Open Service and Our Allies: A Report on the Inclusion of Openly Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers in U.S. Allies' Armed Forces

In the wake of the Obama Administration’s pledge to repeal“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the United States, the Columbia LawSchool Sexuality & Gender Law Clinic undertook a review of howallies of the United States moved from a policy of banning gay andlesbian servicemembers from serving in the armed forces to a policyof allowing these servicemembers to serve openly (“open service”).In documenting this review, this report aims to provide informationabout the decision to implement open service and the mechanics ofthe transition to open service in Australia, Canada, Israel, and theUnited Kingdom. In addition to addressing concerns about the effectof open service on unit cohesion and morale, this report also includesinformation about how the militaries of Australia, Canada, Israel, andthe United Kingdom have implemented their open service policieson the ground. The report examines, as well, the ways in which U.S.soldiers have worked as part of multinational forces with membersof other militaries that have open service policies. Open Service and Our Allies shows that no significant problemshave arisen as a result of a transition to open service.

Notably, notone country studied in this report has made any changes to its housingor bathrooms. Moreover, although all of the countries studied inthis report have reported scattered incidents of harassment, thisreport also shows that there has been no pervasive discriminationagainst or harassment of gay and lesbian servicemembers. Whereassome countries achieved a successful transition through educationaland sensitivity training, others have not addressed harassment of gayand lesbian servicemembers in their trainings. The common thread, instead, has been an emphasis on strong leadership and a clear statementof the behavior that is expected of servicemembers.

This reportalso shows that none of the countries studied have experienced a declinein unit cohesion or morale. To the contrary, many of the countriesstudied have seen an increase in morale due to servicemembers’increased ability to focus on work, rather than on hiding their sexualorientation, and a decrease in paranoia and suspicion as a result ofthe new open environment. Overall, this report shows that the transition to open service inAustralia, Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom was smooth,although not always flawless, and provides some insight into whatsuch a transition might look like in the United States.