Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says he sees no reason why the certification of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) couldn’t be complete by the end of this month, and fully implemented by September. Gates, Defense Secretary under two presidents, since December, 2006, is leaving office at the end of this month.
“I think people are pretty satisfied with the way this process is going forward,” Secretary Gates said, adding that there’s been little fallout from the training or news of repeal. “I think people have been mildly and pleasantly surprised at the lack of pushback in the training.”
President Obama signed the bill that paved the road for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in December last year.
“SLDN is pleased to see Secretary Gates clearly state that he is prepared to certify ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal before he leaves his post at the end of the month, SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis stated. “After nearly six months of preparation and training, we join the Secretary in expressing confidence that the military is, indeed, ready for open service. Hopefully, with the bulk of the training completed in all of the services, the service chiefs are rapidly approaching the point where they can officially recommend to the JCS Chairman Michael Mullen, Secretary Gates, and to the President that the time has come to make the long anticipated certification. The time to certify ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal is on Secretary Gates’ watch.â€
The Republican-led House of Representatives recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual spending appropriations bill for the military, and attached three anti-gay amendments to the bill. The Senate would have to pass a companion bill, and the President would then be forced to either sign the bill or veto it, along with the financing of the military.
One week ago gay and lesbian Reps. Barney Frank (D-​MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-​WI), Jared Polis (D-​CO), and David Cicilline (D-RI), sent a letter to President Obama asking him to make it “explicit†that he would veto a bill that would undermine his repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
The question becomes, can Gates and the President certify the repeal of  Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before the Senate votes on the bill?
It’s important to note that the military has been training its members for months on effects of repeal, and the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the repeal signed in December, must certify the military is in a position to implement repeal and that repeal will not harm military readiness before the policy and the law are dropped. After implementation is certified, the military must wait an additional 60 days before implementing the repeal.