement benefits
(38.9%), medical care (29.2%), the current economic situation and civilian job availability (26.8%),
education benefits (22.1%), and job satisfaction (21.0%). Less than 20% of spouses selected any
other factor as being important (Table 5.8). When Service members (both married and unmarried)
were asked this same question, job satisfaction was most often selected (by 30.5% of Service
members) as an important factor when deciding whether to remain in the military (see Table 4.26 in
Section 4). This was followed by retirement benefits (30.4%), the current economic situation and
civilian job availability (26.5%), pay and allowances (26.1%), and to serve and defend my country
(25.7%). The differences between the factors selected by spouses and those by Service members
likely reflect how priorities change when a Service member has a family.
A higher proportion of National Guard and Reserve spouses than Active Duty spouses cited
retirement benefits as one of the most important factors when making decisions about a future in
the military. In contrast, Active Duty spouses were more likely than National Guard and Reserve
spouses to cite medical care as an important factor in their career decisionmaking.
Most Important Factors Couples Consider When Making Decisions About a Future in the Military, Overall and by
Percent selecting...
For National
What are the most important factors you and your spouse consider For All For Active For Reserve Guard
when making decisions about his or her future in the military? (Q15) Spouses Duty Spouses Spouses Spouses
Respondents 37,699 16,883 13,149 7,667
Spouse's current pay and benefits 49.3% 47.7% 47.3% 56.3%
Spouse's retirement benefits 38.9% 34.1% 48.1% 47.2%
Medical care 29.2% 32.3% 21.7% 24.8%
Spouse's job satisfaction 21.0% 22.4% 18.0% 18.9%
Current economic situation and civilian job availability 26.8% 31.3% 18.4% 18.7%
Education benefits (for you, your spouse, and/or your children) 22.1% 21.6% 23.3% 22.6%
Family separations and stability 17.7% 17.5% 19.6% 16.5%
Spouse's years completed toward retirement 15.5% 13.3% 19.9% 19.1%
Our children's well-being 18.8% 21.0% 14.7% 14.7%
Deployment-related considerations 13.1% 11.8% 16.0% 14.9%
Spouse's ability to serve and defend the country 10.6% 8.8% 14.0% 13.9%
Our satisfaction with military life 12.1% 14.2% 9.7% 7.2%
Your job status 7.2% 7.7% 6.1% 6.3%
Other 2.4% 2.4% 2.5% 2.4%
The ability to live in a close knit military community 1.2% 1.5% 1.0% 0.6%
Childcare options 0.9% 1.0% 0.8% 0.6%
Living on-base 0.7% 1.0% 0.4% 0.1%
The analysis of most important factors also looked at how the factors selected as important to career
decisionmaking differed for spouses based on how they said they feel about their military spouses'
current military career (Table 5.9) and based on their preferences for their military spouses' career
intentions (Table 5.10). The two tables tell similar stories. Spouses who reported feeling negative
about their military spouses' current military service and those who would prefer to have their
military spouse leave the military after completion of his or her present obligation were more
concerned than other spouses about family stability and the impact of deployments on their families.
Table 5.9 shows that the largest differences in the factors selected as important to career
decisionmaking between spouses who felt positive about their military spouses' current military
service and those who felt negative were in two areas. Spouses who felt negative about their military
spouses' current military service more often chose "family separations and stability" (32.2% vs.
14.2%) and "deployment-related considerations" (24.0% vs. 9.9%) as important to their
decisionmaking than did spouses who reported feeling positive about their military spouses' current
military service. Spouses with positive feelings more often chose "spouse's retirement benefits"
(43.0% vs. 21.4%) and "spouse's current pay and benefits" (50.3% vs. 39.1%).
Most Important Factors Couples Consider When Making Decisions About Future Military Service by How Spouses Feel
About Their Military Spouses' Current Military Service
Overall, how do you feel about your spouses current military service?
What are the most important factors you and your spouse Very of positive Very Never
consider when making decisions about his or her future in positive/ and negative negative/ thought
the military? (Q15) Overall positive feelings negative about it
Respondents 37,699 26,803 9,543 966 252
Spouse's current pay and benefits 49.3% 50.3% 48.3% 39.1% 36.5%
Spouse's retirement benefits 38.9% 43.0% 32.2% 21.4% 23.6%
Medical care 29.2% 29.6% 29.0% 21.4% 34.4%
Spouse's job satisfaction 21.0% 22.8% 17.6% 19.4% 10.2%
Education benefits (for you, your spouse, and/or your children) 22.1% 22.2% 22.3% 17.3% 23.4%
Our children's well-being 18.8% 18.2% 20.0% 20.0% 13.7%
Spouse's years completed toward retirement 15.5% 16.3% 14.3% 10.9% 10.4%
Family separations and stability 17.7% 14.2% 23.7% 32.2% 15.4%
Spouse's ability to serve and defend the country 10.6% 12.9% 6.3% 4.1% 9.3%
Our satisfaction with military life 12.1% 12.8% 10.4% 16.0% 7.7%
Deployment-related considerations 13.1% 9.9% 19.1% 24.0% 4.3%
Your job status 7.2% 6.8% 7.9% 9.2% 5.8%
Other 2.4% 1.7% 2.9% 11.0% 9.9%
The ability to live in a close knit military community 1.2% 1.5% 0.6% 0.1% 3.9%
Childcare options 0.9% 0.7% 1.3% 1.1% 2.1%
Living on-base 0.7% 0.6% 0.9% 1.5% 0.8%
Looking at the most important factors for career decisionmaking by a spouse's preference for his or
her military spouse's career intentions can reveal the factors that underlie the preference (Table
5.10). Spouses who said they prefer that their military spouse "leave upon completion of his or her
present obligation" were much more likely than those who preferred that their spouse "remain in the
military until retirement" to select "family separations and stability" (40.7% vs. 12.3%) and
"deployment-related considerations" (32.7% vs. 8.5%) as important factors to consider when
deciding on future military career plans. Those spouses who prefer that their military spouses remain
in the military until retirement were more likely to select "spouse's current pay and benefits,"
"spouse's retirement benefits," and "medical care" as important factors to consider when making
decisions about their spouses' future in the military.
Most Important Factors Couples Consider When Making Decisions About Future Military Service by Spouses'
Preferences for Their Spouses' Military Career
Which of the following best describes your preference for your spouse's
military career intentions? (Q14)
Remain in
Remain in the military Leave upon
What are the most important factors you and your spouse the military beyond completion
consider when making decisions about his or her future in until present of present No strong
the military? (Q15) Overall retirement obligation obligation preference
Respondents 37,699 26,330 3,032 3,006 5,164
Spouse's years completed toward retirement 15.5% 19.2% 6.5% 7.2% 9.4%
Our satisfaction with military life 12.1% 11.4% 13.4% 17.0% 11.4%
Deployment-related considerations 13.1% 8.5% 18.7% 32.7% 18.3%
Your job status 7.2% 6.0% 10.2% 10.2% 9.1%
Other 2.4% 1.6% 1.7% 5.5% 4.7%
Perceived impact of a repeal of DADT on decisions about their military spouses' future in the military.
A majority of spouses said a repeal of DADT would be "very unimportant/unimportant" (40.1%) or
"neither important nor unimportant" (27.7%) in making decisions about their spouses' future in the
military (Table 5.11). About one quarter of spouses (25.4%) said DADT repeal would be "very
important/important" in making decisions about their spouses' military career plans. Spouses who
feel negative about their military spouses' current military service were more likely to report that
repeal of DADT is "very unimportant/unimportant" in making decisions about their military spouses'
future in the military than those who feel positive about their military spouses' current military
service (52.1% vs. 38.7%, Table 5.12).
Importance of DADT Repeal to Spouses in Making Decisions About Military Spouse's Future in
How important a factor would a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell be to you in making
decisions about your spouse's future in the military? (Q16) N %
Very important/important 11,262 25.4%
Neither important nor unimportant 11,783 27.7%
Very unimportant/unimportant 18,203 40.1%
Don't know 2,790 6.7%
Importance of DADT Repeal on Preferences for Military Spouses' Plans for a Future in the Military
How important a factor would a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell be to you in positive/ and negative negative/ thought
making decisions about your spouse''s future in the military? (Q16) Overall positive feelings negative about it
Very important/important 25.4% 27.4% 22.3% 18.2% 10.0%
Neither important nor unimportant 27.7% 27.6% 28.4% 21.9% 31.8%
Very unimportant/unimportant 40.1% 38.7% 42.1% 52.1% 32.3%
Don't know 6.7% 6.3% 7.2% 7.8% 26.0%
When asked whether a repeal of DADT would affect their preferences for their military spouse's
plans for his or her future in the military, 73.8% of spouses said repeal would have no effect on their
preferences for their military spouses' military career plans (Table 5.13). This compares with 62.3%
of Service members who responded "My career plans will not change" when asked on the Service
member survey how their military career plans would be affected if DADT is repealed; see Q81 in
Appendix D. Approximately 12 percent (11.8%) of spouses said they would want their military spouse
to leave sooner (compared with 23.7% of Service members who said they would leave sooner or
think about leaving sooner if DADT is repealed); 2.8% said they would want him or her to stay longer,
and 11.6% responded "Don't know." These numbers differed little by Component (Table 5.13.) They
also did not differ much when spouses were grouped by their preferences for their military spouses'
career intentions: 11.2% of spouses who prefer that their military spouses remain in the military until
retirement would want their spouses to leave earlier if DADT is repealed; 14.1% of spouses who
prefer that their military spouses remain in the military beyond their present obligation (but not
necessarily until retirement) would want their spouses to leave earlier, as would 15.5% of those who
prefer that their military spouses leave the military upon completion of their present obligations.
When considering those spouses who "switched" their preferences after considering a repeal of
DADT, 8.9% of spouses would prefer that their military spouse leave earlier (data not shown).
Impact of DADT Repeal on Spouses' Preferences for Their Husbands'/Wives' Future in the Military
Which one of the following statements best describes your
Overall preference for your spouse's military career intentions? (Q14)
Remain in the Leave upon
Remain in military beyond completion
Would a repeal of DADT affect your preference for your the military present obligation, of his or her I do not have
spouse's plans for his or her future in the military? until but not necessarily present a strong
(Q17) N % retirement until retirement obligation preference
Yes, I would want my spouse to stay longer 1,031 2.8% 3.1% 3.6% 1.3% 1.9%
Yes, I would want my spouse to leave earlier 5,507 11.8% 11.2% 14.1% 15.5% 10.4%
No, it would have no effect on my preference for my
spouse's plans for military service in the future 32,439 73.8% 74.4% 70.3% 74.8% 73.0%
Don't know 5,068 11.6% 11.3% 12.0% 8.4% 14.7%
Yes, I would want my spouse to stay longer 508 3.0% 3.2% 4.0% 1.3% 2.1%
Yes, I would want my spouse to leave earlier 1,888 11.3% 10.8% 13.7% 16.3% 8.7%
Don't know 1,664 10.8% 9.9% 11.4% 8.1% 16.4%
spouse's plans for military service in the future 6,638 73.9% 75.4% 69.1% 69.4% 73.0%
When spouses have more than one acquaintance whom they believe to be gay or lesbian, they were
more likely to say that a repeal of DADT will have no effect on their preferences for their military
spouses' plans for future military service. Among spouses with more than one acquaintance whom
they believe to be gay or lesbian, 79.4% said that a repeal of DADT would have no effect on their
preferences for their spouses' future military plans. This percentage was lower among spouses with
one such acquaintance (68.8%) and spouses without any such acquaintances (64.3%). Also, 9.5% of
spouses with more than one acquaintance whom they believe to be gay or lesbian said they would
want their spouses to leave the military earlier, compared with 15.6% of spouses with one such
acquaintance and 14.9% of spouses without any such acquaintances (Table 5.14).
The Impact of DADT Repeal on Spouse Preferences for Their Military Spouses' Future Military Career Plans by
Do you have any family members, friends
or acquaintances, including coworkers,
whom you believe to be
Overall gay or lesbian? (Q7)
Yes, more
N % Yes, one than one No
Would a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell affect your preference for your
spouse's plans for his or her future in the military? (Q17)
Yes, I would want my spouse to stay longer 1,031 2.8% 1.8% 2.3% 4.3%
Yes, I would want my spouse to leave earlier 5,507 11.8% 15.6% 9.5% 14.9%
No, it would have no effect on my preference for my spouse's plans
for military service in the future 32,439 73.8% 68.8% 79.4% 64.3%
Don't know 5,068 11.6% 13.8% 8.7% 16.5%
The survey asked spouses if they had ever recommended military service to a family member or
close friend and if repeal of DADT would affect their willingness to recommend military service. Most
spouses (75.4%) said they have recommended to a family member or close friend that he or she
pursue service in the military (Table 5.15). Spouses who reported feeling "very positive/positive"
about their military spouses' current military service were more likely to have recommended military
service to others (81.8%) than spouses who said they had "an equal mix of positive and negative
feelings" about their military spouses' service (65.1%) or had "very negative/negative" feelings about
that service (46.8%).
