1 of 4 | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Jeh Johnson, general counsel at the.Defense Department and co-chairman of the Comprehensive Review Working Group, and Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the United States Army Europe and co-chairman of the Comprehensive Review Working Group, testify before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing regarding a Defense Department report on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy concerning homosexuals in the military on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 2, 2010. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg |
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain held fast to his opposition to repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, saying the change could mean trouble for some troops.
Because the nation is at war and the Pentagon's report on repealing the law barring gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military raised several issues, "we should be inherently cautious about making any changes that would affect our military, and what changes we do make should be the product of careful and deliberate consideration," McCain, R-Ariz., said in his opening statement Thursday during an Armed Services Committee hearing. "I'm not saying that this law should never change. I am simply saying that it may be premature to make such a change at this time ... ."
McCain said he was troubled by what the report didn't ask -- such as troops' views on repealing "don't ask, don't tell" -- and "by the fact that this report only represents the input of 28 percent of the force who received the questionnaire ... . That's only 6 percent of the force at large."
McCain also expressed concern about the percentage of military personnel indicating they would have trouble if the law were repealed.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he believes the concerns could be mitigated "with proper time for preparation, for training, whether it's before deployments or after deployments ... ."
"Well, I couldn't disagree more," McCain shot back. "We send these young people into combat. We think they're mature enough to fight and die. I think they're mature enough to make a judgment on who they want to serve with and the impact on their battle effectiveness."
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also spoke before the committee, saying he served with gays and lesbians throughout his career.
"I went to war with them aboard a destroyer off the coast of Vietnam. I knew they were there. They knew I knew it," Mullen said. "We never missed a mission, never failed to deliver ordnance on target."
Mullen said the Pentagon would "deal with" possible issues of separate shower and berthing facilities, and possibly people quitting the service.
Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Ill., said repealing "don't ask, don't tell" was the right thing to do.
"'Don't ask, don't tell' is an injustice to thousands of patriotic Americans who seek only the chance to serve the country they love without having to conceal their sexual orientation," Levin said.
The committee heard comments from Gates, Mullen and the co-chairmen of the Pentagon's working group, Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Johnson and Gen. Carter Ham.
The committee also will hear from the vice chairman of the joint chiefs and the chiefs of the five military services.
