Gates says study on gays should include troops
Anne FlahertyDefense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that a Pentagon review of how the ban on openly gay military service could be lifted must involve troops and their families at all levels of the armed forces without ensnaring them in the political debate.
In a memo outlining a sweeping nine-month study, Gates said the assessment should be done by Dec. 1.
"It is critical that this effort be carried out in a professional, thorough and dispassionate manner," Gates wrote. "Given the political dimension of this issue, it is equally critical that in carrying out this review, every effort be made to shield our men and women in uniform and their families from those aspects of this debate."
The internal assessment is the first of its kind since 1993, when the Pentagon adopted its "don't ask, don't tell" policy based on a law banning service members from acknowledging that they are gay.
Gates announced the effort last month — the first specific action from the Obama administration toward lifting the ban. As a candidate, President Barack Obama had pledged to abolish the ban.
The review is led by Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson and Army Gen. Carter Ham in charge. Ham is head of U.S. Army Forces Europe.
The pair are to testify before a House Armed Services Committee panel on Wednesday, where some Republicans are expected to complain that the Pentagon has prejudged the outcome of the review. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen went on record last month in favor of lifting the ban.
The panel's top Republican is also unhappy with the selection of the RAND Corp. think tank to do much of the legwork for the study, which will solicit opinions and make recommendations about practical and legal ramifications of lifting the ban, as well as the effect on morale, fighting readiness, recruitment and other issues.
In an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press, a staffer for top Republican Rep. Buck McKeon of California, told Pentagon officials working on the review that the company had "significant shortcomings" in past work analyzing the issue and had partnered with a group advocating repeal last year.
"Given RAND's track record on this issue, there is no way that any study it produces can be called credible or objective," staffer John Chapla wrote.
RAND spokesman Jeffrey Hiday said the company did not work side by side with the pro-repeal group last year.
"A RAND researcher did some work on her own time" for the Palm Center, Hiday said, and is no longer doing so. "RAND has no ideological perspective. We approach every problem by focusing on the facts, and analyzing the facts."
The Pentagon review will focus primarily on three areas: changes to legislation, education and training and policy, a senior defense official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the work of the study is largely confidential, said each area will be assigned a working group to be led by a senior civilian and a one- or two-star general.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Greg Biscone has been appointed the group's executive director.
Separately, Johnson is looking at ways to be more lenient in enforcing the existing policy. Those recommendations are due later this month.
While several Democrats want an immediate freeze on dismissals under the policy, some Democrats have joined Republicans in opposing a repeal.
Testifying before Congress last week, the services' top uniformed officers said they were reluctant to impose such a major upheaval at a time of two wars. The paramount concern was military readiness, they said.
Gates' answer to this reluctance has been to move slowly. Last month, he announced that the Pentagon would first study the impact a repeal might have on troop effectiveness.
According to Tuesday's memo, Gates says the study also should look at whether the Pentagon would have to rethink the benefits it provides troops and how it trains them.
"Should Congress take this action, strong, engaged and informed leadership will be required at every level to properly and effectively implement a legislative change," he wrote.
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AP National Security Writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report.