Military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Timeline

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/dont-ask-dont-tell-timeline/

Above is a link from the Washington Post of a timeline pertaining to the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. If you do not already know, the policy deals with military personal and homosexuality. Prior to the early 1990’s no homosexuals were allowed to serve in the military. During the early ‘90’s President Clinton tried to end the ban on gays in the military but instead inadvertently created the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. This allowed gays to serve in the military because upon enlisting into the armed forces there was no longer any question regarding sexuality. However, gay people could serve only as long as they did not share their beliefs or push them openly while enlisted in the armed services (Hence, “Don’t ask, Don’t tell”). Thankfully, just as of 2010 the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy has been repealed and gays are now allowed to openly serve in the Armed Forces.

Now how does this pertain to the psychology? One possible way is a topic we have recently discussed in class involving “stress.” The military is a stressful enough environment to begin with. For homosexuals, even today without any sort of discriminatory restrictions against them, it must be a very stressful environment to feel comfortable in. As we all know the military is not one of the most liberal places and homosexuality has been wrongfully frowned upon in this environment since its initial existence. For gays to participate in the army the stress levels are almost definitely higher than the average soldier. As we have learned this can cause the soldier to be much more susceptible to diseases and other health related problems. It would also be very hard to serve in the military because it is not openly supported homosexuality. Finding a support system that you can trust must be very hard. Not having a support system can add to stress and even make stress worse because there is no one close to you that you can talked to and trust. Systematic biases may also affect homosexuals in a negative manner. Other soldiers who are not gay may have wrong, biased opinion on gays that could effect moral, mental health and stability, and well as conformity within the military unit.