"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Takes Effect

Sexual orientation will no longer be a barrier to serving in the U.S. military, and those ousted from service on that basis can now reapply, the Pentagon said Tuesday, the first day of the repeal of the controversial law known as don't ask, don't tell.

The action won't change the day-to-day operations of the military, including working and living arrangements, officials said.

Don't ask, don't tell—the policy that kept openly gay and lesbian personnel from serving in the military since 1993—was discriminatory, President Obama declared in a statement Tuesday.

"As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love," the president said.

Republicans waged an unsuccessful campaign to delay the implementation of the repeal. Appeals by GOP House members to Secretary of Defense Leon Panneta had no discernible effect.

In comments reported by Stars and Stripes, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, who strongly advocated for the policy's repeal, said the law was “against everything we stood for as an organization, forcing people to lie to wear a uniform. We’re better than that." 

Beyond the military itself, service academies, ROTC and similar programs can no longer consider sexual orientation or lawful acts of homosexual conduct in their entry decisions.

Those separated under the old policy and who reapply for service will be held to the same standards as other candidates, said Army Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton, chief of staff for the Pentagon’s repeal implementation team, according to a Defense Department news release. Hiring decisions will be based on service needs.

With the repeal, Patton said gay and lesbian service members can designate who they want under benefits that include the Serviceman’s Group Life Insurance.

He said other benefits, such as service members' housing allowance, are limited by law and covers only opposite-sex spouses, but the Defense Department is studying whether same-sex partners can be covered under other types of benefits not constrained by statute.

The department has not decided if same-sex partners can use military morale, welfare and recreation facilities, for example, he said.

Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said in a press release that a sailor's sexual orientation will continue to be a personal, private matter. No one will be asked or be required to state what that orientation is.

Roughead praised the preparation by Navy personnel that went into the implementing the repeal.

"I know your superb professionalism will continue in the post repeal environment as our Navy continues to be a positive, inclusive environment for all," he said.

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