Military whitewash.

It takes a murder to force the Pentagon to finally release guidelines on antigay harassment

The Pentagon has never been too concerned about the problems of gay service members, but bad publicity can make even the Pentagon at least try to look concerned. With the death of Pfc. Barry Winchell, a soldier apparently beaten to death in July because he was believed to be gay, military officials decided they had to do something to show that their "don't ask, don't tell" policy wasn't a license to harass (or kill) gay personnel. The result: On August 13 the Pentagon released two-year-old guidelines in an effort to look like it was taking a hard stand against antigay harassment.

"I've made it clear there is no room for harassment or threats in the military," Secretary of Defense William Cohen said in releasing the guidelines. "I've instructed the military services to make sure that the policy is clearly understood and fairly enforced."

The fanfare that accompanied the release of the guidelines obscured their age and the fact that activists have been pleading for two years to have these same guidelines released to field officers. "I'm glad that this memo is finally going to be sent to the field, but it shouldn't have taken two years of constant pressuring to make the Pentagon take this step," said Michelle Benecke, co-executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that helps personnel hurt by "don't ask, don't tell." "After a 120% increase in antigay harassment and the death of a soldier, the president and military leaders should be ashamed," Benecke said. SLDN had been reassured four times since December that the guidelines Cohen announced would be released imminently.

Indeed, the directives Cohen issued do not change the military's basic policy. Personnel will still be investigated and discharged if officials believe they have stated that they are gay. The military will institute training for personnel to warn them against harassing gays and lesbians.

The directives also require that any investigation of personnel suspected to be gay involve senior officers in the military justice system. However, Benecke said, the problem is less with military lawyers than with commanders who often start the investigations in violation of "don't ask" regulations.

"The focus needs to be on telling commanders the rules and holding them accountable for not starting legal investigations in the first place," she said.

Whether the new directives will have any effect on the increase in witch-hunts under "don't ask" remains to be seen. When the policy was instituted in 1994, 617 people were thrown out of the military for homosexuality. Since then the numbers have soared, reaching a total of 1,145 discharges last year.

But the murder of Winchell at Fort Campbell, Ky., apparently forced the Pentagon to scramble in order to appear concerned about antigay violence in the ranks. At hearings to determine if there was enough evidence to try Pfc. Calvin Glover, a suspect in Winchell's murder, several soldiers testified that Winchell was repeatedly taunted because he was perceived to be gay. NBC News reported that Glover was infuriated when Winchell beat him in a fight two days prior to the July 5 attack and was teased by other soldiers for "letting a faggot beat him up." NBC also reported that soldiers stood around Winchell, who was unconscious after being beaten with a baseball bat, shouting antigay slurs. Winchell died the next day.

Benecke said SLDN has repeatedly warned military officials that a tragedy like Winchell's death was bound to occur. "They had repeatedly been warned that steps needed to be taken to address antigay harassment and violence," she said. And while Benecke said the new directives are welcome, she added that the victory is bittersweet: "They look paltry in comparison to the death of Barry Winchell."