Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repealed?

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 1994 included the “don’t ask-don’t tell” compromise of ending the military’s practice of asking potential service members if they are gay, but required the dismissal of openly gay service members. Since the Clinton administration, over 10,000 military personnel have been discharged under the policy. President Obama supports repealing the act in a way that “strengthens our armed forces and our national security.” The Independent Lens film, “Ask Not,” a film critical of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, tells stories of gay American servicemen who secretly served in combat. Our guests, veteran linguists ALEX NICHOLSON and JARROD CHLAPOWSKI are featured in the film and currently work with Servicemembers United, an organization that works toward repealing the law. They are joined by Philadelphia native NATHANIEL FRANK, Author of “Unfriendly Fire.” Dr. Frank is the Senior Research Fellow at The Palm Center, at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He first broke the story of the Army’s firing of Arabic-language specialists under the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy. Listen to the mp3