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US Army Chief considers gays in the military
Admiral Mike Mullen
US Army Chief explores possibility of Donââ¬â¢t Ask Donââ¬â¢t Tell repeal
"A spokesperson for Barack Obama told The Washington Post last month that no decision had been made in regard to the timing of any proposed ban, but there is speculation that it could be as late as 2010"
Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff is apparently looking into the changes in the military should openly gay and lesbian people be allowed to serve.
Currently the military prevents anybody who "demonstrate(s) a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from joining the United States armed forces. The policy, commonly called Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, forbids commanding officers to ask personnel about their sexual orientation. However if a serving member of the military is found to be lesbian, gay or bi-sexual they will be sacked.
But Admiral Mullen has suggested that the current ban is likely to be repealed. He said last month:
"The President-elect’s been pretty clear that he wants to address this issue… I am certainly mindful that at some point in time it could come."
President-elect Barack Obama has made it clear that he back a repeal. He told the Gay History Project in September:
"I want to make sure that when we revert ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell,’ it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of that, of what my expectations are, so that it works,"
"Although I have consistently said I would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be.”
A spokesperson for Barack Obama told The Washington Post last month that no decision had been made in regard to the timing of any proposed ban, but there is speculation that it could be as late as 2010 - when the US proposes to pull troops out of Iraq.
So far over 12,000 troops have been dismissed under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law. The Pentagon recently revealed that the US Armed Forced are so short of doctors, nurses and linguists that they have approved a pilot scheme allowing them to recruit up to 1000 foreign nationals to fill the roles.
