"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Moves Forward

Despite Objections of Military Leaders

EP News--- On May 27, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill to overturn the law on homosexuals in the military known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” On the same day, the House voted 234-194 to repeal the 17-year-old policy that prohibits openly homosexual persons from serving in the armed forces.
The approval of this amendment came despite the fact that on May 26, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama reportedly came to a compromise that would delay any repeal until the December deadline for the Pentagon report and the president’s review.

Also, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had sent letters to Congress asking legislators to hold off on any effort to repeal the 1993 law and policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), until the Pentagon can finalize a review of the matter.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen had sent a letter to the House Armed Services Committee earlier this spring asking members to put off action on the repeal of the DADT policy until the Pentagon could complete a review and get military members’ opinions. The compromise calls for repeal immediately after the review, regardless of the findings.

Retired Gen. Jack Sheehan, a former commander in chief, said the deal bypasses what should have been an open debate. “What this process is saying to (service members),” he said, “is that their views, concerns, insights and perspective do not matter.”

Gen. James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps., said in his letter that an organized and systematic approach was the best. “We must make logical and pragmatic decisions about the long-term policies of our Armed Forces – which so effectively defend this great Nation,” he wrote. “The value of surveying the thoughts of Marines and their families is that it signals to my Marines that their opinions matter.”

In February, Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of Naval Operations, testified that a thorough review by the Department of Defense was the best way to understand the impact a repeal of DADT would have on troop readiness and unit cohesion. “My concern,” he wrote in a letter this week to Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., “is that legislative changes at this point, regardless of the precise language used, may cause confusion on the status of the law in the Fleet and disrupt the review process itself by leading Sailors to question whether their input matters.”

One of the concerns about the “compromise” plan is that it does not require the president to weigh the results of the Pentagon’s review when making his final decision on the repeal.
Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the Air Force, said all information should be considered.

“Such action allows me to provide the best military advice to the President,” he wrote. “To do otherwise, in my view, would be presumptive and would reflect an intent to act before all relevant factors are assessed, digested and understood.”

Reports out of Washington today revealed that leadership in the House of Representatives planned to only allow 10 minutes during debate on the issue of the repeal amendment. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said he could not support the push to repeal. “The American people don’t want to see the American military used to advance a liberal political agenda,” he said, “especially when the men and women who serve in our military haven’t had a say in the matter. I urge this Congress to stop and put our priorities in order.”

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said such a rush to judgment is unheard of for such a massive policy change in the military. “I doubt there has ever been an incident in history comparable to this,” she said in a statement. “Military leaders have the duty to follow orders from civilian authorities, but Congress has a corollary responsibility to give appropriate respect to the professional opinions of uniformed leaders on a matter of policy that is still unresolved.”
(5/27/2010)

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