Ever Recommend Military Service by How Spouses Feel About Their Military Spouses' Current Military Service
Have you ever recommended to a family member or close friend that he or positive/ and negative negative/ thought
she pursue service in the military? (Q18) Overall positive feelings negative about it
Yes 75.4% 81.8% 65.1% 46.8% 53.8%
No 24.6% 18.2% 34.9% 53.2% 46.2%
Overall, 67.2% of spouses said a repeal of DADT would not affect their willingness to recommend
military service (Table 5.16). This was true for 65.8% of those who have recommended military
service to others and 71.7% of those who have not. Less than one fifth of spouses (17.9%) said they
would be less likely to recommend military service if DADT is repealed. Smaller percentages said
they would be more likely to recommend military service (4.8%) or that they did not know how repeal
would affect their willingness to recommend military service (10.0%). These percentages were
similar among the subset of spouses who reported having recommended military service to a family
member or close friend. Among such spouses, 19.9% said they would be less likely to do so if repeal
occurred. A smaller percentage of spouses who had never recommended military service to a family
member or close friend (11.8%) said repeal would make them less likely to do so. No differences
were found by Component.
In the Service member survey, 57.7% of Service members said a repeal of DADT would either have
"no effect" on their willingness to recommend military service (46.5%) or would affect their
willingness to recommend military service "equally as positively as negatively" (11.2%). (See Q80 in
Appendix D.)
The perceived effect of repeal on willingness to recommend military service to a family member or
close friend varied by whether or not the spouse reported having acquaintances believed to be gay
or lesbian. Spouses who reported having more than one acquaintance they believed to be gay or
lesbian were least likely to say their willingness to recommend military service would be affected by
repeal. Of this group, 72.3% said repeal would have no effect on their willingness to recommend,
compared with 62.5% of those who said they had one acquaintance they believed to be gay or
lesbian, and 59.2% of those who reported having no gay or lesbian acquaintances (see Q19 in
Appendix AL).
Impact of DADT Repeal on Spouses' Willingness to Recommend Military Service
recommended to a family
member or close friend that
he or she pursue service in
Overall the military? (Q18)
Would a repeal of DADT affect your willingness to recommend military service to a Yes No
family member or close friend? (Q19) N % ( 75.4%) ( 24.6%)
Yes, I would be more likely to recommend military service to a family member or close
friend 1,924 4.8% 5.3% 3.3%
Yes, I would be less likely to recommend military service to a family member or close
friend 8,521 17.9% 19.9% 11.8%
No, it would not affect my willingness to recommend military service to a family member
or close friend 29,254 67.2% 65.8% 71.7%
Don't know 4,375 10.0% 8.9% 13.2%
friend 920 5.0% 5.5% 3.5%
or close friend 5,974 67.1% 65.7% 71.6%
Don't know 945 10.6% 9.2% 14.8%
Don't know 1,451 9.4% 8.1% 13.2%
Family Readiness and Military Life The survey asked spouses several questions about their
Findings at a Glance: family readiness and about military life. Spouses were
Current asked to rate their overall l readiness to deal with the
ƒ 61.4% of spouses rated their families challenges of military life and how a repeal of DADT might
as being "very ready/ready" to
handle the challenges of military life, affect their family readiness. They were also asked about
26.8% indicated their families were
about "an equal mix of feeling ready their attendance at military social events, deployment-
and unready," and 5.7% said their support gatherings, and family support programs, and
families were "very unready/
unready." whether a repeal of DADT would affect their participation
ƒ 47.9% of spouses said they had in these activities. Spouses were asked whom they would
attended very few or no informal
military social events in the past 12 turn to if they have concerns about the impact of a repeal
months; 60.5% said they attended of DADT and which programs they would turn to for
very few or no deployment-support
gatherings during their military assistance in sustaining family readiness. Spouses were
spouses' most recent deployment. also asked how they would like the military to prepare and
ƒ 57.8% said that family support assist them in understanding the new policy if DADT is
programs are "very important/
important," 29.7% said they are repealed.
"neither important nor unimportant,"
and 12.5% said they are "very
unimportant/unimportant." Current perceptions of overall family readiness. The survey
Post repeal asked spouses to rate their overall family readiness to
ƒ 77.2% said that a repeal of DADT handle the challenges of military life. Overall, a majority of
would have no effect on their family
readiness; 8.2% said repeal would spouses (61.4%) rated their families as "very
reduce their family readiness. ready/ready," while 26.8% indicated about "an equal mix
ƒ If a gay or lesbian Service member of feeling ready and unready" (Table 5.17). Smaller
and partner attend military social
events post repeal, 18.1% of percentages said they were "very unready/unready"
spouses said they will attend these
events less often; 13.8% said they
(5.7%). Reserve and National Guard spouses rated their
will attend deployment-support families as less ready than Active Duty spouses did.
gatherings less often; and 15.2%
said they will participate in family Reserve and National Guard spouses were less likely than
support programs less often. Active Duty spouses to say they are "very ready/ready" to
ƒ 43.0% of spouses did not think any handle the challenges of military life and more likely to
special activities or communications
would be necessary to prepare and rate their readiness as "about an equal mix of feeling
assist spouses if DADT is repealed.
ready and unready."
Current Perceptions of Overall Family Readiness by Component
How would you rate your overall family readiness to handle the challenges Active Duty Reserve Guard
of military life? (Q31) N % ( 65.5%) ( 15.5%) ( 19.0%)
Very ready/ready 27,729 61.4% 64.7% 54.5% 55.7%
About an equal mix of feeling ready and unready 11,488 26.8% 25.0% 30.6% 30.1%
Very unready/unready 2,331 5.7% 4.8% 7.7% 7.2%
Not sure 2,482 6.1% 5.6% 7.1% 7.0%
Table 5.18 presents spouses' ratings of family readiness by how spouses feel about their military
spouses' current military service. Spouses who feel positive about their military spouses' current
military service were much more likely to rate their overall family readiness as "very ready/ready"
(70.8%) than were spouses with "an equal mix of positive and negative feelings" (44.9%) and
spouses who reported feeling negative about their military spouses' military service (32.5%).
Spouses with negative feelings were almost 10 times more likely to say they were "very
unready/unready" to meet the challenges of military life than spouses with positive feelings about
their military spouses' current military service (29.5% vs. 3.1%).
Spouses' Ratings of Their Family Readiness by How Spouses Feel About Their Military Spouses' Current Military
How would you rate your overall family readiness to handle the positive/ and negative negative/ thought
challenges of military life? (Q31) Overall positive feelings negative about it
Very ready/ready 61.4% 70.8% 44.9% 32.5% 45.5%
About an equal mix of feeling ready and unready 26.8% 21.0% 39.1% 30.2% 19.0%
Very unready/Unready 5.7% 3.1% 8.7% 29.5% 7.7%
Not sure 6.1% 5.2% 7.3% 7.7% 27.8%
Perceived effect of a DADT repeal on overall family readiness. A large majority of spouses (77.2%)
said that a repeal of DADT would have no effect on their family readiness; 8.2% said repeal would
reduce their family readiness, 1.0% said it would improve their family readiness, and 13.5% said they
did not know (Table 5.19). The more positively spouses rated their family readiness, the more likely
they were to say that a repeal of DADT would have no effect on their family readiness. Of those who
said their families were "very unready/unready," 68.0% said repeal would have no effect on their
family readiness. Of the spouses who said their families were "very ready/ready" (a majority of all
spouses), 80.7% said repeal would have no effect on their family readiness. The distributions of
spouses by how a repeal of DADT would affect their family readiness were similar across Active Duty,
Reserve, and National Guard spouses.
How Repeal Would Affect Family Readiness by Current Level of Readiness
How would you rate your overall family readiness to
Overall handle the challenges of military life? (Q31)
About an
equal mix of Very
Very ready/ ready and unready/
Assuming DADT is repealed, would repeal affect your ready unready unready Not sure
family readiness? (Q32) N % (61.4%) (26.8%) (5.7%) (6.1%)
Yes, it would improve my family readiness 401 1.0% 1.1% 0.8% 1.5% 0.5%
Yes, it would reduce my family readiness 3,809 8.2% 8.6% 8.0% 9.9% 3.8%
No, it would have no effect on my family readiness 34,179 77.2% 80.7% 76.6% 68.0% 53.7%
Don't know 5,654 13.5% 9.5% 14.5% 20.6% 42.0%
Yes, it would reduce my family readiness 1,753 8.2% 8.5% 7.8% 10.7% 3.5%
Yes, it would improve my family readiness 77 1.0% 1.3% 0.8% 0.9% 0.7%
Yes, it would reduce my family readiness 807 8.9% 9.1% 9.2% 10.2% 4.9%
No, it would have no effect on my family readiness 6,783 75.2% 79.4% 74.4% 69.8% 50.2%
Don't know 1,319 14.9% 10.2% 15.7% 19.2% 44.2%
Table 5.20 shows demographic characteristics of spouses who rated their family readiness as "very
ready/ready" and who reported that a repeal of DADT would have no effect on their readiness (called
"group 1 spouses" in the table). The table compares demographic characteristics for this group with
the characteristics of all other spouses. Group 1 spouses tended to be older on average (35 years
vs. 33 years), were more likely to have ever served in the military themselves (15.0% vs. 8.8%), were
more educated, were less likely to have small children (those 5 years old or younger) at home, and
were more likely to be Active Duty spouses and to have military spouses at higher pay grades. In
particular, group 1 spouses were less likely to have military spouses in pay grades E1-E4 than all
other spouses (19.1% vs. 28.8%).
Demographics of Spouses Who Rated Their Family Readiness as "Very Ready/Ready" and Who
Thought DADT Repeal Would Have "No Effect" on Readiness (Group 1 Spouses)
spouses All others
Average age (Q38) 35 33
Ever served in the military (Q4)
Yes, previously but not now 15.0% 8.8%
No 85.0% 91.2%
Highest level of schooling completed (Q37)
Less than Bachelor's Degree 59.5% 65.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher 40.5% 34.4%
Percent with children living at home by child's age group (Q41)
5 years old or less 50.1% 58.4%
6 to 12 years old 47.4% 46.6%
13 to 17 years old 29.6% 24.7%
18 years old or older 14.6% 12.7%
Military spouses' component
Active Duty 69.1% 62.0%
Reserve 14.0% 17.1%
National Guard 16.9% 21.0%
Military spouses' pay grade
E1-E4 19.1% 28.8%
W1-W5 2.3% 1.8%
O1-O3 9.4% 8.3%
O4-O6 14.1% 8.0%
Note: Group 1 spouses include those who responded "Very ready/ready" to Q31 and "No Effect" to Q32.
Those who said repeal will have no effect on their family readiness were also more likely to have
more than one gay or lesbian acquaintance. More than 80% of spouses with more than one gay or
lesbian acquaintance (81.6%) said repeal would have no effect on their family readiness, compared
with 73.3% of those with one gay or lesbian acquaintance and 69.8% of those who reported having
no gay or lesbian acquaintances (Table 5.21).
The Impact of DADT Repeal on Family Readiness by Acquaintance With Gay or Lesbian Individuals
Do you have any family members,
friends or acquaintances, including
coworkers, whom you believe to be
Assume Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed. Would repeal affect your family
readiness? (Q32)
Yes, it would improve my family readiness 401 1.0% 0.6% 0.9% 1.5%
Yes, it would reduce my family readiness 3,809 8.2% 11.1% 6.7% 10.2%
No, it would have no effect on my family readiness 34,179 77.2% 73.3% 81.6% 69.8%
Don't know 5,654 13.5% 15.0% 10.8% 18.5%
Spouse attendance at informal military social events. Attendance at military social events can foster
a sense of community among military spouses and help spouses meet family readiness challenges.
The survey asked spouses how many informal military social events they have attended in the past
12 months. Table 5.22 shows spouse responses to this question overall and by how they feel about
their military spouses' current military service. Nearly half of spouses (47.9%) said they had attended
very few or none of these events in the past 12 months; 26.2% said they had attended all, nearly all,
or many of these events; and 25.8% reported having attended some of these events. Spouses who
reported feeling "very negative/negative" about their military spouses' current military service were
more likely to have attended very few or no military social events in the last 12 months (67.5%) than
spouses who said they feel "very positive/positive" about their military spouses' military service
(42.9%). It may be that attendance at these events helps to make spouses feel more positive about
their military spouses' military service or that spouses with positive feelings about their military
spouses' service are more inclined to attend these types of events.
Spouse Attendance at Informal Military Social Events by How Spouses Feel About Their Military Spouses' Current
In the last 12 months, about how many informal military social events, such positive/ and negative negative/ thought
as picnics, gatherings and holiday parties, have you attended? (Q26) Overall positive feelings negative about it
All or nearly all or many of these events 26.2% 30.1% 19.7% 15.1% 7.7%
Some of these events 25.8% 27.0% 24.4% 17.5% 12.7%
Very few or none of these events 47.9% 42.9% 55.9% 67.5% 79.6%
Spouses answered question 26 slightly differently across Services and across pay grade groups (see
Appendices X and AJ). With regard to Service differences, Marine spouses (32.6%) were more likely
than other Service spouses to report having attended all, nearly all, or many of the informal military
social events. For pay grade groups, spouses of enlisted Service members were more likely than
spouses of officers to report attending very few or none of these informal social events.
Table 5.23 presents selected demographic information of spouses by their likelihood of attending
military social events. There are not many major differences, but those who reported attending "all or
nearly all" or "many" of these events tended to have more education than those who reported
attending "very few or none" of these events. Also, spouses attending these events were more likely
to have younger children at home, to be Active Duty spouses, and to have military spouses who were
officers.
