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Pentagon eases policy on gays, rebukes a general
By Julian E. Barnes
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials yesterday announced new policies that will cut down on the number of service members expelled each year for being gay - and admonished a general for urging soldiers to oppose changes to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The 1993 law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly requires the military to boot out members who admit they are gay or are proven to be gay in formal hearings. About 13,000 have been discharged under the law.
But changes announced by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will make it more difficult to expel gays.
The changes restrict the grounds for initiating an inquiry into service members' sexuality, limit evidence that can be used against them, and require that more senior officers oversee the process.
"These changes represent an important improvement in the way the current law is put into practice, above all by providing a greater measure of common sense and common decency," Gates said.
It was the first big step of a yearlong process. For the rest of the year, a task force is to study what the military needs to do to repeal the ban. Discharges will continue under the law during the review.
Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also took the unusual step of publicly chastising a three-star general for urging troops and their families to oppose the repeal.
Mullen said that remarks by Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, the commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific who urged opposition in a letter to a newspaper, were "inappropriate."
President Obama said in his State of the Union address that he would pursue a repeal of the ban. Soon after, Gates announced he would review the ban and work on ways to make enforcement of the law more humane.
In the weeks since, the leaders of the major military branches all have testified before Congress about the ban. While none endorsed repeal as explicitly as Mullen, only Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, said it should stay in place.
Conway's dissent did not irk Pentagon officials, who said the Joint Chiefs were expected to offer their opinions when asked by Congress.
However, senior military leaders were surprised by a letter to the editor earlier this month by Lt. Gen. Mixon.
In a letter to Stars and Stripes, a Pentagon-owned newspaper that is run independently, Mixon urged service members to write their elected officials and chain of command and oppose repeal.
"If there is a policy direction that someone in uniform disagrees with . . . you feel strongly about it, the answer is not advocacy, it is in fact to vote with your feet," Mullen said, suggesting Mixon ought to resign.
Under the changes announced by Gates, only general or flag officers - meaning admirals or generals - can initiate an inquiry into whether a service member is gay.
Gates' order also ends the practice under which information provided to lawyers, clergy, physicians, and psychotherapists can be used as evidence against service members accused of being gay.
By Julian E. Barnes
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - Pentagon officials yesterday announced new policies that will cut down on the number of service members expelled each year for being gay - and admonished a general for urging soldiers to oppose changes to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The 1993 law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly requires the military to boot out members who admit they are gay or are proven to be gay in formal hearings. About 13,000 have been discharged under the law.
But changes announced by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will make it more difficult to expel gays.
The changes restrict the grounds for initiating an inquiry into service members' sexuality, limit evidence that can be used against them, and require that more senior officers oversee the process.
"These changes represent an important improvement in the way the current law is put into practice, above all by providing a greater measure of common sense and common decency," Gates said.
It was the first big step of a yearlong process. For the rest of the year, a task force is to study what the military needs to do to repeal the ban. Discharges will continue under the law during the review.
Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also took the unusual step of publicly chastising a three-star general for urging troops and their families to oppose the repeal.
Mullen said that remarks by Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, the commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific who urged opposition in a letter to a newspaper, were "inappropriate."
President Obama said in his State of the Union address that he would pursue a repeal of the ban. Soon after, Gates announced he would review the ban and work on ways to make enforcement of the law more humane.
In the weeks since, the leaders of the major military branches all have testified before Congress about the ban. While none endorsed repeal as explicitly as Mullen, only Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, said it should stay in place.
Conway's dissent did not irk Pentagon officials, who said the Joint Chiefs were expected to offer their opinions when asked by Congress.
However, senior military leaders were surprised by a letter to the editor earlier this month by Lt. Gen. Mixon.
In a letter to Stars and Stripes, a Pentagon-owned newspaper that is run independently, Mixon urged service members to write their elected officials and chain of command and oppose repeal.
"If there is a policy direction that someone in uniform disagrees with . . . you feel strongly about it, the answer is not advocacy, it is in fact to vote with your feet," Mullen said, suggesting Mixon ought to resign.
Under the changes announced by Gates, only general or flag officers - meaning admirals or generals - can initiate an inquiry into whether a service member is gay.
Gates' order also ends the practice under which information provided to lawyers, clergy, physicians, and psychotherapists can be used as evidence against service members accused of being gay.
Not sure whether to be underwhelmed, or happy with this. Regardless of what I decide to make of this, at least it's still in the right direction.
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