Blizzard warnings in Northwest Minnesota, winter weather advisories across the state

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is tapping two
seasoned Pentagon officials to lead the military's first in-depth
study on allowing openly gay service members, promising to try to
spare more troops from being dismissed in the meantime.

      An announcement of the study, expected Tuesday before the Senate
Armed Services Committee, marks a measured step toward President
Barack Obama's goal of eliminating the military's "don't ask,
don't tell" policy, which is based on a 1993 law.


      Obama has called on Congress to repeal the law, but Democrats
say they want more guidance on how to allow openly gay service
members to serve without causing a major upheaval.

      The yearlong study could pave the way for the biggest social
change to the military since the 1948 executive order for the
racial integration of units.

      While his promise is being hailed as a good start by gay rights'
activists, Obama is finding resistance in several corners. Some
high-ranking military officers are reluctant to embrace the change
while troops are stretched thin at a time of two wars.

      For their part, Democrats in Congress are unlikely to press the
divisive issue until after this fall's midterm elections.

      This will probably satisfy Gates, who has long suggested that
change shouldn't come too quickly. In a speech last year at the
Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., he noted that the executive
order for racial integration took five years to implement.

      "I'm not saying that's a model for this, but I'm saying that I
believe this is something that needs to be done very, very
carefully," he said.

      According to U.S. officials, the senior-level study will be
co-chaired by a top-ranked civilian and a senior uniformed officer.
It would recommend the best way to lift the ban, starting from the
premise that the goal will take time to accomplish but that it can
be done without harming the capabilities or cohesion of the
military force, officials said.

      The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the
emerging Pentagon plan ahead of Gates' announcement during his
Senate appearance alongside Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff.

      One U.S. official said Gates and Mullen will outline a more
lenient standard for enforcing the current ban, as Gates had said
last year he would consider. The interim policy would make it
harder for a third party to turn in a gay service member and would
raise the standard for evidence that the service member is gay
before the person could be dismissed.

      Under the 1993 law, engaging in homosexual conduct - even you
don't tell anyone - can been enough to qualify a person for
dismissal. The law was intended as a compromise between
then-President Bill Clinton, who wanted to lift the military's ban
on gays entirely, and a reluctant Congress and military that said
doing so would threaten order.

      According to figures released Monday, the Defense Department
last year dismissed the fewest number of service members for
violating its the policy than it had in more than a decade.
Overall, more than 10,900 troops have been fired under the policy.
The 2009 figure - 428 - was dramatically lower than the 2008 total
of 619.

      David Hall, a former Air Force sergeant, said he was discharged
in 2002 after someone else reported that he was gay.

      "That ended it," said Hall, who now works for a gay rights
advocacy group. "Just like that, based off what one person said,
ended my dream of getting to fly planes."

      In addition to addressing the military's policy on gays, Gates
and Mullen planned to outline the military's $768 billion budget
for 2011 and another $33 billion requested in war spending this
year.

      Both Gates and Mullen were expected to underscore the importance
of succeeding in Afghanistan, where Obama has ordered 30,000 more
troops.

      "Our future security is greatly imperiled if we do not win the
wars we are in," Mullen said in prepared remarks.

      Further, he added, "the outcome of today's conflicts will shape
the global security environment for decades to come."

Gallery

Social Issues

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is tapping two
seasoned Pentagon officials to lead the military's first in-depth
study on allowing openly gay service members, promising to try to
spare more troops from being dismissed in the meantime.


Gates to announce review of military gay ban

Go Deeper.

Like this?