USA: Military chiefs warn it might be too soon to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military

Record ID: 277148

  • Title: USA: Military chiefs warn it might be too soon to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military
  • Date: 4th December 2010
  • Summary: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 2010) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) COAST GUARD COMMANDANT ADMIRAL ROBERT PAPP SAYING: "While I concur with the report's recommendations, prudence dictates that implementation must proceed with caution. I infer from the data relating to the coast guard that many coastguardsmen and their family members find gay and les
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Afghanistan, Usa, Latvia
  • City:
  • Country: Usa Afghanistan Latvia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4M1MSRA17FXLCSJ2IHNL6SKRK
  • Story Text: Sharply challenging the testimony a day earlier of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the top uniformed officers of the Army and the Marine Corps warned it might be too soon to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
    Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army chief of staff General George Casey said implementing a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" would be a major cultural and policy change in the middle of two wars.
    "It would be implemented by a force and leaders that are already stretched by the cumulative effects of almost a decade of war," Casey said.
    "The report clearly states that over 40 percent of our combat armed soldiers believe that the presence of a gay service member in their unit would have a negative impact on the unit's effectiveness, on the trust that the soldiers feel for each other and on their morale," he added, referring to a Pentagon study released two days ago that predicted little impact if the 17-year-old policy were ended.
    U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Thursday (December 2) rejected arguments that the military was too strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to integrate openly serving homosexuals.
    Casey's assessment was backed by Marine commandant Gen. James Amos who cited a study quoted in the Pentagon report that concluded a large percentage of Marines remained opposed to the ban.
    "Approximately 45 percent of marines viewed repeal negatively, regarding unit effectiveness, unit readiness and cohesion." Amos said. "These negative perceptions are held almost equally by all ranks within the combat arms communities."
    Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp supported the repeal of the law, but urged proceeding with caution.
    "Views within our service communities vary with some degree. We must therefore fashion an implementation strategy that takes into account the attitudes that vary among our commands based upon where our people live and where they serve together," Papp said.
    Homosexuals currently are allowed to serve in the armed forces as long as they keep their sexual orientation private. Obama campaigned for the presidency in 2008 on a pledge to fully repeal the law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
    The effort, however, faces a promised Republican procedural roadblock in the 100-member Senate, and it's unclear if Democrats can muster the needed 60 votes to clear it.
    The White House sees a narrow window of opportunity to get the ban repealed in the three weeks before the current Democratic-controlled Congress adjourns for the holidays and the new Congress takes power in January.
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