A senior aide to General David
Petraeus, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, has said service
members unable to cope with repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”
should consider leaving the military.
Command Sergeant Major Marvin Hill made
his comments in an interview with Roland Martin on Washington
Watch, which airs Sundays on cabler TV One.
“If there are people who cannot deal
with the change, then they're going to have to do what's best for
their troops and best for the organization and best for the military
service and exit the military service, so that we can move forward –
if that's the way that we have to go.”
Pointing to a Pentagon report that
endorsed repeal of the 1993 law that bans gay and bisexual troops
from serving openly, Hill added that he believes troops are ready for
the change.
“I'm thinking that the troops are
ready for something like this. They are well led,” he said.
“Senior leaders are the ones that are going to set the tone in the
unit and enable the unit to move forward.”
In testimony before a Senate panel,
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
echoed a similar sentiment: “Should repeal occur, some soldiers and
Marines may want separate shower facilities. Some may ask for
different berthing. Some may even quit the service. We'll deal with
that.”
Senate Republicans last week blocked a
defense bill – which includes language to repeal the law – from
moving forward. A
group of bipartisan senators, led by Connecticut Senator Joe
Lieberman, have since introduced a standalone measure that would end
“Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”