By That is what Defense Secretary Robert Gates is saying:
President Barack Obama, Pentagon leaders and even former Vice President Dick Cheney think it’s time to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. But a repeal is probably years away.
The two Defense Department officials appointed to lead a yearlong internal assessment – Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, and Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s chief legal counsel – met for the first time Feb. 9.
As that study gets under way, officials were expected by mid-March to suggest ways to relax enforcement of the law. Of particular interest is minimizing cases of “third-party outings,” where a service member is kicked out after being reported by others to be gay. [Stars & Stripes]
Actually the third party outing talk is nonsense when a gay officer outs himself on national television willfully violating established standards and is asked to come back.
The protracted timeline is about more than giving military leaders time to assess the impact on troops and put new rules in place. The multiyear process also is a strategic way of getting troops used to the idea before they have to accept change. Politically, the timeline puts off congressional debate over lifting the ban until after elections this fall.
If this repeal is so popular with the American people as claimed than why is Congress putting this off until after the elections?
The goal, according to senior defense and military officials, is to avoid the backlash that could result from imposing change too fast. While officials expect resistance from only a minority of service members and believe that it could be contained with discipline, officials fear isolated incidents of violence could erupt as a means of protest.
I seriously doubt soldiers are going to resort to violence because of the repeal of DADT. Gays are serving right now and it is usually pretty obvious who they are. If gays are treated just like everyone else in the military it will not be an issue. It will be special treatment that some are expecting that will cause problems.
4:00 am on February 15th, 2010 1
Possibly Congress is putting this off until after the election because they are wondering if they can use "Gay Issues" as campaign fodder instead of real issues like the economy.
6:13 am on February 15th, 2010 2
Interesting that a Korean American is the "poster boy" of repealing DADT.
8:04 am on February 15th, 2010 3
The US military officials who are out front and going along with the Obama Administration on this are selling out the men and women in uniform. Everyone knows that this is all about political paybacks for contributions in the last election and NOT about what's best for the people in uniform.
1:44 pm on February 15th, 2010 4
The future is clear.
DADT will continue to be the official policy while reluctant military "leadership" spends years "studying" it with icky expressions on their faces…
…yet publicly, all smiles while professing how homosexuals make a valued contribution to Today's Modern Tolerant and Diverse Armed Forces.
Programs to quietly increase "awareness" will be put into place whenever possible…
…which will score faaaabulous points with an upper management more concerned with career advancement based on temporary feel-good politics rather than real leadership or the best overall long-term interests of America or it's military…
…but these time/money/opportunity-wasting programs will irritate the common soldier… who will start to wonder why it is becoming more and more socially and legally discouraged to knock one off in a girl working Downtown… but getting a piece from the guys you work with is shown to be acceptable… and, maybe, encouraged…
…and there will even be mandatory Saturday morning training at some point which, in almost the same breath, will profess the evils of prostitution and then promote the wonders of homosexual tolerance. Everyone will shake their heads in disbelief. "Leadership" will not see the irony here… or, if they do, careerism will compel them to ignore it.
The Ick Factor moves up a notch for everyone involved…
…except liberals and politicians who have made a life-long effort to avoid anything related to the military… except to tell it how to run its business based on their ideals.
During this time, DADT will remain but it won't actively be enforced… unless someone starts getting all undeniably faggoty and demanding attention for it… which will keep the twinks from getting too prissy and keep the hissy fits to a minimum.
Average old you-know-I-am-but-I'm-not-in-your-face-about-it homosexual servicemembers will either be accepted by the general population, or not, during this phase-in period. They probably will be… just as they are now… the difference being that now everyone pretends they don't exist.
So even after a few inevitable hate crimes and a few "he kept coming on to me" murder defenses, there will be a general acceptance of homosexuals by a younger generation raised with the constant yammer of Diversity and Tolerance and No Matter What You Do, It's Appropriate and Special.
The politicians and upper "leadership" will conclude that the study has determined DADT is an outdated policy… and it will be dropped… and homosexuals will be made into another official minority that everyone is scared to death of giving the appearance of discriminating against.
…or it won't be… and things will go on as they are… but it won't matter because, by then, Obama will be replaced by a gay-hatin' Republican…
…so the whole process will be delayed… and have to start over again in a few years after the Republicans screw it up so badly that another Democrat is elected, once again, out of desperate wishful thinking.
It seems so simple.
6:39 pm on February 15th, 2010 5
I just keep picturing R. Lee Ermey's "Private Pyle eating the jelly donut" speech in "Full Metal Jacket", except this "speech" is about being pro-gay.
That's generally how "policy changes" are introduced to lower enlisted, anyway. Usually someone yells at everyone about it and then someone gets punished for something as an example.
12:31 pm on February 17th, 2010 6
It has begun.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&am…
Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had a 25-minute question-and-answer session with (handpicked) troops.
Nobody even asked about Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).
When he brought it up, "those gathered at Marine House made it clear they've already accepted the idea of gayys and lessbians serving among them."
Really? Nobody shook their fists and told him they didn't want to shower with none o' them dammn fagggots?
That's a shock.
…and, of course, Stars & Strips duly reported the "facts"… yet followed the rapidly emerging unofficial policy…
…leaving the impression that American servicemembers where eagerly awaiting the footlocker doors to swing open and homosexxual servicemembers to prance forth in a shower if rainbow glitter and breathless screams of, "faaaabulous".
In fact they quoted a 14-year staff sergeant as saying, "We have lost good soldiers because of that because [sic] they wanted to be who they are. It's sad."
Awww… so sad… especially the methhead soldier who apparently speaks with no periods or semicolons… or the reporter who failed to notice his pause and include one in the reporting of a "reputable" publication. Whatever.
As far as letting gayy soldiers "be who they are"… well… that is a matter of opinion. There is a difference of "who they are" in a bar and a gayy bar. Right now, the military is more like the bar.
In a glaring omission, this one-sided report by Stars & Stripes didn't get the obligatory opposing view from Private Bubba P. Nascar…
…who would of said, "What? They wanna put some peeterpuffer in my tent with me? I'll kill dat diicksmokin' sumbittch. I'll kill 'em. Dammn right, I will."
No, gentlemen. Everyone is on the program. The wheels of change are turning…
…and they are rapidly picking up speed.
Enjoy the ride.
3:55 am on March 25th, 2010 7
The first shots have been fired…
…and the Homosexual War of Liberation is about to claim its first victim.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&am…
12:24 pm on March 25th, 2010 8
The double standard has begun!
"Pentagon makes discharging gays tougher"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36025959
The Pentagon should strive to make ALL servicemembers tougher… not just vinegar-stroking gays.
…or maybe MSM just has lax editors.