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    "title": "Gays in the Military [2]",
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    "ocrText": "B-253590\nEach of the four countries reviewed in detail has active armed forces that\nexceed 50,000 military personnel and has been involved recently in\nregional conflicts, United Nations peacekeeping missions, or both. Of the\ncountries selected, only Canada has an all-volunteer military force.\nGermany's military consists of 57 percent volunteer forces, and the\nremaining 43 percent are conscripted.¹ Israel's and Sweden's forces\nprimarily consist of conscripted military personnel, although they do\nmaintain a small volunteer corps. All four countries allow women to serve\nin some capacity. Canada is the least restrictive in this regard, allowing\nwomen to serve in combat and non-combat roles; Germany is the most\nrestrictive, allowing women to serve in only the medical and music corps.\nPolicies permitting homosexuals to serve in the military in these countries\nhave been in place for a period of time ranging from 8 months in Canada to\n45 years in Israel.\nResults in Brief\nWhile many countries have no specific law or military regulation on\nhomosexuals serving in the military, of the 25 countries in our sample, 11\nhave policies that do not permit homosexuals to serve in the military, and\n11 have policies that do. Three of the countries do not have any laws,\nregulations, or policies that address this issue and did not provide\ninformation regarding homosexuals serving in the military. Other variables\nmay affect the service of homosexuals in the military. For example, most\ncountries set standards of conduct applicable to all military personnel.\nAlso, some countries place restrictions on known homosexuals who serve.\nOf the four countries we reviewed in more detail, Canada, Israel, and\nSweden have policies of not discriminating against homosexuals in the\nmilitary. Germany imposes restrictions on homosexual volunteers. In all\nfour countries, military policies concerning homosexuals developed over\ntime, reflecting changes in civilian law and societal attitudes toward\nhomosexuals. Most military officials and advocacy group representatives\nsaid that the countries' practices toward homosexuals in the armed\nservices were consistent with military policies.\nMilitary officials in all four countries said that the presence of\nhomosexuals in the military is not an issue and has not created problems\nin the functioning of military units. A key factor, they said, was that\nhomosexuals are reluctant to openly admit their sexual orientation for a\nvariety of reasons. For example, (1) sexuality is considered to be a private\nConscription is the requirement for a person to enroll for compulsory service in the armed forces.\nPage 3\nGAO/NSIAD-93-215 Homosexuals in the Military"
}