The needed are still being lost

Early last year the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, estimated it cost the Pentagon nearly $200 million to recruit and train replacements for the nearly 9,500 troops that had to leave the military because of [it's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"] policy. The losses included hundreds of highly skilled troops, including translators, between 1994 through 2003. Opponents of the policy on gays acknowledge that the number of those discharged is small. But they say the policy exacerbates a shortage of medical specialists in the military when they are needed the most. The article from the Associated Press is at MSNBC.com.