Don't ask, don't tell

Don't ask, don't tell is the common term for the current policy toward gays in the US military. It was introduced in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, although crafted by Colin Powell and has been maintained by his successor, George W. Bush. The policy says that as long as homosexual men and women in the military don't volunteer their sexual orientation, commanders won't try to find them out.

Statistics on the number of persons discharged from the military in the years since the policy was first introduced (1992?) show that more people are discharged now than were before. By this measure, the policy seems to have failed. However, more of these people are given honorable discharges than was the case before. (Hard numbers would be great if anyone has access to them.)

From SLDN - Annual Gay Discharges Under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass"

Year	Coast Guard	Marines	Navy	Army	Air Force	Total
1994	0	36	258	136	187	617
1995	15	69	269	184	235	772
1996	12	60	315	199	284	870
1997	10	78	413	197	309	1007
1998	14	77	345	312	415	1163
1999	12	97	314	271	352	1046
2000	19	104	358	573	177	1231

Most other Western military forces have now removed bans on homosexuals (with strict policies on sexual harassment).

External Resources

[Chronology of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (http://www.california.com/~rathbone/links003.htm)]
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - http://www.sldn.org