Demographics of Spouses by Likelihood of Attending Military Social Events
In the last 12 months, about how many
informal military social events, such as
picnics, gatherings and holiday parties, have
you attended? (Q26)
All or nearly Very few or
all or many Some none
Average age (Q38) 33 34 34
Yes, previously but not now 12.9% 12.7% 10.8%
No 87.1% 87.3% 89.2%
Less than Bachelor's Degree 59.0% 61.2% 65.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher 41.0% 38.8% 34.7%
5 years old or less 58.1% 56.4% 51.0%
6 to 12 years old 48.7% 46.9% 46.1%
13 to 17 years old 26.2% 25.8% 28.4%
18 years old or older 12.2% 13.3% 14.7%
Active Duty 74.2% 69.2% 58.9%
Reserve 10.2% 12.5% 20.0%
National Guard 15.6% 18.3% 21.1%
E1-E4 21.2% 22.8% 26.2%
W1-W5 2.2% 2.1% 1.9%
O1-O3 12.3% 9.2% 6.7%
O4-O6 15.1% 11.3% 8.7%
Perceived impact of DADT repeal on attendance at military social events. Table 5.24 presents data
on the perceived impact of DADT repeal on attendance at military social events for all spouses and
by the extent to which spouses attended these types of events in the last 12 months. The data are
shown for spouses overall and for each Component separately. A majority of spouses (72.0%) said
that the attendance of a gay or lesbian Service member with his or her partner would not affect how
often they attend informal military social events. Less than one fifth (18.1%) of spouses said they
would attend less often. Service members were more likely than their spouses to say that a repeal of
DADT would impact their attendance at military social functions if a gay or lesbian Service member
attended these events with a partner: 30.4% of Service members said they would stop attending
military social functions, and another 5.0% said they would stop bringing their spouses to these
events (see Q93 in Appendix D).
The more events spouses reported attending in the past 12 months, the more likely they were to say
that they would attend these types of events less often if a gay or lesbian Service member attended
with a partner. Of those spouses who said they had attended all, nearly all, or many of these events,
27.8% said they would attend less often. Of those spouses who reported having attended very few or
no military social events in the past 12 months (nearly half of all spouses), 11.7% said they would
attend such events less often. This pattern was true for Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve
Components as well.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Attendance at Informal Military Social Events
picnics, gatherings, and holiday parties,
Overall have you attended? (Q26)
All, nearly
all, or many Very few or
Assuming DADT is repealed, would the attendance of a gay or lesbian of these Some of none of
Service member with his or her partner affect how often you attend events these events these events
these types of military social events? (Q27) N % ( 26.2%) ( 25.8%) ( 47.9%)
Yes, I would attend these types of military social events more often 559 1.4% 1.6% 1.3% 1.3%
Yes, I would attend these types of military social events less often 8,203 18.1% 27.8% 20.3% 11.7%
No, it would not affect my attendance at these types of military social
events 31,315 72.0% 63.5% 70.6% 77.3%
Don't know 3,877 8.5% 7.1% 7.8% 9.6%
Yes, I would attend these types of military social events more often 89 1.0% 1.2% 1.3% 0.9%
events 6,449 72.5% 64.7% 71.6% 76.0%
Don't know 850 9.7% 8.6% 8.2% 10.8%
Don't know 1,429 9.2% 7.7% 7.7% 10.1%
Selected demographics of spouses who said they will attend military social events less often if DADT
is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service member attended with his or her partner are shown in Table
5.25. Those who would attend less often were more likely to have older children (6 years old or
older) at home, but were otherwise similar to those who did not say they would attend these types of
events less often.
Demographics of Spouses Who Said They Will Attend Military Social Events Less Often if DADT Is
Repealed and a Gay or Lesbian Service Member Attended With His or Her Partner (Q27)
Would attend
less often All others
Yes, previously but not now 14.1% 11.3%
O4-O6 12.4% 10.7%
Note: "Would attend social events less often" includes those who responded "...I would attend these types of military social events less often." to
Spouse attendance at deployment-support activities. The survey asked spouses how many
deployment-support gatherings they have attended during their military spouses' most recent
deployments since September 11, 2001, and whether the presence of the partner of a gay or
lesbian Service member would affect how often spouses attend deployment-support activities. A
majority of spouses (60.5%) reported having attended very few or none of these events; 22.9%
reported having attended all, nearly all, or many of these events; and 16.6% reported having
attended some of these events (Table 5.26). As with military social events, those who were more
positive about their military spouses' military service attended more deployment-support activities
than those who reported being negative about their military spouses' military service.
Spouse Attendance at Deployment-Support Gatherings by How Spouses Feel About Their Military Spouses' Current
During your spouse's most recent deployment since September 11, 2001, how positive/ and negative negative/ thought
many deployment-support gatherings did you attend? (Q28) Overall positive feelings negative about it
All or nearly all or many of these gatherings 22.9% 26.0% 18.0% 13.6% 13.6%
Some of these gatherings 16.6% 17.3% 15.9% 11.1% 8.3%
Very few or none of these gatherings 60.5% 56.8% 66.0% 75.3% 78.1%
Table 5.27 shows selected demographics for spouses by their likelihood of attending deployment-
support gatherings. As with military social events, there were few differences among the three
groups in Table 5.27. Those with more education and who have military spouses at higher pay
grades were more likely to report attending these gatherings. Reserve spouses were more likely to
have attended "very few or none" of these gatherings.
Demographics of Spouses by Likelihood of Attending Deployment-Support Gatherings
During your spouse's most recent
deployment since September 11, 2001, how
many deployment-support gatherings did
you attend? (Q28)*
Reserve 9.6% 12.7% 16.3%
*For Q28 the response "Does not apply, my spouse has not been deployed since September 11, 2001" is not included.
Perceived impact of a DADT repeal on attendance at deployment-support activities. Table 5.28
presents the perceived impact of a DADT repeal on attendance at deployment-support activities for
all spouses and by how often spouses attended deployment-support gatherings. The data are shown
overall and by Component. Overall, a majority of spouses (76.4%) said that the presence of the
partner of a gay or lesbian Service member would not affect how often they attend deployment-
support activities; 13.8% said they would attend less often, 1.3% said they would attend more often,
and 8.4% said they did not know.
The more deployment-support gatherings spouses reported having attended, the more likely they
were to say that they would attend deployment-support activities less often if the partner of a gay or
lesbian Service member attended. Of those spouses who reported having attended "all or nearly all
or "many" of these events, 23.5% said they would attend less often. Of those spouses who reported
having attended "very few or none" deployment-support gatherings (a majority of spouses), 8.7%
said they would attend such events less often. Differences by Component were small.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Attendance at Deployment-Support Gatherings, Overall and by Component
During your spouse's most recent deployment
since Sept. 11, 2001, how many deployment-
Overall support gatherings did you attend? (Q28)*
All, nearly all, or Very few or
Assuming DADT is repealed and your spouse is deployed, would the many of these Some of none of
presence of a partner of a gay or lesbian Service member affect how events these events these events
often you attend deployment-support activities? (Q29) N % ( 22.9%) ( 16.6%) ( 60.5%)
Yes, I would attend deployment-support activities more often 381 1.3% 1.8% 1.2% 1.1%
Yes, I would attend deployment-support activities less often 4,923 13.8% 23.5% 19.4% 8.7%
No, it would not affect my attendance at deployment-support activities 25,343 76.4% 67.7% 71.4% 81.2%
Yes, I would attend deployment-support activities more often 62 1.0% 1.6% 1.1% 0.8%
Yes, I would attend deployment-support activities less often 932 12.9% 20.7% 16.3% 8.6%
No, it would not affect my attendance at deployment-support activities 5,128 76.8% 71.4% 73.2% 80.3%
The survey findings regarding attendance at informal military social activities and attendance at
deployment-support gatherings were very similar.
Importance of and participation in family support programs. Spouses were also asked how important
military family programs are in supporting their overall family readiness and whether the presence of
the partner of a gay or lesbian Service member would affect their participation in such programs.
More than half of spouses (57.8%) said that these programs are "very important/important," 29.7%
said they are "neither important nor unimportant," and 12.5% said they are "very unimportant/
unimportant" (Table 5.29). Those spouses who reported feeling positive about their military spouses'
current military service were more likely to believe that family programs are important in supporting
family readiness, compared with those spouses with negative feelings about their military spouses'
military service (61.9% vs. 37.5%).
Spouses Ratings of The Importance of Family Programs in Supporting Family Readiness by How Spouses Feel About
Their Military Spouses' Current Military Service
How important are military family programs in supporting your overall family positive/ and negative negative/ thought
readiness? (Q34) Overall positive feelings negative about it
Perceived impact of a DADT repeal on participation in family support programs. Table 5.30 shows
data on the impact a repeal of DADT is likely to have on the participation of spouses in family support
programs overall and by how important the spouse believes military family programs are in
supporting overall family readiness. These data are shown for all spouses and by Component. A large
majority of spouses (75.1%) said that the presence of the partner of a gay or lesbian Service
member would not affect their participation in such programs. (In comparison, 43.1% of Service
members said they would continue to participate in these programs assuming DADT is repealed and
a gay or lesbian Service member participated in these programs with his or her partner (see Q94 in
Appendix D). The remaining spouses said they would participate in such programs less often
(15.2%), more often (1.1%), or that they did not know how attendance by a partner of a gay or
lesbian Service member would affect their participation (8.6%).
The greater importance spouses placed on family support programs, the more likely they were to say
that they would participate in such programs less often because of the presence of the partner of a
gay or lesbian Service member. Among spouses who said family support programs are "very
important/important," 18.5% said they would attend such events less often.
How Repeal Would Affect Family Readiness by Current Level of Readiness, Overall and by Component
How important are military family programs
in supporting your overall
Overall family readiness? (Q34)
Very Neither Very
Assuming DADT is repealed, if the partner of a gay or lesbian important/ important nor unimportant/
Service member participated in a family support program, would it important unimportant unimportant
affect your participation? (Q35) N % ( 57.8%) ( 29.7%) ( 12.5%)
Yes, I would participate in that family support program more often 433 1.1% 1.2% 0.9% 1.2%
Yes, I would participate in that family support program less often 7,019 15.2% 18.5% 11.5% 9.2%
No, it would not affect my participation in that family support program 32,541 75.1% 71.4% 79.0% 83.1%
Yes, I would participate in that family support program more often 73 0.9% 0.9% 0.8% 0.7%
No, it would not affect my participation in that family support program 6,690 75.4% 72.6% 78.4% 82.5%
Don't know 888 9.6% 10.0% 9.7% 7.2%
Don't know 1,476 9.6% 9.7% 10.3% 7.5%
Programs spouses would turn to for assistance in sustaining family readiness. When asked what
programs they would turn to for assistance in sustaining family readiness assuming the repeal of
DADT, those spouses who felt repeal would reduce their family readiness (8.2% of all spouses; Table
5.19) said they would turn to Family Support Programs (54.6%) most often. Other programs that
these spouses would turn to include Military OneSource (selected by 45.4% of spouses), Deployment
Support Programs (selected by 39.4% of spouses), and on-base chapels (selected by 31.3% of these
spouses) (Table 5.31). Other programs were selected by less than 25% of these spouses.
Family Readiness Programs Spouses Would Use for Assistance in Sustaining Family Readiness if Affected by Repeal for
Spouses Who Believe That Repeal Would Reduce Their Family Readiness
What family readiness programs would you turn to for assistance in For All For Active For Reserve Guard
sustaining family readiness? (Q33) Spouses Duty Spouses Spouses Spouses
Respondents 3,672 1,696 1,196 780
Family Support Programs 54.6% 53.0% 56.1% 58.4%
Military OneSource 45.4% 46.1% 46.7% 42.4%
Deployment Support Programs 39.4% 38.9% 39.0% 41.5%
On-base Chapels 31.3% 35.7% 28.5% 19.3%
Health Facilities 23.8% 26.2% 21.0% 18.3%
Other 14.7% 15.5% 13.9% 12.6%
Work-Life/Employee Assistance Programs 11.5% 11.6% 11.6% 11.1%
Note: Only for spouses who answered "Yes, it would reduce my family readiness" to Q32.
Whom would spouses turn to if they had concerns about the impact of a DADT repeal? A majority of
spouses (68.5%) said they would turn to their military spouse if they had concerns about the impact
of a repeal of DADT. Almost one third (31.4%) said they would not need to talk to anyone, and 26.8%
said they would turn to a family member. Smaller percentages indicated they would turn to a friend
outside of the family (19.9%), other military spouses (19.2%), a military chaplain (12.0%), or a
community religious leader (11.4%). Other possible people or organizations that spouses might turn
to were selected by less than 10% of spouses (Table 5.32).
To Whom Would Spouses Turn to if They Have Concerns About the Impact of the Repeal of DADT?
