Air Force Academy Censors Professor for Discussing Gays in the Military

New Data Show Lesbian Discharges in Air Force Are Disproportionate; Lt. Col.
Is Reprimanded and Removed From Classroom

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Palm Center has
learned that a Lieutenant Colonel who taught at the Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs, CO, was punished and barred from teaching after she invited
three Academy alumni to campus to discuss sexual minorities in the military.
The professor, Lt. Col. Edith A. Disler, told Palm Center researchers that the
classroom visit was approved by her course director, but Academy officials
pulled her from the classroom anyway, launching an investigation that ended in
a formal reprimand based on the subject matter discussed.

Also this week, Palm obtained new data from the Pentagon showing that women
made up a majority of Air Force discharges under the "don't ask, don't tell"
policy in 2008, even though they represent a distinct minority of the overall
service. Women received 56 of the 90 total Air Force discharges under the
policy, which is 61% of firings, even though women make up only 20% of the
service. By comparison, women received 36% of discharges in the Army, where
they make up 14% of personnel, 23% in the Navy where they make up 14%, and
18% in the Marines where they make up only 6%.

"We have always known that women are disproportionately affected by 'don't
ask, don't tell,'" said Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center and a
professor of political science at UC-Santa Barbara, where Palm is based. "But
the Air Force data are particularly troubling and raise questions about why
women might be targeted there for persecution under the current policy. Lt.
Col. Disler's experience with censorship at the Air Force Academy adds urgency
to the need to assess the command climate in the Air Force, as well as to the
need to re-examine the costs of 'don't ask, don't tell' more broadly."

Lt. Col. Disler was an Air Force officer for twenty-five years, and has served
as senior speechwriter to the Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Air Force,
executive support officer to the Secretary of Defense, and an arms control
inspector. Her reprimand occurred late last year when she learned that a group
of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) combat veterans, who were
also alumni of the Academy, offered speaking engagements as part of the Blue
Alliance, which promotes education for, and support of, GLBT service members.
A week after a classroom visit that Disler described as very well-received by
students, she learned that she was being investigated, and was told she could
not return to the classroom and could not discuss the matter with students,
but she was not told the reason for the investigation. She was eventually told
she was being investigated to determine if she had violated any policies or
procedures or any "classroom decorum." A formal letter of counseling followed,
which scolded Disler for a "lack of judgment in not recognizing that negative
publicity could follow" from her decision to have members of the Blue Alliance
visit campus. "Your failure caused significant consternation with USAFA's
senior leadership and had the potential to create the perception that the USAF
Academy does not support current Air Force and Department of Defense policy on
a this [sic] sensitive matter." The letter states the reason for the
punishment was that Disler should have obtained prior approval not just from
her course director, but also from her department head, but Disler says there
is no written policy stating that is required, and that such a requirement
would undercut academic freedom.

Belkin contrasted the censorship in the Air Force, which has been plagued in
recent years with allegations of tolerating both sexual harassment and
religious proselytizing, with the willingness of the Defense Department to
publish an officer's essay criticizing the current ban on open gays. The
essay, by Col. Om Prakash, won a military essay contest and was published,
with the approval of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the current
issue of the flagship military journal, Joint Force Quarterly. "This public
criticism of the policy by a military official is an important indication that
the Pentagon welcomes genuine discussion on the issue," Belkin said. "In this
sense, the Air Force seems out of step."

Disler, who had her retirement date set, said her superiors seemed to suggest
she take pains to avoid garnering attention or visibility around the incident,
saying, "We just want you to make it to your retirement date." Disler said
this was "about the last, worst insult I could receive after my long career,
to be told, 'we just want you to leave quietly.'" She interpreted the comments
as saying she should be grateful to leave without a last-minute court-martial
or investigation of her sexuality under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
She also found the episode to be detrimental to the educational climate. "It's
amazing to say that Air Force Academy combat veterans are not welcome on
campus just because they're gay or because they advocate a certain view or
want to be helpful to the Air Force when the current policy [on homosexuality]
changes," she said. Her course focused on war, literature and leadership, and
emphasized the core value of respect for human dignity. "It's easy to say you
have respect for others," she said, "but this was a test of whether that was
just an abstract concept or would be applied in actuality. If you censor a
presentation about sexual minorities in the military, you're not only failing
to prepare officers for what they're going to face in the future, but you're
not engaged in a college-level discussion."

The Palm Center is a think tank at the University of California, Santa
Barbara. Since 1998, the Center has been a leader in commissioning and
disseminating research in the areas of gender, sexuality, and the military.
For more information visit www.palmcenter.ucsb.edu.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Aaron Belkin
https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=90488
Nathaniel Frank
https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=85094

SOURCE The Palm Center

Indra Lusero, Assistant Director of the Michael D. Palm Center,
+1-303-902-9402, indralusero@palmcenter.ucsb.edu