The Army's top commanders said Tuesday
the issue of repealing “don't ask, don't tell” needs more study,
POLITICO reported. The 1993 policy threatens gay and lesbian service
members with discharge if they do not remain celibate and closeted.
Testifying before Michigan Senator Carl
Levin's Senate Armed Services Committee, General George Casey, the
Army chief of staff, said he would withhold judgment on repeal until
a yearlong review on the issue being called for by Defense Secretary
Robert Gates is completed.
“I do have serious concerns about the
impact of repeal of the law on a force that is fully engaged in two
wars and has been at war for eight and a half years,” Casey
testified. “We just don't know the impacts on readiness and
military effectiveness and that's why I fully support what Secretary
Gates has laid out.”
Casey's remarks are at odds with a Palm
Center study released Tuesday that argues for swift repeal of the
law.
“This study shows that we already
have an enormous amount of information to guide this process, and
suggests that another year of analysis, or a years-long
implementation process, may be unnecessary,” Nathaniel Frank, the
principal author of the study, told On Top Magazine Monday in
an email.
The study, Gays in Foreign
Militaries 2010: A Global Primer, is the largest-ever to look at
how 25 foreign militaries integrated gay troops and concludes
that quick implementation is key to success.
“Swift, decisive implementation
signals the support of top leadership and confidence that the process
will go smoothly, while a 'phased-in' implementation can create
anxiety, confusion and obstructionism,” the report says.
The Army also opposes placing a
moratorium on the discharges of gay men and lesbians from the
military as Gate's review takes place. Casey said placing a freeze
on firings would “complicate the whole process.”
“This process is going to be
difficult and complicated,” Casey said. “Anything that
complicates it more, I think I would be opposed to.”
Arizona Senator John McCain, the
ranking Republican on the committee and a leading opponent of repeal,
agreed: “It flies in the face of what the defense secretary has
committed to.”
Appearing before the House Armed
Services Committee, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwatz
said Tuesday that he also backs waiting for the review before
proceeding.
“This is not the time to perturb the
force … without careful deliberations,” he said.