If you had concerns about the impact of the repeal of DADT, to whom For All For Active For Reserve Guard
would you likely turn? (Q30) Spouses Duty Spouses Spouses Spouses
My spouse 68.5% 69.0% 67.3% 67.8%
Would not need to talk to someone 31.4% 31.2% 31.9% 31.4%
A family member 26.8% 27.7% 23.7% 26.3%
A friend outside of your family 19.9% 21.0% 16.7% 18.6%
Other military spouses 19.2% 20.8% 15.2% 17.0%
Community religious leaders 11.4% 10.7% 12.8% 12.7%
A military chaplain 12.0% 12.4% 11.2% 11.4%
Family Readiness Group 9.3% 8.6% 8.9% 12.2%
A neighbor 5.9% 6.5% 4.9% 4.7%
Support services on the base or installation 6.1% 6.6% 5.7% 4.4%
Military Family Life Consultants (MFLC) 6.0% 5.8% 6.6% 6.2%
Someone else 3.5% 3.6% 3.3% 3.1%
Key Spouse/Senior Spouse 3.3% 4.0% 2.4% 1.7%
Airmen and Family Readiness Center 2.6% 2.5% 2.7% 2.9%
Ombudsman/Ombuds Offices 2.3% 2.5% 2.7% 0.9%
Support services in the civilian community 2.2% 1.9% 2.8% 2.8%
Work-Life Program 0.9% 0.8% 0.9% 0.9%
Preferences about how the military should prepare and assist spouses in understanding the new
policy if DADT is repealed. The survey asked spouses how they would like the military to provide
them with information on the new policy if DADT is repealed. Table 5.33 shows their responses by
Component within each Service. The response option selected by the greatest percentage of
spouses (43.0%) was "No special activities or communications would be necessary." Smaller
percentages of spouses selected "Distribute printed information to spouses about repeal" (37.4%),
"Provide information about the repeal on military Web sites" (34.3%), and "Provide information
through Family Readiness Group/Work-Life Program leaders" (21.2%). Other response options were
selected by less than 20% of spouses. Active Duty Marine Corps spouses were less likely than others
to say "No special activities or communications would be necessary" (36.5%). These spouses were
most likely to say they would like printed information distributed to spouses about the repeal
Preferences for Providing Information to Spouses About the New Policy if DADT is Repealed
Overall Military Spouses' Service and Component
How would you like the military to provide you Army Marine Air Air Coast
with information on the new policy [if DADT is National Army Navy Marine Corps Air National Force Coast Guard
repealed]? (Q11) N % Army Guard Reserve Navy Reserve Corps Reserve Force Guard Reserve Guard Reserve
No special activities or communications would
be necessary 19,039 43.0% 41.7% 43.5% 43.4% 42.8% 44.4% 36.5% 40.8% 44.6% 46.8% 49.9% 48.3% 53.7%
Distribute printed information to spouses about
repeal 16,000 37.4% 36.2% 39.7% 39.7% 38.8% 37.4% 40.9% 40.9% 33.7% 38.5% 34.0% 34.7% 32.9%
Provide information about the repeal on military
Web sites 14,793 34.3% 35.0% 32.4% 33.4% 36.7% 34.5% 38.6% 34.8% 33.6% 29.9% 30.1% 32.0% 28.5%
Have interactive chats available on line to
answer questions from Service member
spouses 3,191 8.2% 8.8% 8.2% 8.3% 9.6% 7.3% 8.8% 6.5% 7.0% 6.9% 6.2% 7.2% 5.9%
Conduct information sessions on bases and
installations about repeal 5,367 13.5% 16.0% 10.3% 12.6% 14.5% 10.7% 16.1% 10.7% 13.5% 10.8% 9.7% 9.6% 9.0%
Provide information through military chaplains
trained to work with spouses and family
members on repeal 5,891 14.5% 16.9% 13.4% 13.6% 14.8% 11.2% 17.4% 11.8% 13.3% 10.8% 10.8% 10.9% 10.4%
Provide information through other military
counselors trained to work with spouses and
family members on repeal 5,663 14.1% 15.7% 13.4% 14.3% 15.3% 12.7% 16.1% 11.8% 12.5% 10.9% 11.1% 11.3% 10.4%
Provide information through Family Readiness
Group/Work-Life Program leaders trained to
work with spouses and family members on
repeal 8,308 21.2% 23.9% 21.3% 22.0% 20.9% 16.4% 26.1% 19.1% 18.6% 16.3% 15.6% 14.6% 10.6%
Offer courses to spouses on how to discuss
repeal within their families 3,337 9.1% 11.0% 8.3% 8.9% 9.9% 7.6% 12.0% 7.3% 7.2% 5.7% 6.2% 6.2% 5.7%
Other 1,649 3.6% 3.8% 3.3% 4.0% 3.2% 3.3% 3.7% 3.8% 3.9% 3.0% 3.6% 3.1% 3.5%
The survey asked spouses where they currently live, where
Housing Findings at a Glance: they would prefer to live, what the most important factors
Current are in choosing where to live, and how repeal of DADT
ƒ 79.7% of spouses said they live in might affect where they choose to live.
civilian housing, 16.2% live in on-
base housing, and 4.1% live in
Current housing preferences and important factors in
ƒ 24.1% of Active Duty spouses choosing housing. Spouses were asked whether they
currently live in on-base housing. currently live in on-base housing, in military housing off-
Much smaller percentages (less than base, or in civilian housing. Almost 80% of spouses
2%) of Reserves and National Guard
spouses reported living in on-base (79.7%) live in civilian housing, 16.2% live in on-base
housing. housing, and 4.1% live in military housing off-base (Table
Post repeal 5.34). Very few Reserve or National Guard spouses live in
ƒ 44.2% of spouses said a repeal of on-base housing or in military housing off-base; almost
DADT would be "very unimportant/
one quarter (24.1%) of Active Duty spouses reported living
unimportant" to them in choosing
where to live, 27.7% said it would be in on-base housing and 5.9% reported living in military
"neither important nor unimportant." housing off-base (also in Table 5.34).
ƒ 64.9% of all spouses said they would
stay on-base if a gay or lesbian
Service member lived in their A majority of spouses (71.9%) preferred living in civilian
neighborhood with his or her partner; housing, 21.6% preferred on-base housing, and 6.5%
20.8% said they would try to move
out. preferred military housing off-base (Table 5.35).
ƒ 65.9% of spouses currently living on- Responses to this question varied greatly by where
base said they would stay on-base if spouses currently live. In general, spouses were likely to
a gay or lesbian Service member
live in the type of housing they preferred, with the
lived in their neighborhood with his
or her partner exception of military housing off-base. For spouses who
ƒ A majority of spouses (63.1%) said if live in military housing off-base, about one half (52.6%)
living on base they would get to prefer living there, but 25.3% would rather live in on-base
know the gay or lesbian Service
member and his or her partner like housing and 22.2% would prefer to live in civilian housing.
any other neighbor. This was generally true for the individual Services as well.
Marine Corps spouses were more likely than spouses
overall to prefer living in on-base housing (31.1%). Navy and Coast Guard spouses were less likely
than spouses overall to prefer living in on-base housing (15.1% and 12.0%, respectively).
Where Military Families Currently Live, by Component
Overall Component
Where do you currently live? (Q21) N % Active Duty Reserve Guard
In on-base housing 4,347 16.2% 24.1% 1.7% 0.7%
In military housing off-base 1,200 4.1% 5.9% 1.2% 0.4%
In civilian housing 38,522 79.7% 70.0% 97.1% 98.9%
On-Base vs. Off-Base: Spouse Preferences on Where to Live and Current Type of Housing, Overall and by
Overall Where do you currently live? (Q21)
In military
In on-base housing, off- In civilian
What is your preference on where to live? (Q20) N % housing base housing
In on-base housing 7,175 21.6% 73.0% 25.3% 11.0%
In military housing off-base 2,156 6.5% 4.8% 52.6% 4.5%
In military housing off-base 649 5.8% 4.8% 47.0% 4.7%
In on-base housing 951 15.1% 62.9% 19.5% 7.6%
In military housing off-base 620 11.0% 8.2% 58.8% 5.6%
In civilian housing 5,877 73.9% 28.9% 21.7% 86.7%
Spouses most commonly selected the "safety of the community" (58.5%) and "cost of housing"
(56.8%) as the most important factors they would consider given a choice of where to live. Smaller
percentages of spouses selected the "quality of schools in the area" (44.4%), "housing condition"
(39.7%), "proximity to spouse's job" (21.6%), and "amount of space" (21.8%) (Table 5.36). Other
factors were selected as being important by less than 20% of spouses.
Most Important Factors Spouses Would Consider in Choosing Where to Live
Assuming you had a choice on where to live, what are the most For All For Active For Reserve Guard
important factors you would consider? (Q22) Spouses Duty Spouses Spouses Spouses
Safety of the community 58.5% 59.1% 58.9% 55.9%
Cost of housing 56.8% 57.2% 54.8% 57.4%
Quality of schools in the area 44.4% 42.8% 48.3% 46.7%
Housing condition 39.7% 41.0% 37.1% 37.1%
Proximity to spouse's job 21.6% 25.3% 15.2% 14.5%
Amount of space 21.8% 24.0% 17.5% 18.0%
Commuting time to your job 14.6% 12.8% 18.4% 18.0%
The values of the community 9.1% 7.2% 12.1% 13.2%
Neighbors that I know and trust 6.7% 5.5% 8.2% 9.6%
Sense of the community in the neighborhood 5.9% 5.2% 7.2% 7.4%
Easy access to the exchange, commissary, and MWR facilities 6.8% 7.5% 6.6% 4.8%
Presence of children in the neighborhood 3.7% 3.5% 3.7% 4.2%
Presence of local businesses 2.8% 2.7% 2.8% 2.9%
Impact of a DADT repeal on housing by perceived importance of repeal in housing choices. Spouses
were asked to assume they lived in on-base housing and a gay or lesbian Service member lived with
a partner in their neighborhood. They were then asked what they would do in that situation. Table
5.37 presents the overall responses to this question and spouse responses by how important they
felt a repeal of DADT would be in considering where to live. The data are presented for everyone and
then separately by Service. Although few spouses of Reserve Component Service members have the
choice to live in on-base housing, this table (and the ones that follow) include both Active Duty and
Reserve Component spouse responses.
Overall, 64.9% of spouses said that assuming DADT is repealed and they lived on-base in the same
neighborhood with a gay or lesbian Service member and partner, they "would stay on-base"; 20.8%
said they "would try to move out." (This is slightly higher than the 17.6% of Service members who
responded "I would probably move off-base" in answer to a similar question on the Service member
survey.) More than two fifths of spouses (44.2%) said a repeal of DADT would be "very
unimportant/unimportant" in their considerations of where to live. A large majority of these spouses
(91.8%) said that they "would stay on-base" if a gay or lesbian Service member lived in their
neighborhood with his or her partner. A small number (2.5% of this group) "would try to move out."
Less than one fourth of spouses (21.8%) said a repeal of DADT would be "very important/important"
in considering where to live. A majority of these spouses (63.3%) said they "would try to move out" if
a gay or lesbian Service member lived in their neighborhood with his or her partner, whereas 17.2%
said they "would stay on base," and 19.5% said they did not know what they would do.
Impact of DADT Repeal on Choosing Where to Live by Service
Assuming you had a choice of where to live, how important
would a repeal of DADT be to you in
Overall considering where to live? (Q23)
Assuming DADT is repealed and you live in on-base Very Neither Very
housing, if a gay or lesbian Service member lived in important/ important nor unimportant/
your neighborhood with their partner, would you important unimportant unimportant Don't know
stay on-base or would you try to move out? (Q24) N % (21.8%) (27.7%) (44.2%) (6.3%)
I would stay on-base 20,185 64.9% 17.2% 69.6% 91.8% 43.2%
I would try to move out 7,004 20.8% 63.3% 11.2% 2.5% 21.0%
I would stay on-base 6,636 64.8% 19.0% 69.3% 91.9% 45.5%
I would try to move out 1,023 17.9% 60.8% 9.3% 1.7% 18.7%
Don't know 778 13.9% 19.7% 16.7% 6.2% 39.9%
I would try to move out 389 16.4% 68.4% 10.2% 1.3% 20.8%
Note: The survey allowed spouses to select "Does not apply, I would not live on-base" for Question 24. These responses were set to missing to
calculate the percentages in this table.
Table 5.38 presents information on the demographics of spouses who said they "would try to move
out" of on-base housing if DADT is repealed and a gay or lesbian Service member lived in their
neighborhood with his or her partner. This group includes 20.7% of all spouses. Table 5.38
compares this group with all other spouses who answered survey question 24. Those who said they
"would try to move out" were generally not that different. They were more likely to have children
between 6 and 17 years old and to have military spouses in higher pay grades.
Demographics of Spouses Who Say They Would Try to Move Out if DADT is Repealed
and a Gay or Lesbian Service Member Lived in Their Neighborhood With His or Her
Partner (Q24)
Those who
would try to
move out All others
Note: "Those who would try to move out" includes those who responded "I would try to move out." to Q24. Those who replied
"Does not apply..." to Q24 are excluded.
Impact of a DADT repeal on housing by current housing. Table 5.39 presents findings on what
spouses would do if they lived in on-base housing and a gay or lesbian Service member lived with a
partner in their neighborhood by current housing location. The data are presented overall and then
separately for each Service. Responses are of most interest for those who currently live in on-base
housing because these spouses are the ones most likely to face this question if DADT is repealed.
Among spouses who currently live in on-base housing, the majority (65.9%) "would stay on-base" and
19.0% "would try to move out." These percentages are similar to the percentages among all
spouses. Marine Corps spouses living on-base were less likely than all spouses living on-base to say
they "would stay on-base" (58.6%). Coast Guard spouses living on-base were more likely than all
spouses living on-base to say they "would stay on-base" (71.6%).
