• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' reviewed on island

US Marine Corps News

7/29/2010 By Department of Defense Comprehensive Review Working Group, Marine Corps Bases Japan

OKINAWA, Japan — Service members now have the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns at the upcoming Information Exchange Forum when members from the DoD Comprehensive Review Working Group visit Marine Corps Bases Japan/III Marine Expeditionary Force, Thursday.

For the last few months, the Comprehensive Review Working Group has been conducting IEFs at military installations around the world as a means to obtain the input of service members and their families on issues associated with the proposed repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, including impacts, if any, on military readiness, military effectiveness and unit cohesion, recruiting/retention and family readiness.

Three one-hour forums will be held in the Camp Foster Theater Thursday. Service members who are randomly selected will receive notification to attend the IEF through their command. Personnel can also volunteer to attend. If interested in participating, contact your supervisor or your command's Inspector General Office. One forum will be available to spouses of any rank, who need not attend with their spouse. No one will be allowed in without a valid military/family member identification card.

The working group encourages participants to engage in open and honest discussions. Participants should understand that the law commonly known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" remains in effect and service members should not disclose confidential information at these events.

The working group's mission is not to engage in debate about whether to repeal the law. The mission is to gain a better understanding of how a repeal might affect service members and their families.

For those who are not able to attend one of the forums, there are two other means to provide inputs on issues associated with repeal of the law.

The DoD Comprehensive Review Survey of the Uniformed Forces was sent out electronically to approximately 400,000 service members on July 7. They must complete and return the survey no later than Aug. 15. E-mail addresses for service members were randomly selected using the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System database system. Family members should expect to see their surveys arriving through the regular mail system in early August. These surveys will help DoD develop a contingency plan to support implementation should repeal occur.

A confidential communication mechanism has also been established to allow those troops to submit comments through a confidential dialogue - using a non-traceable pin number. The confidential communication mechanism is available only to service members and can be accessed two ways - through a link at the end of the survey or through a link on the Comprehensive Review Working Group Online Inbox website.

Service members and their families can continue to provide comments to the working group by using the Online Inbox at www.defense.gov/dadt. This website is common access card-enabled and is another way to communicate with the working group on issues associated with the repeal.