John McCain's DADT Repeal Concerns Dismissed By Robert Gates

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has rejected Arizona Senator John

McCain's suggestion to put repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” up for a vote,

The Hill reported.

McCain, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has dismissed an upcoming Pentagon report on how to

implement repeal, saying that he wanted the Pentagon to study “the

effects on morale and battle effectiveness” on troops if the ban on gays

serving openly is lifted. He also said he wanted the opinions of the

service chiefs, who mostly oppose repeal of the Clinton-era law, to

weigh more heavily.

“I do not believe that military policy decisions – on this or any other

subject – should be made through a referendum on Servicemembers,”

Gates wrote to McCain in a letter dated October 25 but only recently

made public.

According to unnamed Washington Post sources, the report will show

that a large majority (more than 70 percent) of troops are okay serving

alongside openly gay troops.

Gates said he sought out the opinions of members of the military to

better “understand how a change in DADT policy may impact unit

cohesion, military readiness and effectiveness, recruiting and

retention, and family readiness.”

“This will ensure that we can properly advise the President and the

Congress on the impacts of a repeal and develop an implementation

plan that appropriately addresses any such impacts,” Gates wrote.

the Senate next week. In an apparent nod to McCain, Committee

Chairman Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, is also seeking the

advice of the four service chiefs touted by McCain.

Adamfoxie blog Int.