Now he says it is a failed policy. It was a failed policy when it was instituted because, while gays have served in the military, it has always been with the understanding their private lives had to remain that way if they were to avoid being discharged. Gays make heterosexuals nervous. Their sexual orientation runs counter to the natural interaction between men and women. That impacts morale significantly and negatively.
Morale is absolutely necessary in a profession where people are asked to risk their lives.
The notion that this nation or any nation can fight a war with a military composed of homosexuals and women is idiotic . Only in isolated instances throughout the long history of warfare can one find any example of this. In World War II having lost 27 million of their population, the Soviets used women to repel the Nazi invasion. The US used Women in World War II to undertake tasks that freed men to do the actual fighting. These were exceptions to the rule.