Marine Corps commandant on DADT repeal: concern about military readiness becoming “secondary to the discussion”

By Sean Bugg on February 24, 2010

“That’s what they have been built to do under the current construct and I would argue that we’ve done a pretty good job bringing that to pass. … My concern would be that somehow that central purpose or focus were to become secondary to the discussion.”

— Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Conway testifying before the House Armed Services Committee that his concern with repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is any possible effect it would have on what he deems military readiness and the “central focus” of protecting the country. However, Conway indicated he would not be an impediment to Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s plans to review and, presumably, repeal the ban on openly gay servicemembers. (Washington Post)

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