It's no big surprise that since the terror attacks of 9/11 and the war in Iraq fewer gays have been discharged from the military, reports the Washington Post. Charles Moskos, an architect of the "don't ask, don't tell" concept, says that given the current stress on military services, individuals who say they are gay may not be immediately granted an honorable discharge.
But "what has traditionally happened is that there is a decline during a war and then a spike in discharges right after," said Sharon Alexander, a lawyer for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "We noticed that during the Persian Gulf, the number of discharges was practically nonexistent and then it shot way up."
Some number of these discharges may be self-initiated. But even
so, the partial suspension of the policy (recall that gay military
translators were still
booted out) is hypocritical. The DADT edifice either persecutes
gay personnel who have bravely served their country, or provides a
too-easy escape clause for heterosexuals who don't want to fulfill
the commitment they've made. In either case, it's time for the "gay
ban" to go.