PENTAGON: We Were Only Talking About Adding Shower Curtains

The Pentagon is furiously denying yesterday’s allegation by AmericaBlog’s John Aravosis that they are considering building separate living quarters for gay troops if DADT were to be repealed. According to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell, they were only talking about adding showing curtains.

Morrell told Hotsheet that the suggestion the survey could lead to segregation is “absurd.” “No one is talking about segregating gay servicemembers from straight servicemembers,” Morrell said. “We don’t know that any adjustment will have to be made, but in the event that’s a recommendation from the review group, it would not result in any ‘separate but equal’ facilities.” Hypothetically speaking, Morell said, it is possible the military could consider facility modifications like adding shower curtains to shower stalls that are currently open. “We don’t know if any adjustments will be required, but we need to survey the force to get an idea of what their privacy concerns are,” he said. Morell said the suggestion the survey could lead to segregation is “inflammatory nonsense” from groups trying to discredit the survey, which is “not helpful” for the Defense Department.