Impact of DADT Repeal on Housing by Service
Assuming DADT is repealed and you live in on-base housing, if a gay In on-base housing off- In civilian
or lesbian Service member lived in your neighborhood with their housing base housing
partner, would you stay on-base or would you try to move out? (Q24) N % (16.2%) (4.1%) (79.7%)
I would stay on-base 20,185 64.9% 65.9% 66.8% 64.5%
I would try to move out 7,004 20.8% 19.0% 16.5% 21.6%
I would stay on-base 6,636 64.8% 66.6% 69.4% 64.1%
Don't know 778 13.9% 16.2% 17.2% 12.9%
I would try to move out 389 16.4% 17.6% 10.4% 16.6%
Actions spouses would take if living on base. When asked what action they would take if they were
living on-base and a gay or lesbian Service member lived in their neighborhood with their partner, a
majority of spouses (63.1%) said they "would get to know them like any other neighbor" (Table 5.40).
Smaller percentages said they "would generally avoid them when they could" (13.2%), "do nothing"
(12.8%), or "make a special effort to get to know the gay or lesbian Service member" (2.6%). These
findings were consistent across Service and pay grade groups (see Q25 in Appendix X and AJ).
Regardless of the type of housing in which they currently live, Marine Corps spouses were the least
likely to say they "would get to know them like any other neighbor" (57.5%), and Coast Guard
spouses were the most likely to say this (70.9%).
Actions Spouses Would Take if Living On-Base and a Gay or Lesbian Service Member Lived in the Same Neighborhood
With Their Partner by Service
Percent saying they would...
For For
While living on-base [and a gay or lesbian Service member lived in your For Marine For Air Coast
neighborhood with their partner], which of the following would you do? For All Army For Navy Corps Force Guard
(Q25) Spouses Spouses Spouses Spouses Spouses Spouses
Respondents 43,525 14,643 7,469 6,924 11,235 3,254
I would make a special effort to get to know the gay or lesbian Service
member 2.6% 2.5% 3.0% 2.4% 2.5% 3.6%
I would get to know them like any other neighbor 63.1% 62.4% 66.4% 57.5% 63.7% 70.9%
I would generally avoid them when I could 13.2% 13.8% 11.1% 15.6% 13.0% 9.4%
I would do nothing 12.8% 12.8% 12.4% 16.5% 12.0% 9.4%
I would do something else 3.1% 3.1% 2.6% 3.1% 3.3% 2.6%
Don't know 5.2% 5.4% 4.6% 4.9% 5.5% 4.1%
6 Analysis of Service Member Comments
This section presents the findings from an analysis of a subset of respondents' comments in the
open-ended item at the end of the Service member survey. In the Methods section below, we
describe the sampling strategy for selecting the subset of comments and the analytic approach
taken by the research team. We then present the study results. We focus on the 10 key themes that
emerged in the survey comments and provide a description of what each of the 10 categories
represents. Next, we present the key themes by different subgroups—for example, respondent
Service and classification of the respondent on the basis of his or her responses to several fixed-
choice survey items. Although many of the "top 10" issues re-appeared as key themes for various
subgroups, their order of importance often varied. There was one exception to this re-ordering that
we discuss. Finally, we briefly discuss the limitations of these research findings.
6.2 Methods
Coding was conducted on 2,000 open ended responses to item 103 in the Service Member survey,
which stated: "If you would like to share other thoughts and opinions about the impacts on you, your
family, your immediate unit, or your Service if Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed, please use the space
below." Comment space was not limited to a set number of characters, thus providing Service
members with an opportunity to fully describe their views and opinions.
Comment sample selection. We used a multistage sampling scheme to select the subset of
comments. First, the team created three classifications of respondent on the basis of individuals'
answers to 21 critical survey items. Respondents were classified as "Positive" if they answered "very
positively" or "positively" on all 21 items. "Negative" respondents were those who chose "very
negatively" or "negatively" for all of the critical survey items. Finally, respondents were classified as
having "Mixed" attitudes toward DADT if their responses across the 21 critical items varied (e.g., the
respondent might have marked "positively" on one item, "very negatively" on another, and "no
effect" on others). Throughout this report, we refer to these three categories as "respondent class."
From the pool of respondents who completed item 103, we randomly selected 500 comments from
both the Positive and Negative classes and 1,000 comments from the Mixed class. The rationale for
analyzing more comments from this Mixed group was that these are the individuals whose views on
repeal we know least about: Service members who had strong views about either the perceived
positive or negative effects of repeal were those whose voices we heard most clearly in the Service
member engagements and inbox comments. The perspectives of the large group "in the middle"
remained somewhat unknown. We believed 1,000 of these comments would provide critical insights
into the perceptions of this group. We sampled equal numbers of comments across the five Services
to ensure diversity and allow us to examine if perspectives varied by respondent Service. Table 6.1
shows the number of comments sampled for each respondent class and Service.
Number of Comments Sampled by Respondent Class and Service
Respondent Class
Positive Mixed Negative Total
Army 100 200 100 400
Navy 100 200 100 400
Marine Corps 100 200 100 400
Air Force 100 200 100 400
Coast Guard 100 200 100 400
Total 500 1,000 500 2,000
Comment analysis and coding. The comments were imported into a database in NVivo, a qualitative
software package that allows for the management, coding, and analysis of large volumes of
qualitative data. An initial review of the comments revealed themes that were virtually identical to
those identified in other qualitative data collected for this study (e.g., focus groups with Service
members, comments submitted by Service members to the Department of Defense inbox).
Consequently, the team used the same comprehensive coding scheme that was developed for the
larger qualitative analysis task (see Volume 2 of this report) to code the sampled comments. In
addition, the team developed a code to identify the "tone" of the comment, as follows:
Positive: The comment indicated ways in which the respondent perceived repeal might benefit the
military.
Negative: The comment indicated ways in which the respondent perceived repeal might have a
detrimental effect on the military.
Neutral: Respondent wrote that repeal would have "no effect" on the military generally, or on a
specific aspect of military life (e.g., "Repeal will not change our unit's ability to get the job done.").
Rhetorical: Respondent used the space to ask a question or questions about specific areas of
concern to him/her, but without an obvious positive or negative tone, e.g., "Will the military change
the shower set-up?"
The team applied one of these four codes to each comment. When the respondent's views differed
across topics (e.g., "This will not change our unit's ability to get the job done, but I would rather not
shower with a gay man"), different tone codes were applied, as appropriate, to different sections of
the comment.
Coding team. Several members of the coding team had worked on the larger qualitative analysis task
for this study and thus were familiar with the codes and the decision rules for application of each
code to a section of text. New team members were briefed on the coding scheme and procedures
and began by coding a small number of comments. This work was reviewed by the team leader for
consistency with the other coders, and corrective feedback was offered, as appropriate. In addition,
because team members were working side-by-side in a DoD-DIACAP environment, they often
discussed challenging comments as a group and came to a consensus about how the text should be
coded.
After all 2,000 comments had been coded, we were able to identify which themes had been raised
most frequently across the entire dataset and by subgroups. The results of our analysis are
presented below.
6.3 Results
6.3.1 Comment tone
One of the important questions that this analysis sought to answer was: What are the views of Mixed
respondents as expressed in the comments? Did their comments suggest a neutral ("no effect")
position? A belief that repeal would be problematic along certain dimensions? Or, as a group, did
they tend more toward a positive perspective on repeal? In Table 6.2 we present the distribution of
comment tone by respondent class. Positive respondents, with only a few exceptions, wrote
comments that suggested a favorable attitude toward repeal. Comments written by Negative
respondents were less consistent; more than half of the comments received a negative tone code,
but the number of neutral comments was also quite high. In addition, about one tenth of the
comments written by Negative respondents received a positive code. Our review of the distribution
for the Mixed group indicated that their comments about repeal were truly varied in tone. Out of
1,100 comments that received a tone code, about 37% were positive, a third were neutral, and just
under one quarter were negative. In addition, the Mixed group asked many more rhetorical questions
than either the Positive or Negative respondent classes. These findings suggest a rather complicated
picture of the "broad middle" of survey respondents as a group. They cannot be viewed as holding a
consistent set of perspectives about the effects of repeal; that is, "mixed" is not the same thing as
"neutral." Rather, their views were distributed across the spectrum of perspectives. Also, the issues
they raised were different from those raised by either the Positive or Negative respondent classes.
Distribution of Comment Tones by Respondent Class
Positive Mixed Negative
Positive tone 470 436 54
Neutral tone 33 376 121
Negative tone 5 268 266
Rhetorical question 9 76 11
6.3.2 Comment themes
Across the full dataset, themes raised by respondents were consistent with the findings elsewhere in
this report. The ten themes that appeared most frequently in the coded data were as follows:
1. Privacy concerns. As has been reported both in Volume 2 of the final report, respondents
appeared to be most concerned about the possibility of showering or rooming with someone who
was known to the respondent to be gay or lesbian. The following two quotes are illustrative of
how respondents tended to express their concerns:
"I tend to consider myself a fairly open-minded individual however I would still have some issues with
being forced to shower and/or live in extremely close quarters (e.g. ship's berthing) with a gay service
"I believe that most service personnel will have no major issues with working with openly gay
individuals but will have issues if forced to share bathing and close living quarters."
The need to address the housing and showering arrangements was also the most frequently raised
implementation issue in this sample of comments.
2. Religious/moral beliefs/values. This code was applied to those comments where the writer
talked about his or her views of repeal relative to his or her personal beliefs and values. Included
in such comments were those that said homosexuality conflicted with their personal values that
were often based on religious beliefs:
"We are not talking about discrimination against a race of Americans, we are talking about a
behavior that goes against nature as well as God's law."
"We will have members with strong religious convictions that may not accepts living in the same
room or showering with a homosexual. That will be our biggest challenge."
Others, however, said that the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy went against their personal values:
"I consider DADT a violation of fundamental human rights."
"Finding something morally reprehensible is not justification to behave in a way that alienates,
degrades and abuses our brothers and sisters that are serving their country right alongside us."
Thus, for many respondents, their views of DADT—either its enactment or its potential repeal—are
based on their core beliefs and values.
3. Military values. Respondents frequently talked about military values and military culture in
relation to the potential repeal of DADT. As with the above code, there were divergent
perspectives. Some in favor of repeal argued that DADT was a violation of core military values,
including that the Armed Forces are charged with defending equality:
"Diversity is one of the many things that the United States Armed Services push for. The Military has
many policies about diversity and about how to treat people that are different from yourself
regardless, of origin, gender, race, creed and why should sexual orientation be any different. I think
the impact would be positive for me. I believe that no one should be discriminated against."
On the other hand, those who expressed concern with repeal said that allowing homosexuals into the
military would represent a decline in the tradition and values of the U.S. military:
"This is a very difficult topic to discuss. Being a Marine, I believe openly gay or lesbian marines would
taint our Corps values and everything the Marine Corps stands for."
"Military service is a unique and special profession where members are held to a higher moral
standard that the society at large. I respect an individual's right to choose a gay lifestyle. There is no
place for that particular lifestyle in the military."
4. Task cohesion. Respondents often discussed the potential effects of repeal of DADT in terms of
their individual unit's ability to accomplish its mission. Similar to what we have seen with the two
themes above, there were two perspectives: Some respondents said they believed repeal would
have "no impact" on their unit's ability to get the job done;
"It truly makes no difference as far as doing a job goes. We all bleed red, and if someone wants to
serve the united states by joining the service then why stop them."
"I think this should be repealed. I don't like the fact that the military is discriminating against a group
of highly capable and dedicated people. We should get past old prejudices. I don't believe this should
affect moral or unit effectiveness in most cases."
Others argued that accomplishing the mission is the most important objective, but that having gays
or lesbians in the unit would negatively affect the unit's ability to do its job:
"I believe that repealing the don't ask don't tell will have significant effects on the military and I am
not willing to risk the freedoms I love by jeopardizing the effectiveness of our Armed Forces."
5. Equal rights. The vast majority of comments that received this high-ranking code expressed the
belief that DADT is a discriminatory policy, one that violates the core American principle of
equality for all citizens:
"Overall, we need to exercise equality with our members and treat this in the same manner as a
change in civil rights."
"Thank you for your courage and leadership in repealing this prejudicial practice within the military.
It's about time we started to live up to the Constitution's "All Men Are Created Equal" and liberty for
all. I'm proud of the direction my country is taking with regard to eliminating discrimination and thank
you for your efforts."
6. Gays/lesbians will conduct themselves professionally/personal life is private. Many respondents
said it was none of their business what anyone did in his/her personal life, and that sexual
preference had no place in the workplace. Most said that as long as everyone behaved
professionally, repeal should not be an issue:
"In my opinion, whether or not someone is homosexual/lesbian or not, that shouldn't be brought up
in a military/work environment. If a homosexual/lesbian person chooses to tell someone in
confidence, that is fine. It should not be the topic of discussion in the work environment, neither
should heterosexual relations."
"The service members usually don't care if there are homosexual military members, as long as
whatever they choose to do is done privately and not in the work area."
7. Distraction. Several respondents felt DADT was a distraction from other issues, particularly since
the country is currently at war:
"There is no need for more drama and violence when we are already engaged in two wars."
"This was just a small example that would take a lot assets and money to work on. The money that
we as a military should not be even thinking about. Especially, when we still have brothers and
sisters overseas preserving our nations freedom."
