WASHINGTON – A new report released today by Servicemembers United has raised doubts about the credibility of an open letter supporting the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that was orchestrated by the Center for Military Readiness and signed by over 1,100 retired flag officers.

The report, entitled "Flag and General Officers for the Military: A Closer Look," discloses the preliminary results of an ongoing Servicemembers United initiative to research and validate the letter's signatories.

“Those of us who are familiar with the distortions often promulgated by Elaine Donnelly and the Center for Military Readiness have long suspected that this list is not completely legitimate,” said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United.

“Not only do we now have evidence that this list is peppered with inconsistencies and errors, but we have also uncovered a number of scandals and controversies associated with members of this list which indicate gross failures of judgment and leadership by some of its members."

The "Flag and General Officers for the Military" list, released by the Center for Military Readiness in early 2009, is purported to support the claim that those who know the military best, overwhelmingly believe that repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law will hurt unit cohesion and morale.

What is not honestly disclosed by proponents of this list, however, is that the overwhelming majority of its signers have never even served during the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" period, and even fewer have ever served in the 21st century military.

The report reveals that the approximate average age of the list's signers is 74, with the oldest living signer having been born in 1911 and having entered into military service in 1930. The report also reveals that several signers deny ever agreeing to be on the list and/or now confess that they no longer wish to remain a signatory.