(CBS) The so-called "don't ask don't tell" policy is supposed to allow gays to serve in the military as long as they keep quiet about their sexual orientation.

But figures released by the Pentagon Friday show 1,212 servicemen and women were discharged for homosexual conduct last year, a 17 percent increase — the highest number since the "don't ask ,don't tell" policy began in 1993, reports CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin.

Of last year's total, all but 106 of the discharges were cases in which military members stated their homosexuality. The others were discharged for homosexual acts.

The military permits homosexuals to serve so long as they do not engage in homosexual conduct or state their sexual preference.

Pentagon officials say they don't know what to make of the numbers. One possible explanation officials give is that gays are simply using the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as a quick and easy way of getting out of the military.

But an advocate for gay military personnel disagrees.

"The Pentagon's view that people are just coming forward voluntarily is just not accurate. In fact people are being forced out of the closet because of the overwhelming amount of harassment that they are experiencing," said Dixon Osborne of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

By far the biggest increase was in the Army, where discharges for homosexual conduct more than doubled. The base with the most discharges was Fort Campbell, Ky., scene of the infamous 1999 case of Private Barry Winchell, who was first taunted for being gay and then murdered.

The Air Force, on the other hand, showed a 50 percent drop in discharges for homosexual conduct, and officials attribute that to a change in procedure that makes it harder for new recruits to bail out of basic training simply by saying they're gay.

However the numbers are interpreted, it seems clear the military is still coming to grips with the thorny issue of gays in uniform.

The Pentagon gave this breakdown, by service:

• Army: 573 total discharges, compared with 271 the year before. Of the 573, all but 35 were troops who stated their homosexuality. The rest were people the Army said engaged in homosexual conduct.
  
  
• Navy: 358 total discharges, up from 314 the year before. Of the 358, all but 42 were for homosexual statements.
  
  
• Air Force: 177 total discharges, down from 352. Of the 177, all but 19 were for homosexual statements.
  
  
• Marine Corps: 104 total discharges, up from 97 a year earlier. Of the 104, all but 10 were for statements.

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