8. Current presence of gays/lesbians as an argument to not repeal—DADT is working fine, it's "not
broken." Numerous respondents argued that DADT should not be repealed because it is a policy
that they believed to be working well. A common refrain within these comments was, simply, "If it
ain't broke, don't fix it."
9. General comment about unit cohesion. Several respondents argued that repeal of DADT would
be damaging to unit cohesion, and did not expand further in their comment. Below are two
examples of such comments:
"I strongly believe that tolerance is a much better way to achieve unit cohesion and discipline than
perpetuating homophobia is."
"I believe repeal would cause dissention in the ranks, not only between homosexuals who would
serve openly and those who disagree, but also between both groups of heterosexuals: those who
condone the repeal and those who do not, making it harder for leaders to boost morale and unit
cohesion."
10. This issue is comparable to previous military integration efforts (e.g., African Americans, women).
Finally, respondents (none of whom were in the Negative respondent class) said that the
potential repeal of DADT is a similar challenge to previous efforts to integrate women and African
Americans into the military. They often said, as illustrated in the second quote below, that the
military was able to adjust to change during those initiatives, and it would adjust to change this
time as well:
"To ban one set of service members based on sexual orientation is kin to banning service members
based on race or sex. Both of which are unthinkable in today's society."
"HISTORY SHOW'S US WE'RE CAPABLE OF THE CHANGE. AFRICAN AMERICANS AND WOMEN ARE
SERVING PROUDLY NOW AS PROOF OF THAT."
Key themes by respondent class. As noted, the above "top 10" themes represent the themes that
appeared most frequently in the complete dataset. When we reviewed the key themes by respondent
class, important differences emerged in how these issues were ordered (Table 6.3).
Key Themes by Respondent Class
1 Equal rights Privacy concerns Privacy concerns
2 Current presence of gays and Task cohesion Religious/moral beliefs/values
lesbians as an argument to
3 Military values Gays/lesbians will conduct Current presence of
themselves professionally/ gays/lesbians as an argument to
personal life is private not repeal—not broken, working
now as it is
4 Comparisons to previous military Religious/moral beliefs/ values Unit cohesion, overall
integration efforts (e.g., African
Americans, women)—
parallel/analogous to previous
5 Task cohesion Gays/lesbians' ability to serve General impact, overall
country freely
6 Impact on personal effectiveness Need for clear written and Retention issues
of Service member enforced policies/guidelines
7 Privacy concerns Military values Distraction
8 Gay/lesbians' ability to be honest, Impact will vary over time Politics
serve with authenticity, honor
9 Distraction Comparisons to previous military Military values
10 Gays/lesbians' ability to serve Implementation: Current presence of
country freely Discrimination/Equal opportunity gays/lesbians as an argument to
issues not repeal—suspecting is better
than knowing
Among the Positive respondents, the top themes were those that strongly support repeal—equal
rights, for example, was at the top of the list among comments from this respondent class. Two
additional issues emerged among this group: In Item 6, the theme is that job performance is not
related to an individual's sexual orientation. Some respondents said that gays and lesbians can be
just as effective on the job as heterosexuals; others argued that repeal would make gay and lesbian
Service members even more effective since they would not have to worry about their careers:
"I believe that what makes a good soldier is proper leadership, training, motivation and teamwork
and that homosexuals are equal with heterosexuals in their ability to become good soldiers."
"I think repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell would allow certain service members to actually do their job
better b/c they're not always on guard about their personal life."
Item 10 reflects comments stating that gays and lesbians should be able to serve their country
freely, that sexual orientation should not be a bar from service:
"I believe that any American Citizen has the right and freedom to serve their country if they wish to
do so. An individual is no less worthy of shedding their blood or giving their life for our Country than
any other individual regardless of their sexual preference."
Mixed and Negative respondents most frequently mentioned concerns about personal privacy.
Personal beliefs and values were highly ranked for both of these respondent classes, as were
comments about "cohesion" (task cohesion for the Mixed, overall unit cohesion for the Negative). In
other areas, however, these two groups diverged. The Negative respondents tended to echo the
main themes seen in the overall coding results, with two additions: First, they often stated that they
would leave the military ("retention") if DADT gets repealed, and that the push for repeal was driven
by political interests ("politics"). Neither of these themes appears in Table 6.3 for the other two
groups.
Mixed respondents mentioned issues that were commonly mentioned by the Positive respondents.
These themes include the importance of gay Service members' ability to serve freely in the Armed
Forces and the argument that the issue of repeal is similar to previous integration efforts. Three new
issues appeared in the comments of the Mixed respondents: First, repeal may lead to some rough
going initially, but the military will adjust in due time:
"I don't know what the best course of action is, but if it is repealed there will likely be problems and
significant challenges in the short term, but I would suspect it would be mainly only in the short
term."
Second, the implementation of repeal will require clear policies and guidelines for Service members
to follow and leaders to enforce:
"However, if [DADT is] repealed, acceptance of the new policy needs to be enforced and embraced
by all levels of command."
Third, repeal raises concerns centered around discrimination. One expressed concern was that gays
will be given "special treatment"; that is, there may be quotas for the military to meet in terms of
"I can see the DC brass looking for quotas, did we promote enough gays this year? How many Gays
do we have, should we recruit more Openly Gay members, a BEAN counters dream job!!"
Another concern related to discrimination expressed by Mixed respondents was that there may be an
increase in lawsuits by gays and lesbians who feel they have been slighted:
"Will be a problem with EO if SM loses bearing and is treated like any other SM for corrective
training. SM may think they deserve to be treated differently since they may be gay/lesbian."
"I think the administrative burden of the repeal, and its impact on readiness (due to the time it takes
to deal with all the special cases) is not worth the repeal. Instead of the repeal providing equality, it
will create hundreds of special cases."
A third discrimination-related concern of the Mixed respondent class leaned a little more toward the
Positive group's perspectives, namely, that the military will need to ensure that leaders do not allow
harassment of gays and lesbians:
"In my belief, the main difficulty will be ensuring all service members are treated fairly and
impartially."
Once again, we see that the Mixed respondent class cannot be neatly classified as leaning favorably
toward or against repeal, nor can this group of respondents necessarily be viewed as "neutral" about
the issue. This respondent class appears to represent themes that are commonly expressed by
respondents in each of the other respondent classes.
Key themes by Service. In addition to respondent class, we examined whether the key themes varied
by respondents' Service. Table 6.4 shows the "top 10" issues and their varying distribution across
the five Services. Privacy concerns were the most frequently commented upon issue, regardless of a
respondent's Service. Many of the top issues were the same across Services, although their relative
rank differed for each group. We examined in greater detail whether comments about "military
values" or "task" or "unit cohesion" varied in tone across the Services. As noted previously,
respondents often used the same constructs ("beliefs and values"), but in very different ways. Would
the Marines, for example, have more comments about military values that carried a negative tone
(e.g., "Repeal will damage our core values")? Would Coast Guard respondents' comments about task
cohesion carry more positive tones? When we reviewed both of these codes by comment tone, there
were no differences by Service. In each Service, the number of comments that carried a positive
code was about equal to those that carried a negative code. The main difference across the Services
was the relative order of the key issues, not their presence or absence among the comments.
Key Themes by Service
Air Force Army Coast Guard Marines Navy
1 Privacy concerns Privacy concerns Privacy concerns Privacy concerns Privacy concerns
2 Religious/moral Task cohesion Equal rights Religious/moral Religious/moral
beliefs/values beliefs/values beliefs/values
3 Gays/lesbians will Religious/moral Military values Military values Task cohesion
conduct themselves beliefs/values
professionally/ personal
life is private
4 Task cohesion Gays/lesbians will General impact, General impact, Military values
conduct overall overall
professionally/
personal life is
5 Distraction Military values Religious/moral Unit cohesion, Distraction
beliefs/values (tied) overall impact
6 Unit cohesion, overall Equal rights Gays/lesbians will Implementation:
impact Current presence of conduct themselves Discrimination/Equa
gays/lesbians as an professionally/ l opportunity issues
argument to not personal life is
repeal—not broken, private
working now as it is
(tied)
7 Military values Distraction (tied) Need for clear written Current presence of Gays/lesbians will
and enforced gays/lesbians as an conduct themselves
Gays/lesbians' policies/guidelines argument to not professionally/
ability to serve repeal—not broken, personal life is
country freely (tied) working now as it is private
8 Comparisons to Gays/lesbians will Equal rights Retention issues
previous military conduct themselves
integration efforts (e.g., professionally/
African Americans, personal life is private
women)—
parallel/analogous to
previous efforts
9 Current presence of Harassment and Impact will depend on Task cohesion Comparisons to
gays and lesbians as assaults—straights individual previous military
an argument to repeal harassing gays characteristics of integration efforts
(e.g., homophobia, gay/lesbian service (e.g., African
hate crimes, members Americans,
hazing) women)—
10 Equal rights (tied) Retention issues Gays/lesbians' ability Distraction Implementation:
to serve country freely Leadership /role
Implementation: models
Discrimination/ Equal
opportunity issues (tied)
6.4 Limitations to these findings
The primary limitation of the reported findings is that they are based on a very small subset of the
comments received from Service members who completed the survey. More than 40,000 Service
members had something to say at the end of their surveys; our analysis is based on a sample of
2,000 comments. It is possible that a larger sample would reveal a different ordering of themes
overall, as well as within each of the subgroups (respondent class, Service). It is also possible that
other issues would emerge as more prominent than the ones reported here.
Nevertheless, our review suggests that the issues raised by these Service members are similar to the
issues that were expressed in other qualitative data collected in the course of this study. Privacy
continues to emerge as the most important concern expressed by Service members, except for those
in the Positive respondent class. In this respect, we believe our analysis to be sound—the findings
here corroborate findings from the other collected qualitative data. Exploration of additional
comments from the Service member survey may change the hierarchy of themes, but is unlikely to
yield any new themes or insights into Service members' perspectives concerning a repeal of DADT.
7 Analysis of Spouse Comments
The spouse survey consisted of 42 fixed-choice response items and two open-ended questions that
asked respondents to write in their thoughts about family readiness or other concerns that they
wanted to address. Overall, the spouse survey results were positive. Westat was tasked with
analyzing a total of 2,000 comments from spouse surveys, with an emphasis on those individuals
whose survey responses were not clearly either strongly positive or strongly negative. This approach
to selecting comments allowed us to discover if there were any concerns for spouses that had not
been identified previously This chapter presents the results of this targeted analysis; the findings
should not be seen as generalizable to the larger pool of respondent comments.
In the pages that follow, we describe how we drew each sample, as well as our approach to analyzing
the comment data. Then, for each question, we present the themes that appeared most frequently in
the overall dataset and provide a description of what each of those themes means. This is followed
by a thematic assessment by subgroup, looking specifically at how themes varied across subgroups.
As the reader will discover, our findings suggest that these respondents tended to express concerns
about the effects of repeal on their military spouses or their children, two issues that were not
explicitly asked about in the survey questions. This is not to suggest that these respondents argued
repeal would have an overwhelmingly negative effect on their families; indeed, most said that repeal
would not have a direct impact on them at all. Rather, our findings indicate a couple of areas where
respondents appear to have had some lingering concerns.
Through agreement with the CRWG, coding was conducted on 2,000 written comments, 1,000 for
each of the two open-ended questions in the survey. The first was item 36, which was the last of six
questions about the perceived impact of repeal on family readiness, defined as "how prepared
families are to handle the challenges of military life." This question read as follows:
"Please tell us if you have any other thoughts or comments about how a repeal of Don't Ask,
Don't Tell will affect your family readiness."
Space was provided for the respondent to write in his or her answer to this question. This question
was followed by seven items asking about the respondent's demographic characteristics (e.g., age,
number of children in different age groups, race).
The second open-ended item, item 44 (the last question in the survey), was phrased as follows:
"As the last question in the survey, we'd like you to tell us about any other thoughts or
opinions you have —positive, negative, or neutral—about the implications on family readiness
and support or other aspects of military life if the government decides to repeal the Don't
Ask, Don't Tell law and policy."
Again, space was provided for the respondent to write in his or her answer to this question.
Comment sample selection. We used a multistage sampling scheme to select the subset of 1,000
comments for each of the two survey items. First, the team created three classifications of
respondent on the basis of individuals' answers to eight critical survey items. Respondents were
classified as "Positive" if they answered "very positively" or "positively"4 on all eight items. "Negative"
respondents were those who chose "very negatively" or "negatively" for all of the critical survey
items. Finally, respondents were classified as having "Mixed" attitudes toward a repeal of DADT if
their responses across the eight critical items varied (e.g., the respondent might have marked
"positively" on one item, "very negatively" on another, and "no effect" on others). Throughout this
report, we refer to these three categories as "respondent class."
For each question, we randomly selected from the pool of respondents 250 comments from both the
Positive and Negative classes and 500 comments from the Mixed class. This selection process
resulted in a sample size of approximately 1,000 comments for Item 36 and 1,000 comments for
Item 44. The rationale for analyzing more comments from the Mixed group was that these are the
individuals whose views on repeal we know least about: Spouses who had strong views about either
the perceived positive or negative effects of repeal were those whose voices we heard most clearly in
the spouse engagements, such as the Information Exchange Forums, focus groups, and Family
Readiness Leadership Discussion Groups (see Volume 2). Because the perspectives of the large
group "in the middle" remained somewhat unknown, we believed 500 comments for each open-
ended survey item would provide critical insights into the perceptions of this group. By selecting
twice as many Mixed respondents, we increased the likelihood of reading comments that included
both positive and negative tones. This does not mean that overall these respondents thought repeal
would have a negative effect on their families or the military. In addition, this analysis is not intended
to be statistically representative of all survey respondents.
