Military leaders last week briefed members of Congress on the lifting of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” reporting the transition to be progressing smoothly.
In a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee April 7, the leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps testified that they had faced few challenges in implementing the change that will allow openly gay members to serve, with training expected to wrap up this summer.
Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, a vocal opponent of the lifting of the policy, testified that while he had foreseen problems arising from the repeal, “the reality is that we’ve not seen them.”
The Marine Corps has trained all of those in leadership positions and about half of the regular force, with training expected to be done by June 1.
Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said training of his branch should be completed by July 1 and that he’s confident the Navy will be able to handle the change.
“Combat effectiveness is what we provide the nation, and repeal will not change who we are or what we do,” he said.
Air Force training is about 15-percent completed and is also expected to finish this summer, while Gen. Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army, did not provide an exact timeline for his branch.
The service leaders were pressed by several Republican members of the committee, who continued to decry the lifting of the policy.
Committee chair Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said Congress made a “rush to judgment” in passing the repeal legislation in the lame-duck session last year and suggested that the training and education process is moving too quickly.
Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, said after the hearing that, while the progress reported was positive, the proceeding itself was unnecessary.
“The Joint Chiefs have now made it abundantly clear to lawmakers that they are comfortable with this policy change and that they are satisfied with their respective services’ preparations for this policy change,” Nicholson said. “This should be the last waste of their time and taxpayers’ resources to try to undo the inevitable. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is going away, and we will have a stronger military and a stronger nation as a result.”
Full repeal cannot go into effect until President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen certify that the military is trained and prepared for the lifting of the 17-year-old policy, a decision expected to be signed off on this summer.
Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), however, is seeking to halt that process with his recently introduced bill, which would put in place additional stipulations for certification.
Hunter’s measure would require the heads of each respective service branch to also be included in the certification process and agree that the policy change would not harm unit cohesion or effectiveness of their branches.
Hunter’s bill has 24 cosponsors, including Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Kelly (R-3rd Dist.), and was committed to the Armed Services Committee.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].