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Gates, Mullen Testify On Gays In The Military
February 2, 2010 - by Eric Naing
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint of Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen are testifying right now before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Pentagon’s plan to roll back “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
According to Marc Ambinder, Gates will announce a series of steps building up to the eventual end of the policy.
According to an administration official, the most visible of those steps will be to revise the rule that allows third parties — other soldiers or outside accusers — to “out” soldiers and precipitate investigations that lead to their dismissal. Basically: if someone else outs you, you won’t be dismissed.
President Obama reconfirmed his commitment to work with Congress to end “don’t ask, don’t tell” in his State of the Union address last week – a statement that Sec. Gates, if not the rest of the Joint Chiefs, visibly applauded.
Watch the hearing live on C-SPAN here.
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Comments
I would like to start out by saying that I completely support homosexuals’ right to serve in the armed forces. There is no reason why sexual orientation should disqualify someone from serving, which is why I also support repealing the rule allowing 3rd parties to out another soldier by disclosing the homosexual soldiers’ sexual orientation. However, I believe that the Don’t ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) repeal should end at this juncture. There is no reason to assume that explicitly stating sexual preference will enhance a soldiers’ ability to operate effectively, and is simply an irresponsible effort to initiate during a very serious period of war. I am not saying that repealing DADT WILL lower morale or destroying unit cohesiveness, but I think given the current engagement our military is participating in, this is hardly the time to experiment with militaristic ideals. 1,000+ retired, experienced military personnel oppose the repeal and I can’t imagine outsiders being more informed.