Asia-Pacific
Defense officials say lift military ban on gays
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-02-03 09:45
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Mullen looked pained when Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., suggested that the Joint Chiefs chairman had preordained the outcome of any study by signaling his own opposition to the ban.
"This is about leadership, and I take that very, very seriously," Mullen replied, tightlipped.
Tuesday's session gave Obama high-level cover on a divisive social issue complicated by the strains on an all-volunteer military force fighting two wars.
Gates, who says he is a Republican, is the only member of former President George W. Bush's Cabinet whom Obama asked to stay on. He has gained a reputation for both candor and caution. Mullen's words were a forceful endorsement from a careful man, and his very appearance, starched uniform and four stars on view, made a statement as well.
Gates said change was inevitable and called for a yearlong internal study into how it would occur.
He told the senators he understood that any change in the law was up to them. But he made it clear he believes it is time to do away with the 1993 policy, and by implication the outright ban on gay service that preceded it. Alongside Mullen, that put the Pentagon's top leadership at odds with uniformed leaders a rung or two below, as well as with and also with senior members of Congress.
"No matter how I look at the issue," Mullen said, "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." Noting that he was speaking for himself and not for the other service chiefs, Mullen added: "For me, it comes down to integrity - theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."
Gates has appointed a four-star Army general, Carter Ham, and his own chief legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, to conduct the assessment. He also has requested legal advice on how the military can relax enforcement standards of the current policy.
McCain, the ranking Republican on the panel, bristled at the Pentagon decision to pursue the study, saying he was "deeply disappointed" and calling the assessment "clearly biased" in presuming the law should be changed.
Democrat Mark Udall said his Colorado constituents pride themselves on allowing others to live and let live.
"You don't have to be straight to shoot straight," said Udall, quoting longtime Arizona Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater.
The tenor of the hearings could change significantly when lawmakers hear from other senior military officials. Each of the service chiefs is expected to testify this month on his 2011 budget, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway is said to have serious concerns about the upheaval that a change to "don't ask, don't tell" could cause.
Rep. Ike Skelton, a conservative Democrat from Missouri who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, says he thinks it would be ill-advised to pursue such a major shake-up at a time when forces are consumed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mullen said it was his sense that rank-and-file troops would support the change.
"I have served with homosexuals since 1968," Mullen said in response to questions from Republican Sen. Sessions. "There are a number of things cumulatively that get me to this position."
Scott Duane Fair, a former Army helicopter flight engineer, voiced his strong objection to repeal in a comment posted on the Army's official Facebook page, saying straight service members shouldn't be forced to share sleeping quarters and showers with those who are openly gay.
In a phone interview, 30-year-old Fair said he had a troubling experience as a young private when a higher-ranking soldier propositioned him in a California barracks room. Fair said he reported the incident to commanders, who took no action.
"For somebody to go around flaunting their sexuality is going to make a lot of people more uncomfortable," said Fair, who left the Army in 2001 because of a disability.
On the other hand, Jason Jonas, a 28-year-old former Army staff sergeant from Tempe, Ariz., said he knew of openly gay soldiers in his intelligence unit at Fort Bragg, but their lifestyle never affected unit morale.
"I don't think it is anybody's right to say who can and who can't fight for their country," said Jonas, who served in Afghanistan before being hurt. He is no longer in the Army. "Nobody cares. Don't ask, don't tell is kind of a joke."
As for the leaders of the study:
• Ham is a former enlisted infantryman who rose through the ranks to eventually command troops in northern Iraq in 2004 and hold senior positions within the Joint Staff. Recently, he helped conduct an investigation into the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.
• Johnson, as the Pentagon's top legal counsel, has played an integral role into the effort to try to close the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
