An exploratory study of the perceptions of U.S. military veterans that have served since the 1993 enactment of Don\u27t ask don\u27t tell (DADT) about the impact of the recent repeal of DADT on veterans

This study was undertaken to explore what U.S. military veterans that have served under the Don\u27t Ask Don\u27t Tell (DADT) policy since 1993 think the potential impact might be regarding the repeal of DADT on LGBT veterans\u27 willingness to disclose their sexual orientation. An online survey was designed and administrated on the website SurveyMonkey.com asking questions about the following issues: 1) Do Veterans think that Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals (LGB) Veterans are willing to disclose their sexual orientation under DADT and after the repeal? 2) Do Veterans think that a LGB Veterans military branch and occupation will have an impact on their willingness to disclose their sexual orientation? The findings in this study found a significant difference in the willingness of service members to disclose their sexual orientation to their other service members and their chain of command between those serving under the DADT policy and since the repeal of DADT. There was no significant difference between those serving in all male units and mixed gender units acceptance of LBG service members and LGB veterans willingness to disclose their sexual orientation. Additionally, LGB service members need to be accepted and supported by the military and military family support groups. These two major findings supported two of the hypotheses in this study