House Subcommittee Talks DADT Repeal Implementation with Pentagon Officials
[Photo: House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee members listen to testimony about the implementation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act. (Photo by Chris Geidner.)]
Today, testifying before the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley laid out a plan that could end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy by September – although he would not giver a specific date.
Stanley also told the subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), that his assessment of the implementation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act is that there have been “no issues or problems with training, and all is going well.”
The director of the Joint Staff, Vice Adm. William Gortney, concurred, saying, “Thus far, no surprises and we’re pretty pleased with where we are.”
Stanley added that he “anticipate[s] the training will be completed by this summer.” The Pentagon officials detailed that about 9 percent — or 200,000 — of servicemembers have been trained thus far. Gortney later clarified, noting, “We anticipate about mid-summer … to get the recommendations from the service chiefs to the chairman.”
Facing questions from antagonistic Republicans and supportive Democrats, the hearings featured some of the more extreme factions of both caucuses.
The most notable Republican question at the hearing came at the end, when Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) asked a line of questions that did not go as intended — and led to only slightly muffled laughs from the mostly pro-repeal audience. (Incidentally, this was not Scott’s first noted run-in with the Pentagon this week, with the first detailed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)
Watch Scott’s back-and-forth with Gortney …
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
