Tag: DADT

After hearing from senior military leaders that repeal posed no threat to the armed forces, President Obama certified the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” His signature of the certification sets in motion the open service of lesbian, gay and bisexual troops. The certification step was part of the legislation he signed in December and now after a 60 day period built into the law, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will be a relic of the past.

HRC President Joe Solmonese released the following statement:  “For far too long, the ban on openly gay service members has harmed our security and tarnished our values. The President’s certification of repeal is a monumental step, not just for those forced to lie in order to serve, but for all Americans who believe in fairness and equality.

“There are many people who brought this historic day to fruition starting with the President’s tremendous leadership and the steadfast allies in Congress who refused to give in to the lies and fear mongering. Additionally we thank all of the brave men and women who have continued to wear the uniform under a policy that forced them to hide who they are. The end of that shameful time is thankfully near.”
(via the HRC)

Julian Barnes, Pentagon reporter for the Wall Street Journal, is reporting via Twitter that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are expected to certify tomorrow that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “is consistent with the standards of military readiness and effectiveness, unit cohesion, and military recruiting and retention.”

The certification requirement was a key component of the compromise that allowed the repeal to finally move through Congress last December.

 The repeal will then go into effect 60 days after President Obama makes the same certification.

From ArmyTimes: The Pentagon has ordered a halt to all separations of gay troops under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and will begin accepting applications from prospective recruits who identify themselves as homosexuals.

The moratorium issued Friday came after a ruling Wednesday by a federal appeals court in California ordering the Defense Department to immediately stop enforcing the law. The court said the law is unconstitutional because it treats gay Americans differently under the law.

Meanwhile, defense officials will continue to prepare for the law’s formal repeal, which Congress approved in December. The law will be formally repealed 60 days after the defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs “certify” that it will not adversely impact military readiness.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he expected certification to occur in late July or early August.

It remains unclear whether the Pentagon will seek to appeal Wednesday’s court ruling, which would have to go to the Supreme Court, Pentagon spokesman Marine Col. David Lapan said Friday.

Troops are currently undergoing training programs to clarify the law and ensure a smooth transition to its repeal. Most of that training is expected to be completed by this summer, yet there is no requirement that 100 percent of the force must be trained prior to repeal, Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.

In an order issued by a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips’s judgment halting the worldwide enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a result of her decision in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States has been put back in effect.

After ruling in September that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips put an injunction in place to halt the enforcement of the military’s gay ban.

The injunction lasted for eight days until the Ninth Circuit placed a stay on the order upon request from the Justice Department, making gays once again unable to serve openly in the military.

The decision today reverses this decision and once again allows for open service.

Read more at Washington Blade

The Command Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. Micheal Barrett, the top non-commissioned officer, addressing Marines regarding the repeal of DADT:

“Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple,” he told a group of Marines at a base in South Korea. “It says, ‘Raise an army.’ It says absolutely nothing about race, color, creed, sexual orientation.

“You all joined for a reason: to serve,” he continued. “To protect our nation, right?”

“Yes, sergeant major,” Marines replied.

“How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honorable and noble?” Sgt. Maj. Barrett continued, raising his voice just a notch. “Right?”

Sgt. Maj. Barrett then described conversations with U.K. troops, who saw a similar ban lifted a decade ago, with little disruption. And to drive the point home, he produced a pocket copy of the Constitution.

“Get over it,” he said. “We’re magnificent, we’re going to continue to be. … Let’s just move on, treat everybody with firmness, fairness, dignity, compassion and respect. Let’s be Marines.”

There. That was pretty simple now, wasn’t it?

Thank you Sgt. Maj. Barrett.

An Air Force spokesman confirmed today that the secretary of the Air Force approved a discharge under the military’s ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on April 29 of this year. The discharge, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman, is the only such discharge since the Pentagon on Oct. 21, 2010, directed that DADT discharges would require the approval of the service branch secretary.

Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez wrote today to Metro Weekly, ”The only separation approved following the Oct. 21, 2010 policy change is an Air Force separation, approved Apr. 29, 2011.”

Air Force Major Joel Harper, an Air Force spokesman, clarified the specifics of the discharge to Metro Weekly, writing, ”On April 29th, 2011, the Secretary of the Air Force approved the discharge of an Airman under the provisions of 10 USC 654, after coordination with the DoD General Counsel [Jeh Johnson] and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [Stanley].”

Harper continued, ”Each of these officials evaluated the case carefully, and concluded that separation was appropriate. The Airman in the case asked to be separated expeditiously.”

Servicemembers United executive director Alex Nicholson, who stated that he was unfamiliar with this case, wrote, ”[T]he Department of Defense has made it abundantly clear that it is now virtually impossible to discharge someone who does not want to be discharged.”

Read more at Metro Weekly.

Repeal will not occur under the DADT Repeal Act until the president, defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify to Congress that the changes needed to implement repeal are ”consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.” At that point, a 60-day congressional review period must pass before 10 U.S.C. 654 – the DADT law – is taken off the books.

TIME Magazine has posted an essay by a gay soldier currently serving in our military.

He wrote about what it’s like to go through training regarding the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

I held my composure as I stood in the back of a small but crowded room with standing room only. The formal briefing was a slightly awkward attempt at a conversation between one of my superior officers and the 40 or so of us squeezed in that room. He was clearly not used to talking about the topic of homosexuality as he seemed uneasy, but his overall message was a good one: “Soon you will be working around openly gay people. This change is akin to the integration of blacks into the military and the key to a successful transition is professionalism and mutual respect.”

As with any other conversation about gays in a setting where I am not “out,” I found myself reverting to old defense mechanisms. I tried to laugh, but not too hard. I listened intently while trying to look as if I was barely paying attention. I looked to see how everyone else was reacting only to mimic their posture, their level of attentiveness, and their own reactions to the conversation.

A good friend of mine, also gay, was standing next to me throughout the briefing. We barely looked at each other the entire time. His posture was much like mine, only he didn’t laugh. He didn’t smile. There was a cold emptiness in him which I had rarely seen before. I guess that was his way of not drawing attention to himself.

For an institution that prides itself on integrity and honesty, it’s a bit tough to read how self-aware some of our soldiers have had to learn to be to hide who they are just so they can serve the country they love.

Read the whole essay at TIME Magazine.

Pentagon officials told a House subcommittee Friday that training for implementation of repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has gone “extremely well so far” and that certification to Congress might come by mid-summer.

Vice Admiral William Gortney said it was the judgment of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, that repeal “won’t have an impact.” “And I happen to believe that as well,” said Gortney.

In response to a question from Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) both Undersecretary Stanley and Vice Admiral Gortney said they expect the Pentagon will be ready to submit in mid-summer its required written certification to Congress that the military is prepared to drop implementation of the federal law banning openly gay people from the service.

President Obama, too, must submit written certification to Congress, saying he is confident the military is ready to implement repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Then, 60 days after his certification, and that of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, is submitted, the law will be repealed in practice.

“We don’t want to rush… and we don’t want to take forever,” said Stanley, adding that, “if something we didn’t anticipate” comes up prior to then, the military would take the time necessary to address it.

Both Houses of Congress in December passed, and President Obama signed, a bill to repeal the 1996 law prohibiting openly gay people from serving in the military. The measure stipulated that, before actual repeal of the law takes place, the Defense Department would conduct training to prepare its forces for the change.

(from LGBTQnation)