Only 10% of the DADT Surveys are done

This is interesting. Just 10% of the 400, 000 DADT surveys are completed.

Here's the scoop from Stars & Stripes

Only about 10 percent of the 400,000 "don't ask, don't tell" surveys sent out three weeks ago have been returned, and Pentagon officials are lobbying troops to fill out the rest before the Aug. 15 deadline set for the research.

The survey, featuring more than 100 questions on perceptions of troops’ morale and behavior before and after a repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, is designed to give a Defense Department working group a better sense of servicemembers’ concerns about allowing openly gay troops in the ranks. Originally, researchers had planned on contacting only 200,000 troops with the survey, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates doubled that number to get a broader range of reactions.

But gay rights groups have questioned the value of the survey, and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network warned closeted gay troops against participating in the exercise. Even though the survey will be conducted by e-mail through an outside contractor, SLDN officials said that promise of anonymity didn’t offer enough security for troops who still could be kicked out under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

Defense officials could not say whether that negative reaction has hurt response rates, but are urging everyone who received the survey to fill it out. A similar survey will be sent out to 150,000 military family members next month.

I wonder if the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will be blamed for the low turnout. It's a possibility and an ugly fallout if that happens. I hope they have a spin ready, because this may not be pretty if the survey below 50%.