In addition to sampling on respondent class, we sampled equal numbers of comments across the
five Services. This helped to ensure diversity and allowed us to examine if perspectives varied by the
4 The wording of the response options varied by question (e.g., "Very important" to "very unimportant").
respondent's military spouse's Service. Tables 7.1 and 7.2 show the number of comments sampled
for item 36 and item 44 by respondent class and Service.
Number of Comments for Item 36 Sampled by Respondent Class and
Spouse Service
Army 96 100 50 246
Navy 56 100 50 206
Marine Corps 41 100 50 191
Air Force 62 100 50 212
Coast Guard 23 100 50 173
Total 278 500 250 1,028
qualitative data. Members of the analytic team read through several hundred comments for each
item prior to coding the sampled data in order to develop a provisional coding scheme was particular
to this set of comments. After the scheme was developed, we reviewed the codes again as a group,
making edits or additions as appropriate. Throughout the coding process, team members continued
to consult with each other about the codes, often to clarify the decision rules about when a comment
should be tagged with a particular code. The same coding scheme was used for item 36 and 44.
In addition to creating codes that reflected the content of the spouse comments, the team also
developed a set of codes to identify the "tone" of the comment, as follows:
ƒ Positive: The comment indicated ways in which the respondent perceived repeal might
benefit military families.
ƒ Negative: The comment expressed an area of concern, or indicated ways in which the
respondent perceived repeal might have a detrimental effect on military families.
ƒ No effect/Neutral: Respondent wrote that repeal would have "no effect" on the family
generally, or on a specific aspect of family life (e.g., "Repeal will not impact my family's
readiness.").
ƒ Rhetorical: Respondent used the space to ask a question or questions about specific
areas of concern to him or her, but without an obvious positive or negative tone, e.g., "If
my chaplain says homosexuality is morally wrong, is she liable to be hit with a
discrimination complaint?"
When the comment contained content relevant to the question being asked, the team applied one of
these four codes to the text. If the respondent expressed different perspectives across more than
one theme (e.g., "This will not affect my family on base, but I am uncomfortable knowing that my
husband would be showering with a gay man"), different tone codes were applied, as appropriate, to
different sections of the comment.
Often, however, the team came across comments that could not be coded to one of the "tones." We
thus developed several additional categories to reflect the following issues:
ƒ No comment/Irrelevant—Although every attempt was made to remove "comments" such
as "NA," "No comment," "I have nothing to say," numerous such comments remained in
the datasets. In addition, the team came across comments that did not pertain to the
question being asked (e.g., "I have not received my insurance card yet"). The code No
comment/irrelevant was applied to all such comments.
ƒ Refer to Question 36—Respondents often used the space for item 36 to write comments
about concerns other than family readiness issues. Then when they encountered item
44, they had little to add. In some instances in the item 44 dataset, respondents simply
referenced what they had written previously (which was generally not available in our
dataset). All such statements received the code Refer to Question 36.
ƒ Don't ask me, ask my spouse—As we will discuss later in this section, numerous
respondents indicated that their military spouses should be the ones surveyed about
their views on repeal. This type of response was telling in and of itself—thus, all such
comments received the code Don't ask me, ask my spouse.
Coding team. All members of the coding team had worked on the analysis and coding of the Service
member survey comments (see Volume 1, Section 6). They were thus well versed in the importance
of having a coherent, agreed-upon coding structure and all contributed to the development of the
comprehensive coding scheme for the spouse survey comments. They also worked as a group to
develop the decision rules for application of each code to a section of text. In addition, because
team members were working side-by-side in a DoD-DIACAP environment, they often discussed
challenging comments as a group and came to a consensus about how the text should be coded.
After each set of 1,000 comments had been coded, we were able to identify which themes had been
raised most frequently across the entire dataset and by subgroups, both for item 36 and item 44.
The results of our analyses are presented below.
7.3 Results for Item 36—Perceived impact of repeal on family readiness
Team members read through several hundred comments for each item in an effort to identify key
themes that appeared to define spouses' responses to the two questions. The most significant
feature of these comments—fully reflected in our coding scheme—was the respondents' propensity to
reference important others when writing about the perceived effects of a repeal of DADT. More
specifically, respondents often said, "Repeal will not affect me at all," and instead expressed
concern about how repeal would affect their spouses or children, as in the following illustrative
• "I just don't want our children to be overly exposed. It is against our religious beliefs."
• "Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell would assist my husband in his administrative duties as it
would save him time for looking into the personal lives of his crew & leave him more time to
deal with important issues."
Repeal would have an effect on the respondent, but only indirectly, by his or her relation to another
There are a couple of possible explanations for this relational focus, none of them mutually
exclusive: One is that if the respondents and their families live off base, they may have very little
connection with the military lifestyle outside of the military spouse's actual service. As a result,
repeal would have little direct effect on the spouse. A second explanation is that the respondent's
own identities are crafted on their connection to others: mainly as wives and mothers since the
majority of these respondents can be assumed to be female. If so, the impact of repeal would
indeed be at one remove for the respondent, who might be distressed by repeal because her military
spouse is affected negatively. A third explanation, is that the survey itself has defined the respondent
by her links to those important others. For example, the first set of questions in the instrument is
labeled, "About You," but then asks the respondent in which branch of the Armed Forces her spouse
currently serves, the current deployment status of the respondent's spouse, how many times since
September 11, 2001, the military spouse has been deployed, and several other questions
specifically about the military spouse's service experience. In short, the framework of the survey
probably also had a role in how respondents wrote about the perceived effects of repeal.
7.3.1 Comment tone for Item 36
position? Or did their comments more closely resemble those of either their Positive or Negative
counterparts? In Table 7.3 we present the distribution of comment tone by respondent class.
Item 36—Distribution of Comment Tone by Respondent Class
Positive Positive Positive
Negative 47 152 223
No Effect/ Neutral 41 215 10
Positive 154 108 0
Rhetorical 5 8 8
Don't Ask Me 7 2 0
No Comment/Irrelevant 27 29 16
Total Number of 281 514 257
Coded Comments
Comment tone overall basically reflected the survey respondent class. Comments from Positive
respondents tended to receive a positive tone code, although even this was not true across the
board. Almost 17% of the comments from this group of respondents were coded as expressing a
belief that repeal would have detrimental effects, while a slightly lower percentage envisioned "no
effect" from repeal. Comments written by Negative respondents were very consistent; no comments
received a positive tone code, and only 10 had a no effect/neutral tone code. For the Mixed group,
the comments about repeal were truly varied in tone, with a high number receiving a neutral tone
code, and slightly more comments receiving a negative tone code than a positive tone code. It
should be noted that given that comments afford respondents the opportunity to give more nuanced
5The reader is reminded that some respondents offered perspectives on different issues within the same
comment. When the tones varied across these issues, team members coded each section of text separately.
As a result, the total number of coded comments exceeds the total number of cases for each respondent class.
views than the fixed-choice responses, this lack of a one-to-one relationship between tone and
respondent class is not surprising.
These findings suggest a rather complicated picture of the "broad middle" of survey respondents as
a group. They cannot be viewed, as a group, as holding a single set of perspectives about the effects
of repeal; that is, "mixed" is not the same thing as "neutral." Rather, their views were distributed
across the spectrum of perspectives. As we shall see, their main themes are parallel with the main
themes from both the Positive and Negative respondent classes.
Item 36—Comment tone by Service. We also looked at the distribution of comment tone by military
spouse's Service (see Table 7.4, below). The table below suggests that Marine Corps spouses made
proportionately more negative comments compared to the other Services; otherwise, no clear
patterns can be discerned from the 1,000 comments on this item of the spouse survey.
Item 36—Distribution of Comment Tone by Spouse Service
Army Navy Corps Force Guard
Negative 94 72 100 88 70
No Effect/ Neutral 71 46 43 52 56
Positive 62 60 35 58 50
Rhetorical 4 5 4 5 5
Don't Ask Me 2 3 3 3 0
No Comment/ Irrelevant 27 18 18 9 2
Item 36—Comment tone by respondent age group. Finally, we wanted to see if there were any
differences in comment tone by respondent age group. Some of our study findings indicated a
perception that "younger" Service members and their spouses were likely to be more comfortable
with homosexuality and thus to hold a more favorable attitude toward repeal. Our results are
displayed in Table 7.5. We caution the reader to focus not on the total number of comments in any
particular cell, since we did not have equal numbers of respondents across the age groups for this
sample. Rather, attention should be paid to the number of negative comments relative to either
neutral or positive remarks within an age group. Using that framework, we saw differences at either
end of the age distribution. Respondents in the 21- to 25-year-old age group were as likely to express
negative as positive comments, and the 41 and older age group were nearly three times as likely to
offer a negative comment as a positive one. For all age groups, there were a significant number of
comments that reflected a "no effect" statement about a particular issue.
Item 36—Distribution of Comment Tone by Respondent Age Group
Negative 44 79 73 87 133
No Comment/Irrelevant 8 12 9 16 25
7.3.2 Item 36—Leading themes overall
Although item 36 asks respondents to comment on how repeal might affect their family readiness,
the reader will note that this was the most prevalent theme only for the Positive respondent class.
This issue will be discussed in more detail below. The issues that were raised most frequently by
respondents for item 36 were as follows:
1. Spouse Effects—Based on the team's reading of the data, respondents tended to say that repeal
would not affect them directly, but some did express concern about how repeal might affect their
military spouse. Thus, we developed the higher-order category "Spouse effects" for our coding
scheme; that category, in turn, was broken down into subcodes that reflected respondents'
specific concerns about the effect of repeal on their military spouses. These subcodes were as
ƒ Overall – We used this code for general comments about the perceived impact of repeal
on the military spouse. For the full item 36 dataset, this was the most frequently used of
the six subcodes used to describe spouse effects. All of these "overall" comments
carried a negative tone code:
o "Gays and lesbian do not bother me one bit. Now them being in the military may
bother my spouse and overall that is what matters."
ƒ Privacy —Respondents often expressed concern about their spouse's perceived loss of
privacy and the impact this, in turn, would have on their family. All comments coded to
privacy were also coded either as having a negative tone or, less often, as being a
rhetorical question:
o "I know my husband would not be happy on a deployment sharing a berthing area.
His stress over it would affect our family."
ƒ Safety —This code was applied to those comments that addressed the perceived effect of
repeal on the military spouse's safety. Respondents wrote about safety issues from
different perspectives. For example, some expressed their opinions about how a repeal
of DADT would affect their spouses' safety in a combat environment. Again, this was
often seen as having a very real, albeit indirect, effect on family readiness:
o "The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell would negatively affect family readiness as it
would most certainly affect unit cohesion putting my spouse at a higher risk of fatality
in combat."
Although most of the comments about combat safety carried a negative tone code, there
were a few respondents who said they believed their spouses' safety might be improved as a
result of repeal, as in the following example:
o "People are people. I don't care if they are gays or lesbians as long as they keep my
husband safe and bring him home to my kids and I!"
In addition to combat safety, a couple of respondents were worried about the direct—if
generalized health-related—risks to their spouses if a gay or lesbian member was a unit
o "It would affect the safety of our military service. You can contract AIDS through blood
and bodily fluids. If a gay person was shot in combat those helping him would be at
risk. Where would they shower without putting others at risk or use the bathroom."
Finally, in a slightly different vein, there were comments that spoke to the respondents'
concerns about how gay Service members themselves might be endangered by heterosexual
unit members:
o "I would not like to see any heterosexuals to hate or beat up homosexuals when they
find out they are homosexuals. This has happen[ed] in military."
ƒ Stress/Distraction—This code was applied to comments that addressed either the effect
of repeal on an already stressed military spouse, and thus to the respondent in their role
as spouse, or the belief that repeal would be a distraction to the military spouse's unit:
o "I know my husband would be very upset and this would add stress to him therefore
it would add stress to me as his primary supporter."
ƒ Military spouse's view of repeal—This code was used for survey comments that talked not
about the respondent's perspective on repeal, but the viewpoint of his or her military
spouse. The few comments that received this code were all coded as negative in tone.
Again we see the spouse in the role of speaking for the Service member:
o "My spouse would be more affected by the repeal than me. I think he would feel very
uncomfortable being deployed and living close to someone who is openly gay. He has
also expressed concerns to me about being in command over someone who is gay."
ƒ Career effects—This code was used for those comments about how repeal might affect
the respondent's spouse's career including the respondent's own presumed support for
her spouse's continued service. All of the comments that received this code also carried
a negative tone and were coded accordingly:
o "The repeal will definitely change my mind and support towards my husband's future
in the military."
2. Child Effects—A second common theme for item 36 was the perceived effect of repeal not on the
respondent, but on the respondent's children. The language used in the majority of these
statements was fairly consistent: First, numerous comments conveyed the respondent's concern
about "exposing" his or her child to gays or lesbians, as illustrated below:
o "A major concern that I have is the effect of the repeal of this policy on my children in
that they could possibly be regularly exposed to open homosexual couples."
