'Don't Ask' Repeal Plan

Service Secretaries Receive 'Don't Ask' Repeal Plan

Feb. 11, 2011 – Pentagon officials today sent the Defense Department’s implementation plan for repeal of the law commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the service secretaries with a March 1 deadline for their first progress update.

Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, issued the plan, which outlines the stages of action, including those actions that must be completed before the department reverses the policy barring people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual from serving openly in the military.

During a Jan. 28 news conference on the implementation plan’s progress, Stanley stressed that Defense Department officials had coordinated closely with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard to craft a plan designed to ensure the continued smooth operation of the services during repeal.

“We are fundamentally focused right now on our leadership, professionalism, discipline and respect,” he said.

The plan issued today closely follows previously released guidance on implementing repeal. The plan does not give dates for the implementation phases; defense officials repeatedly have said the process will be “conditions-based” and will go forward based on the services’ progress, including the training of their people and updating policies.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ initial guidance stressed the importance of “strong, engaged and informed leadership” at every level to implement the repeal, which he said should take place “properly, effectively, and in a deliberate and careful manner.”

“This is not, however, a change that should be done incrementally,” the secretary’s guidance said. “The steps leading to certification and the actual repeal must be accomplished across the entire department at the same time.” {continued}