Report Finds Little Risk In DADT Repeal

A newly released Pentagon report greenlights the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and concludes that it will have little to no effect on military effectiveness if it is carried out with caution.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters Tuesday that he supports the study’s conclusions and urged the Senate to pass legislation that would allow the ban to be lifted once the repeal is formally approved by the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Secretary. The Secretary added that Congressional action would help deter the risk of additional judicial involvement in the issue, a nod to a temporary suspension on the policy put into effect by a California federal court last month.

“It is only a matter of time until the Federal Courts are drawn once more into the fray with the very real possibility that this change will be imposed immediately by judicial fiat, by far the most disruptive and damaging scenario I can imagine,” Gates said.

President Obama offered a similar appeal to the Senate and emphasized that he wants to sign the bill into law before the end of the year.

“With our nation at war and so many Americans serving on the front lines, our troops and their families deserve the certainty that can only come when an act of Congress ends this discriminatory policy once and for all,” Obama said in a statement.

When asked how long it would take for the military to put the necessary safeguards in place for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’s full repeal, Gates responded that he did not know, but noted that the President would be monitoring the military to ensure that they don’t drag their feet.

Both Secretary Gates as well as the military’s top brass are slated to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee this week, a panel that will include Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the chief critics of the repeal who has recently stated that the survey took the wrong approach by paying too little attention to the effects of lifting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

“I obviously have a lot of admiration and respect for Senator McCain, but in this respect I think he’s mistaken,” Gates said Tuesday. “In terms of the data and the views of the force, it’s hard for me to imagine you could come up with a more comprehensive approach.”

The report embodies a nearly 10 month long effort to survey thousands of servicemembers and their spouses on their attitudes toward the policy’s repeal. Although the study determines that there is concern among certain segments of the armed services that repeal would harm readiness, approximately seventy percent of those surveyed stated that it would have either a positive or no effect on unit cohesion.