The second major issue involved the respondent' concerns about a conflict between the values they
were trying to teach their children and the military's acceptance of a lifestyle with which the
respondents did not agree:
o "I am trying to teach my children the important values that we learned as children.
Family is a man and a woman."
Although less numerous, there were a few positive comments related to the repeal's potential impact
on the respondents' children. These comments often referenced the value of "equality" as an
important lesson for their children to learn:
o "The repeal of DADT would be an excellent lesson in tolerance, diversity and equality
for our children."
3. Personal values—Comments about the respondent's personal values and/or religious views with
regard to the repeal of DADT were coded to this category. Although there were some statements
indicating that repeal was in line with the respondent's values and beliefs, the majority of these
comments stated that homosexuality was against the writer's values. Such comments received
a negative comment tone since they indicated a negative view of repeal, should it occur:
o "I am uncomfortable with homosexuality due to my religious beliefs and convictions.
Would rather not have it anywhere in my life."
4. Equal rights—This code was applied to comments about the potential repeal of DADT relative to
equal rights for Service members and/or the military's support of such equality. This issue was
mentioned only by Positive or Mixed respondent classes, and all such comments carried a
positive tone:
o "If one is able-bodied and willing to join the military to defend their country anyone
should be given that right. Open, fair, freedom, rights. It's what our country stands
for. Let gays/lesbians serve openly and don't tolerate abuse of them."
o "Family is our number one priority. We both come from military families and are very
disappointed that homosexuals are discouraged from joining. We believe it is
discriminatory and would like to encourage all of our family members, regardless of
religion, race, and/or orientation to become a part of serving this country."
5. Unit effects — We applied this code to comments in which the respondent discussed his or her
views of the potential effects of repeal on unit cohesion, including both task and social cohesion.
Also tagged under this code were comments on the perceived impact of repeal on military
readiness overall.
o "I am highly concerned that the problems and issues created by a repeal of this law
would have very serious and negative effects on our military's organization,
efficiency, and battle-readiness."
There were three other key codes:
6. Family readiness —This was the core issue on which item 36 was focused. With the exception of
Positive respondents, the majority of comments from others for this item did not address family
readiness at all, despite the inclusion of a definition of "family readiness" in the section of the
survey preceding item 36. Nevertheless, any comments that clearly addressed "family
readiness" and repeal of DADT were tagged with the "family readiness" code. The majority of
such comments received either a positive or no effect/neutral tone code; only about 20% of the
comments were coded as having a negative tone. In both the positive and negative comments
below, the respondents not only pointed out the effects of repeal on their own families, but also
the larger system of support for families and family readiness:
o "I greatly favor a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and do not feel it would have a
negative impact on my family readiness. In addition it may have a positive impact on
many families and their readiness plans and support systems."
o "It would not affect my family readiness at all."
o "We rely on community support, especially during our members' deployments. Have
open gays, lesbians in that community would create unease, which in turn would
weaken our community support system."
7. Military values—This code was applied to comments about how the repeal of DADT was perceived
by the respondent to be either in line with or against core military values. These comments
varied in tone, with an almost equal number of positive and negative tones:
o "The military has often been a leader in championing social change to reduce bias
and discrimination. It is time to repeal 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' and provide fairness
under the Constitution of law for all those dedicated to serving our great nation."
o "If DADT is repealed, we, as a family, would be disa-opinted. The military would have
been the only place other than church that upholds the same core values as us.
Repealing DADT would make military no different from everything else that tries to
please the minority. Military should stay the same."
8. Ability to serve freely – Comments that fell under this code referred to the freedom of individuals
to serve in the military without regard to sexual orientation. The majority of respondents who
commented about the freedom of gays and lesbians to serve in the military were coded to a
o "Don't Ask, Don't Tell should be repealed. The gay and lesbian men and women in
the military should have equal rights because I believe they are serving their country
with distinction and valor."
Item 36 - Key themes by respondent class. As noted, the themes in the preceding discussion
represent those issues or ideas that appeared most frequently in the overall dataset (i.e., across all
1,000 comments). When we reviewed the key themes by respondent class, important differences
emerged in which issues were raised and how they were ordered relative to one another in terms of
frequency. Again, it is important to stress that frequency is not necessarily synonymous with
importance or felt intensity.
Positive respondent class. Four of the five most frequently expressed themes in comments from the
Positive respondent class indicate a group of respondents that, for the most part, said repeal would
benefit the military overall. These themes are: family readiness; equal rights; spouse effects; ability
to serve freely; and military values.
All comments coded to equal rights, the ability of gays and lesbians to serve freely if DADT is
repealed, and the relationship of repeal to military values carried positive tones codes for this
respondent group.
Negative respondent class. The most frequently expressed themes for this group of respondents
were spouse effects, child effects, and personal values, and unit effects. These respondents also
commented frequently on how repeal would affect their attendance and/or their children's
attendance at either Family Readiness Groups (FRGs) or other social events sponsored by the
military. For this class of respondents, the comments were negative in tone:
o "A repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell would make my family very uncomfortable attending
military functions."
o "I will limit my children's exposure to same sex partners. I can assume that will mean
not going to command family functions and family support groups. I will continue to
attend any adult function as I normally would."
Mixed respondent class. The most frequently expressed themes for comments made by the Mixed
class indicate the variation within this broad category of respondents: spouse effects, equal rights,
child effects, unit effects, and personal values. Notably, this group reflects both ends of the
spectrum. For example, the issue of equal rights was not frequently raised by individuals in the
Negative respondent class. In sum, the Mixed class represents a mixture of perspectives on the
perceived effects of repeal.
Item 36 - Key themes by Service of military spouse. We also examined the comments by the military
branch of the respondents' spouses to see if Service affiliation corresponded in some way with the
issues raised in these comments. Across all Services, respondents most frequently expressed their
concerns about how repeal of DADT might affect their military spouses. Within the "Military spouse
effects" code, the most frequently expressed subcodes were either general ("overall") issues or
concerns about the military spouse's privacy. In addition, respondents also frequently expressed
concerns about the potential effects of repeal on their children. This only exception to this was the
Coast Guard. Finally, with the exception of comments made by Marine Corps spouses, "equal rights"
emerged as a frequently noted theme across the Services.
Comments regarding the respondents' personal values and the potential repeal of DADT were
common across all five Services. There were no clear differences in the distribution of comment
tone by Service; there were positive and negative comments about personal values across all of the
Service categories.
Item 36—Key themes by respondent age group. Finally, we explored the leading themes by the age
group of the respondent. Overall, few differences appeared across age groups with the exception of
the 41 and older age group. For respondents in the 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, and 36-40 age groups,
spouse and child effects were the two most frequently expressed themes; comments addressing
equal rights were also common for these four groups of respondents. However, the 41 and older age
group differed slightly, in that, after spouse effects, personal values and unit effects were the most
frequently noted themes. Equal rights was not noted as often in this older group.
7.4 Results for item 44—Additional comments about family readiness or other effects of repeal
Overall, the findings from our analysis of the item 44 comments were not strikingly different from our
results for item 36 comments. The distribution of comment tones was about the same as that for
item 36 when viewed across the different subgroups within the respondent sample. And the leading
themes, both overall and by subgroup, are also very similar. In the following pages, where those
similarities exist we refer the reader to the previous discussion around item 36 for details about the
meaning of particular thematic codes. When appropriate, however, we point out new findings and
provide additional details.
It should be noted that the significant overlap between the findings for the two questions is not a
coincidence, but rather a product of how the two questions were worded and how respondents
completed their surveys. First, in terms of wording, both items ask the respondent to comment on
how she believes a repeal of DADT would impact family readiness. Item 44 simply opens the floor
and allows the respondent to write about "any other thoughts or opinions" she may have on the
issue of repeal. Thus, because both items ask the respondent about family readiness and repeal,
there is shared content across the two sets of responses.
Second, and as important, the results from the larger spouse survey indicated that between the
15,646 comments written for item 36, and the nearly 22,000 comments written for item 44, 12,455
respondents answered both questions. There is thus a remarkable lack of independence between
the two respondent pools as well. Indeed, in our own sample selection processes for these two
items, 161 respondents appeared in both datasets.
Therefore, while recognizing that these two items are not completely independent, we opted to
analyze them separately.
Distribution by respondent class. For this last survey item, we again sought to determine if there
were differences in comment tone among different subgroups within the sample. Table 7.6 below
shows the distribution of comment tone by respondent class. The results are similar to what we
found with item 36, namely, individuals in the Positive respondent class left comments that mostly
had a positive tone, but they also had a large number of neutral, and a few negative, comments
about repeal. Negative respondents remained markedly consistent in the tone of their comments,
leaving only negative or no effect/neutral comments for those remarks that had content that the
team could code. And the Mixed class remained "mixed" —for item 44, neutral comments prevailed
for this group, although there were almost equal numbers of positive and negative remarks. One
hundred and thirty-three of these 1,000 comments were coded by the team as either "No comment"
or "irrelevant" to the discussion of DADT.
No Effect/ Neutral 44 182 9
Rhetorical 5 17 8
Refer to Q36 3 8 5
Distribution by spouse Service. Table 7.7 below shows the distribution of comment tone by the
Service of the respondent's military spouse. The relatively low numbers of comments across the
Services suggests that we interpret these findings with caution—nevertheless, both Navy and Coast
Guard spouses appeared to be as likely to make negative as positive comments with respect to the
potential effects of repeal. The other three Services tended toward negative comment tones,
although comments in all Services indicated a large proportion of "neutral" ("no effect") comments.
Item 44: Distribution of Comment Tone by Spouse Service
Negative 78 63 82 82 62
No Effect/Neutral 51 48 57 42 39
Refer to Q36 4 4 3 4 3
No comment/Irrelevant 32 40 31 17 15
Distribution by respondent age group. Table 7.8 shows the distribution of comment tone by
respondent age group. With the exception of those respondents who were 41 or older, comments for
all other age groups were fairly evenly distributed across the negative, no effect/neutral, and positive
comment tones. The oldest group in this dataset, however, was more likely to leave a negative
comment than either a neutral or positive one. This finding was consistent with our results for item
Item 44: Distribution of Comment Tone by Respondent Age Group
Rhetorical 4 10 3 6 8
7.4.2 Key themes
When we focused on the content of the comments made for item 44, the following five themes
emerged most frequently: spouse effects, unit effects, equal rights, personal values, and child
effects. These are the same themes we saw for question 36, which is not surprising, given the
overlap in the question wording.
Key themes by respondent class. When we explored the leading themes by respondent class, we saw
trends similar to what was found for item 36: Respondents in all three classes often wrote about
repeal with respect to how it would affect their military spouses, but this was the most frequently
expressed issue only for the Mixed and Negative classes. For Positive respondents, equal rights
topped the list. One new theme, "forced policy," emerged in comments from the Negative
respondent class. These expressed the view that repeal of DADT—alternately phrased as "the
military's acceptance of homosexuality" —was being "forced" on the military and, by extension, would
undermine efforts to maintain "normalcy" for military families:
o "We feel that a set of values that we do not agree with are being shoved down our
throats, it makes me sad. We feel the military works hard to make family life as
normal as possible under the circumstances, and this would undermine all of that. I
do not believe most people in the military (including family) approve of this repeal
and so I believe if this is repealed it would have a serious negative impact overall."
Key themes by military spouse's Service. A review of the themes in item 44 by the Service of the
respondent's military spouse indicated remarkable consistency across the Service branches, with
"spouse effects" being the most frequently raised issue. The remaining themes—unit effects, child
effects, equal rights—were mostly the same issues that emerged in responses to question 36.
One new theme emerged in the Coast Guard comments, which was "keep private lives private."
Comments regarding the disclosure of sexual preference, public displays of affection, or the impact
of openly gay Service members discussing their sexuality in the workplace received this code. Many
of the general comments were neutral on this topic, with the respondent generally arguing that as
long as private lives were kept private, there would be no disruption to unit effectiveness:
o "Unimportant, not an issue, unless overly gay behavior is allowed."
o "I am not brave enough to join the military and I believe anyone who is willing to
make all of the sacrifices and fight for our country, I say let them. Just make it so no
one talks about their sexual orientation."
Key themes by respondent age group. Finally, we looked at leading themes by respondent age
group. Again, the main themes were consistent with responses to question 36, with spouse, child,
and unit effects being important issues across all respondent age groups. The issue of equal rights
again emerged as important, but in contrast to the results for item 36, this was a theme that
appeared in comments from the 41 and older age group as well.
The fixed-response items in the survey were intended to assess the impact of repeal on military
spouses. This analysis of the open-ended items on the survey reinforces the finding that spouses
believe that repeal will not affect them directly. However, many expressed concerns about the impact
on their Service member spouse or children, which the fixed-response items were not designed to
For this comment analysis, we purposively selected more comments from those who had given
mixed responses on the survey because this was the group about which we knew the least.
However, we also looked at comments from both the Positive and Negative respondent classes in
order to ensure that we were looking at the full range of views. Our findings suggest that this Mixed
group shared perspectives with both the Positive and Negative respondent classes both in terms of
comment tone and the themes they addressed. Most comments offered by the Mixed group were
neutral, with the remaining comments almost equally divided between those that were positive and
negative. The themes similarly reflected a middle position, addressing the same issues raised by the
Positive and Negative respondents: effects on their spouses and children, unit effects, equal rights,
the ability of gays and lesbians to serve freely, and personal values.
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