The survey for spouses is even dopier and more sinister than the DADT-repeal survey for servicemembers

Your Dept. of Defense has an urgent message

re. DADT repeal: Be afraid! Be very afraid!

""While it is wise to solicit and consider military spouse input on policy changes that will have a major impact on military families, it is extremely unwise to do so for issues that have minimal impact on spouses while also using poorly designed, biased and derogatory survey instruments."

-- Alexander Nicholson, executive director
of Servicemembers United

by Ken

We haven't talked about these surveys the Defense Dept. is doing to gauge intra-military sentiment about the effects of DADT repeal. We've had details for a while about the survey conducted sent to 400,000 selected servicemembers (active-duty and activated-reserve), which did nothing to contradict one's gut impulse that the only imaginable reason for such a survey was to encourage homophobes to vent their bigotry, and even feel good about it! After all, if the military was so interested in their homophobia, it must be legit.

At least in that case, though, the Pentagon could claim the high ground. While the whole idea of surveying servicemembers before committing to DADT repeal seemed nuts (name another basic policy decision the DoD made based on polling the opinions of the troops), it was hard to see any purpose to the undertaking beyond throwing a monkey wrench into the mechanism of the proceedings. But, as I say, the Pentagon could claim otherwise. The DoD could claim that the purpose of the survey wasn't to decide whether to proceed with DADT repeal but to gauge the kinds of propems it would face in implementing the new policy. Um, okay. I guess.

But now we've got the other survey, sent out to 150,000 military spouses, encouraging them to vent their venom and fear. I'm not the only one who couldn't think of any purpose except to encourage military wives to fantasize about their men being recruited into the Gay Lifestyle, by scorching-hot military gayboys, who as we know can't keep it in their pants -- unlike our sexually upstanding military straightboys. (Or is that the basis of the fear? That gay soldiers and sailors and marines would be as out of control sexually as their straight counterparts?) And of course let's not forget the parallel invitation to male military spouses to imagine their serving wives being lured by lewd lezzies into abandoning husbands and children.

You can see the survey for yourself. A scanned version has been posted by Servicemembers United, which describes itself as "the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans." It would seem merely lame and pathetic if the intentions and potential consequences didn't seem so sinister. Take this chunk, for example, which follows immediately a question about "the most important factors you and your spouse consider when making decisions about his or her future in the military":

16. 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?
⌈ Very important
⌈ Important
⌈ Neither important nor unimportant
⌈ Unimportant
⌈ Very unimportant
⌈ Don't Know

17. 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?
⌈ Yes, I would want my spouse to stay longer
⌈ Yes, I would want my spouse to leave earlier
⌈ No, it would have no effect on my preference for my spouse's plans for military service in the future
⌈ Don't Know

18. Have you ever recommended to a family member or close friend that he or she pursue service in the military?
⌈ Yes
⌈ No

19. Would a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell affect your willingness to recommend military service to a family member or close friend?
⌈ Yes, I would be more likely to recommend military service to a family member or close friend
⌈ Yes, I would be less likely to recommend military service to a family member or close friend
⌈ No, it would not affect my willingness to recommend military service to a family member or close friend
⌈ Don't Know

Or there's "Assuming you had a choice on where to live, how important would a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell be to you in considering where to live?" And "Assume Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed and you live in on-base housing. If a gay or lesbian Service member lived in your neighborhood with their partner, would you stay on-base or would you try to move out?" The latter is followed up with:

25. While living on-base, which of the following would you do?
⌈ I would make a special effort to get to know the gay or lesbian Service member and partner
⌈ I would get to know them like any other neighbor
⌈ I would generally avoid them when I could
⌈ I would do nothing
⌈ I would do something else, please specify: ..................................
⌈ Don't Know

I especially like that "something else," which provides about a 3½-inch line on which to indulge your spousely fantasies of what you would do if, God forbid, those people should be insinuated among the base-housed regular people. Presumably the Pentagon archives contain records of similar surveys of attitudes concerning being forced to live among people of Polish descent, or Eye-talians. In case you were wondering, no, there are no questions about gays or lesbians the service spouse may already be serving with.

The seedy, comical repulsiveness of the enterprise is enhanced by the transparent dishonesty of the people who are presiding over it. You would never guess from this nonsense that there are real issues regarding the military's adjustment, if and when it becomes necesssary, to a staffing policy based on just two criteria: candidates' interest in and fitness for service.

For a more thorough response, here is a press release issued by Servicemembers United, with links to its detailed briefing memos on various aspects of these surveys:

Servicemembers United Blasts Military Spouse Survey on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Spouse Survey Slightly Less Biased, More Derogatory Toward Gays and Lesbians

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, released a briefing memo today that blasted the biased design and derogatory and insulting content of the recent Pentagon survey of military spouses about the impending repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. The survey, which went out on Friday to 150,000 heterosexual military spouses, contained fewer methodological biases than the previous Pentagon survey, although the spouse survey was more inherently derogatory towards gay and lesbian Americans than the previous survey.

"While it is wise to solicit and consider military spouse input on policy changes that will have a major impact on military families, it is extremely unwise to do so for issues that have minimal impact on spouses while also using poorly designed, biased and derogatory survey instruments," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army interrogator who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "The Pentagon should be concerned with real family readiness issues like excessive deployments, inadequate mental health screenings and support, low troop pay, reductions in housing subsidies for military families, and inadequate spousal employment support instead of spending $4.4 million on a politically-motivated and unnecessary survey about gays and lesbians."

After the first survey of 400,000 active duty and reserve troops was released in July, Servicemembers United led the nationwide protest against the methodological bias and the derogatory content within this survey. Servicemembers United also launchedwww.SurveyRefund.org to demand that the contractor refund the exorbitant sum of taxpayer money - $4.4 million - that was paid for the survey contract.

A copy of the briefing memo on the spouse survey can be found at:
www.servicemembersunited.org/spousesurveymemo

A copy of the briefing memo on the previous survey of active duty and reserve troops can be found at:
www.servicemembersunited.org/surveymemo

A follow-up memo in response to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell's 30-minute press briefing about Servicemembers United's criticism can be found at:
www.servicemembersunited.org/morrellresponse

Really now, you don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

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