— The nation’s top uniformed officer said Tuesday that he supports
allowing gays to serve openly the military, providing a powerful voice
of support for President
Launching a formal process to change the longstanding policy, the
also announced a review that will examine the effects of a policy
change along with alterations in military benefits, rules and
facilities might be needed to allow gays to serve openly in the armed
forces.
The review could take up to a year and will fuel
concerns among advocates for gay service members that any change will
be slow in coming about.
Adm.
that the military still needs to conduct a review to determine how to
prepare for a dramatic policy change. Nonetheless, he said his personal
views were firm.
“Speaking for myself and myself only, it is my
personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would
be the right thing to do,” Mullen said.
Mullen’s views are particularly important in the
debate. It was one of his predecessors in the post of Joint Chiefs
chairman, Gen.
In 1993, Powell called the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy a “healthy compromise.” But in
At Tuesday’s
Gates did not take any immediate action to change
how the current law is enforced, although he said he intended to make
some changes in the next 45 days.
“The question before us is not whether the military
prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it. We have
received our orders from the commander-in-chief and we are moving out
accordingly,” Gates said. “However, we also can only take this process
so far as the ultimate decision rests with you, the
Sen.
“Numerous military leaders tell me that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is working and we shouldn’t change it now,” McCain said.
Mullen is the first sitting Joint Chiefs chairman ever to endorse repeal of the ban. Mullen’s predecessor, Marine Gen.
But attitudes within the military have been
shifting, particularly among younger service members but also with more
senior officers. In 2007, retired Army Gen.
a onetime Joint Chiefs chairman, announced he would support allowing
gays to serve, although he was long retired when he adopted that
position.
Gates said the review will be conducted without
“preconceived views, but a recognition that this will represent a
fundamental change in personnel policy.” Gates said the team would work
to ensure the change could be made with minimal disruption to the
military’s work.
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was enacted into
law in 1993 and allowed gays to serve in the military, but only if they
do not reveal their sexual orientation and only if no one learns of it
and makes a complaint. Hundreds of service members are discharged each
year for violating the policy.
Mullen said the Joint Chiefs understood Obama’s desire to overturn the ban and were developing advice for the
“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape
being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces
young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their
fellow citizens,” he said.
One question the review will address is how to
handle concerns about lifting the ban while the military is in the
midst of fighting two wars, Mullen said.
“The Chiefs and I also recognize the stress our
troops and families are under, and I have said many times before —
should the law change — we need to move forward in a manner that does
not add to that stress,” Mullen said.
Mullen has been chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group comprising the top uniformed officers in the
since 2007. Throughout his tenure, he has emphasized the importance of
providing honest military advice to the president while also saying
military officials must follow the will of political leaders. He
touched on that theme Tuesday.
“We will continue to obey that law, and we will obey
whatever legislative and executive decisions come out of this debate,”
Mullen said.
Gates said he understood some advocates for gays might be frustrated with the long review period, but said the
“An important part of this process is to engage our
men and women in uniform and their families over this period since,
after all, they will ultimately determine whether or not we make this
transition successfully,” Gates said.
Gay rights groups and veterans organizations that have advocated a repeal of the ban have pushed the
Under current policy, accusations that a service
member is gay can trigger an investigation and lead to discharge. There
are few restrictions on who can accuse a service member of being gay.
Opponents of the law want to make it more difficult to file a complaint
against a gay member of the military who attempts to hide his or her
sexual orientation.
Some have suggested only senior officers should be
allowed to make such a charge, while others have said no one outside a
service member’s chain of command should be able to level a formal
accusation.
Last year, Gates had said he would review how to
enforce the police in a more “fair and humane manner” But he has taken
no action to change the rule.
Gates said Tuesday that he believes the
has “a degree of latitude” to change the internal procedures. But he
any new rules would await the outcome of a 45 day assessment.
—
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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
