Reply #27: You presume

[zipplewrath]

No flame here, just pointing out that you presume that the vast majority of homosexuals either would "out" themselves, or that their comrades don't already know. I've known people who served quitely for years, with several comrades knowing, to no effect. On many ships, the enlisted would swap berthing assignments so that the gay men often shared quarters, and everyone knew why the swaps were made. The point of repealing DADT is so that people can serve without having to address this issue at all. Currently the policy requires them to lie, or be expelled. Without DADT they just don't have to say much at all. It will be no different than the civilian world I'm sure where gays still tend to avoid the topic to avoid negative impacts on their careers. But it will now be a choice for them. They can be as open as they wish, or not at all. But there won't be any investigations.