365gay.com reports:(Washington) The U.S. Army, eager to fill its ranks amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is turning to high school dropouts, opening today a prep school to enable prospective enlistees to gain the GED. But while the military reaches out to high school dropouts the number of gays drummed out of the armed forces under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” continues to grow.
Under DADT two people every day are dropped from the military for being gay. In the 15 years that DADT has been in force more than 10,000 personnel have been discharged as a result of the policy, including 800 with skills deemed “mission critical,” such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists. The number of gay men and lesbians turned away by military recruiters is unknown.
A study conducted last year for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network concluded that the U.S. military could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits if gays and lesbians in the military were able to be open about their sexual orientation. READ MORE
