The 'don't ask' repeal has 'gone extremely well so far,' Clifford Stanley told the House panel. 'Don't ask' repeal on track

The military’s repeal of its longstanding “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is not facing resistance from troops and is on track to take full effect this fall as planned, top commanders told a House committee on Friday.

Clifford Stanley, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel that the military has trained 9 percent of its forces over the past month without any resistance to the new policy. He said he expects to complete training of all forces by this summer, which means the military can repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” sometime this fall, as planned.


“It has gone extremely well so far,” Stanley told the panel.

Top military officials commended President Barack Obama’s decision last year to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the executive branch’s decision gives the military more time to prepare for what he calls an “inevitable” policy shift. If a court had struck down the law, the transition would have been less orderly, he said.

Republicans who opposed a repeal argued that thousands of troops who aren’t comfortable serving with openly gay service members would quit in protest. The military hasn’t reported such an exodus.

Stanley and U.S. Navy Vice Adm. William Gortney, who also testified, said they hadn’t heard of any service members complaining about the new policy.

“I think we’re on the right path, and I think midsummer is achievable” Gortney said.

Republicans on the panel’s questions looked for a crack in the witnesses’ confidence, but Stanley and Gortney remained vehement that DADT repeal is necessary.

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a retired lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq, said he’s worried military leaders who resist implementation will be unfairly targeted.

“I want to make sure we do not go now on a witch hunt because of external social engineering interest groups,” he said.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), said he personally knew officers who will quit serving once the policy is implemented.

“You are going to lose, and this country is going to lose a lot of very, very valuable members of the military because of this social policy,” Scott told the commanders.

And Scott wondered aloud whether DADT repeal is even necessary. He said he suspected that the gay and lesbian military who have been discharged have likely violated other standards of conduct.

Gortney quickly rejected the hypothesis, telling Scott that he had himself dismissed a Navy officer in the early 1990s, shortly after the policy was implemented, simply because the officer had told his chaplain that he was gay.

The anecdote shocked Scott.

“He did not violate your standard of conduct?” Scott asked.

“No, sir,” Gortney replied.

“That’s not the answer I thought you would give,” Scott said.

To which Gortney said quickly: “It happens to be the truth.”