Gates wants a DADT Repeal Plan by Next Week

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he needs the repeal plan developed and rett to go by February the 4th.

Washington Blade reports:

In a five-page memorandum dated Jan. 28 and obtained by the Blade, Gates tasks Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness Clifford Stanley with devising a strategy to “facilitate the timely and orderly realization” of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal by next Friday.


Gates emphasizes that open service will be implemented throughout the services at the same time, squelching concerns about whether repeal would happen in the military in a graduated process.


“This is not, however, a change that should be done incrementally,” Gates writes. “The steps leading to certification and the actual repeal must be accomplished across the entire Department at the same time, and consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.”


President Obama on Dec. 22 signed legislation allowing for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but open service won’t take effect until he, the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the U.S. military is ready. After certification takes place, a 60-day waiting period must pass before gays can serve openly without fear of discharge.

Please read the memo below
Implementation of Repeal from DADT