Generals Say Don't Act Too Fast to End 'Don't Ask'

WASHINGTON (Feb. 23) -- The top officers of the U.S. Army and Air Force told lawmakers Tuesday that they should go slow in repealing the military's ban on openly gay service members, parting ways with the nation's senior uniformed officer who testified earlier that it was "the right thing to do."

"I do have serious concerns about the impact of repeal of the law on a force that's fully engaged in two wars and has been at war for 8 1/2 years," Army Gen. George Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We just don't know the impacts on readiness and military effectiveness."

Across Capitol Hill, Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz echoed that sentiment. He told the House Armed Services Committee it was his "strong conviction" that "this is not the time to perturb the force that is at the moment stretched by demand in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The service chiefs' testimony comes less than three weeks after Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy threatened the integrity of the military by forcing gays and lesbians "to lie about who they are" in order to serve their country.

Though Mullen made it clear he was expressing his personal view, his call with Defense Secretary Robert Gates for a one-year review of the policy was widely seen as a turning point in the debate. Since then, retired Gen. Colin Powell -- who led the opposition to overturning the military's blanket ban in 1993 -- Gen. David Petraeus and the top military commander in Iraq have all weighed in as favoring a policy change.

Yet the reluctance of the service chiefs -- Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway testifies Wednesday but is believed opposed to any change -- could guarantee that President Barack Obama's goal of overturning the policy won't come before a full one-year review is completed.

Both generals opposed a moratorium on discharges while the military studies whether and how to repeal the law banning gays from serving openly. Gates has instructed Pentagon lawyers to review regulations and report back by next month on changes that can be made under existing law to enforce the policy "in a more humane and fair manner" that would bar revenge outings by jilted lovers and other third parties with a grudge.

But Casey and Army Secretary John McHugh told senators a moratorium would cause confusion by putting existing cases in legal limbo.

"This process is going to be difficult and complicated enough," Casey said. "Anything that complicates it more, I think, I would be opposed."

The generals were warmly received by Republican Sen. John McCain, who earlier had been accused of flip-flopping on the issue when he discounted Mullen's testimony after saying he would abide by the opinion of military leaders.

McCain said a moratorium on dismissals before the yearlong study is completed "flies in the face of what the defense secretary has committed to."

The latest salvo in the war over gays in the military came as a new study by the Palm Center showed that in the 25 foreign militaries that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, the transition created "no negative impact on morale, recruitment, retention, readiness or overall combat effectiveness." Among the countries studied were U.S. allies such as Britain, Canada and Israel.

Nathaniel Frank, the study's author, said the generals' concerns are overblown given that 20 studies over more than 50 years -- including three commissioned by the Pentagon -- show the presence of gay and lesbian service members has had little impact on military readiness.

Casey, Schwartz and other service leaders have said they will follow orders and abide by any changes in the law or policy handed down by the president.

But Frank said the generals, whose positions don't jibe with growing public support for lifting the ban, are employing "the thorny question strategy" favored by opponents of change.

"It's the strategy of people who are trying to stonewall on this. It was the same strategy they tried in 1993," he said, referring to the reaction when President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gays and was forced to compromise by letting gays serve if they remain closeted. "Then it worked. Now it sounds more like an old talking point than a genuine concern."