‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Congressional Hearing to be Held

    Lawmakers to Hear First Testimony Since 1993 on Law Banning Gays from

Military



    WASHINGTON, July 16 /EMWNews/ -- On July 23 the Military

Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee will hold a

hearing on the impact of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning service by

openly lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. The hearing will be the

first since Congress enacted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" fifteen years ago.



    "This hearing begins a conversation about the national security impact

of losing qualified, capable service members," said Aubrey Sarvis,

Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) "We

commend Congresswoman Susan Davis, Chair of the Military Personnel

Subcommittee, for her leadership in reviewing this obsolete law."



    Scheduled to testify against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" are U.S. Army

Major General Vance Coleman (Ret.), U.S. Navy Captain Joan E. Darrah

(Ret.), and former Marine Staff Sgt. Eric F. Alva.



    General Coleman, who served as a Division Commander, sits on the SLDN

Military Advisory Council. His decorations include the Purple Heart, Bronze

Star and the Meritorious Service Medal.



    Captain Darrah's assignments included serving as Deputy Director of the

Human Resources Directorate at the Office of Naval Intelligence. A graduate

of the Naval War College, she also belongs to the SNDN Military Advisory

Council.



    Sergeant Alva was the first American wounded in Operation Iraqi

Freedom. He served in the Marine Corps for 13 years.



    Since its implementation in 1993, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has resulted

in the dismissal of more than 12,500 men and women from the armed forces.

Nearly 800 of those dismissed under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" had skills

deemed "mission-critical" by the Department of Defense. More than 300 of

those discharged were language specialists, including 58 Arabic linguists.

The cost to U.S. taxpayers for maintaining the ban is estimated at more

than $363 million.



    "'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' hurts military readiness and unit cohesion by

discharging some of our best and brightest military personnel," added

Sarvis. "With America's armed forces stretched thin, we urgently need a

repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and the passage of H.R. 1246, the

Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which permits lesbian, gay and bisexual

open service without discrimination."



    The hearing is scheduled to be held on July 23 at 2 PM.



    Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a national, non-profit legal

services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending

discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and related forms of intolerance. For more

information, visit http://www.sldn.org.