The cost of DADT
Sixty-nine dollars and six cents a minute for ten years. A cost of $363,800,000. That’s the price to separate Servicemembers from the military for being something other than heterosexual.
That figure includes the cost to recruit the Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, what-have-you in the first place, train him, and to pay for sending the ex-Servicemember home — including his property. This comes from a report released Tuesday by a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission.
Some specific figures:
Number of Servicemembers discharged since DADT was enacted: 10,000
Cost to recruit enlisted Servicemembers: $79.3 million
Cost to train enlisted Servicemembers: $252.4 million
Cost to train officers: $17.8 million
Cost to send Servicemembers and property home after DADT separation: $14.3 million
Let’s discount for a moment the inherent unfairness of separating Americans from the military because they happen to be queer. Let’s forget temporarily that these same Americans, by the mere act of raising their hands and taking the oath of enlistment have voluntarily placed their lives in the line of fire. Let’s not think right now of the countless queer Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen who are currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and every day run the risk of being killed while serving the Nation they’ve sworn to defend. Don’t even consider those who went before them.
No, right now let’s focus on another thing wrong with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: the gross waste of money. Enlisting, training, and ultimately separating a Servicemember is not free. There are real costs associated with it, which I’ve outlined above. That’s not even scratching the surface, because once you separate the Servicemember, you still have to replace him, thus incurring more costs. And every now and then, you’re going to end up replacing him with another queer Servicemember, who you might end up separating as well.
Even if you can’t see the human toll that DADT inflicts, surely you can see the financial impact. Surely it would be a better use of the money involved in separating a Servicemember to do so by separating those who are drug users or are criminals rather than those who serve with honor and distinction.
Twelve years, ten thousand Servicemembers and three hundred sixty-three million, eight hundred thousand dollars later and we’re still discriminating against a large portion of the population. It doesn’t make sense. Neither morally nor fiscally.
Thankfully there is a solution: Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005. It just needs more support.
