Chief of Staff Mike Mullen 'Surprised' By James Amos' Public Objection To DADT Repeal

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said

Monday that he was “surprised” by General James Amos' public comments

against repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the 1993 law that bans gay

and bisexual service members from serving openly, the AP reported.

Amos, the new commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, told the Los

Angeles Timesthat he was opposed to repeal of the law that has

ended the military careers of more than 13,000 gay service members.

“There's a risk involved,” Amos, who assumed the helm two week

ago from retiring General James Conway, said. “I'm trying to determine

how to measure that risk. This is not a social thing. This is combat

effectiveness.”

Barack Obama, both of whom have urged Congress to repeal the policy.

A Pentagon study on repeal, which includes a controversial survey of

how troops and their families feel about the issue, is due on

December 1.

Mullen said military leaders had committed to “look at the data and

then make our recommendations privately.”

“I was surprised by what he said and surprised he said it publicly,”

Mullen told reporters in Australia, where he is attending defense

and diplomatic meetings.

Amos' predecessor, General James Conway, has also strongly objected

to repeal of the law. “90 to 95 percent of the Marines” are against repeal,

he told Fox News, citing impromptu surveys he had conducted by

a “show of hands” at town hall meetings. Previously he had suggested

that the Marines would consider separate quarters for gay service

members if Congress repeals the policy, explaining that Marines don't

want to bunk with gay service members because they are “very

religious.”

Opponents of the policy are urging lawmakers to repeal the law

during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress before new

members take their seats in January. A Republican majority in the

House, and greater numbers in the Senate, will make repeal much more

difficult in the next Congress. Arizona Senator John McCain has

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