Read: Air Force, Coast Guard Memos To Soldiers On “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

OutServe, the underground network of LGBT active serving military personnel, provided The New Civil Rights Movement with these two emails, one from the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and one from the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, discussing the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and what they expect from service members.

I’m also told from one source that “everything has been positive,” and, evidently, there are a lot of straight soldiers offering their congratulations to some soldiers they know to be gay or lesbian.

So much for distractions, mass-exoduses, etc…

AIR FORCE:

From: CSAF
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 11:02 PM
Subject: Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Fellow Airmen,

Yesterday, the Senate passed HR 2965, a bill designed to repeal Section
654 of Title 10 of the United States Code, known as the “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” law.  Once the President signs the bill into law, the
Department of Defense will proceed to implement the change in a
responsible, deliberate, and careful manner.

It is important to understand that the President’s signing of the new
bill into law does not mean the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law will be
repealed immediately.  Instead, the Congressional language stipulates
that repeal occurs 60 days after certification by the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and the President that
the necessary policies and regulations have been prepared to implement
repeal and that repeal is consistent with standards of military
readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention of the
Armed Forces.  To repeat, the implementation and certification process
will not happen immediately; it will take time.  Meanwhile, the current
law remains in effect.  All Air Force members should conduct themselves
accordingly.

In the coming days and weeks as we prepare for the repeal, we will
provide education and training material to help all Airmen understand
what is expected in a post-repeal environment.

Effective leadership, however, is key to implementing this change and
success will rest on the shoulders of senior leaders like me,
commanders, chiefs, first sergeants, and supervisors.  The standards of
conduct we expect of all Airmen will not change.  Moreover, we will
continue to treat each other, as members of the Air Force family, with
dignity and respect.

I know each of you will approach this issue professionally and that you
will continue to adhere faithfully to our core values of Integrity,
Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do.   By following our
core values, we will successfully implement this change with the same
unparalleled professionalism we have demonstrated with every
transformation we have undertaken in peace and war.

NORTON A SCHWARTZ
Chief of Staff

COAST GUARD:

From: Brice-O’Hara, Sally VADM
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 1:19 PM
Subject: Senate Vote to Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Shipmates,

As you may be aware, yesterday the Senate voted to repeal the “Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell” law.  When implemented, this repeal will allow gay and
lesbian Americans to serve openly in the military.  As the Commandant
and I have stated in the past, we believe this action to be in full
alignment with our Service’s core values and the Commandant’s guiding
principle of respecting our shipmates. The repeal is the right thing to
do; our shipmates will no longer be forced to hide or even lie about
their sexual orientation.

After this repeal action is signed into law by the President, the Coast
Guard will continue to work with the Department of Defense and the other
Armed Services on setting the course for this change.  Within our
organization, the Commandant and I anticipate that we will embark on a
carefully paced implementation strategy that will afford respect for all
of our shipmates while ensuring the highest level of professionalism and
mission execution.

As the Commandant and I have said in the past, we do not harbor the
slightest doubt that the men and women of the Coast Guard are up to the
task of implementing the change associated with this repeal.

Semper Paratus,

VADM Sally Brice-O’Hara
Vice Commandant