AF secretary backs repeal of gay ban - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

AF secretary backs repeal of gay ban

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Thursday he supports the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” putting him at odds with the service’s top uniformed leader.

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has stated that he does not support repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the military, at least not until more research is conducted by the Defense Department. President Obama advocated for the abolition of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in his State of the Union address in January, and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen also supports repeal.

Donley publicly laid out his views on the policy for the first time during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

“I support the president’s efforts to change the policy and change the law in this area,” Donley said in response to a question from committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. When Levin asked if Donley personally supported repeal, Donley said yes.

Asked later by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., whether service members should be discharged solely because of sexual orientation, Donley said they should not because unit cohesion “does not depend on gender or orientation, it depends on conduct.”

Under pressure from Lieberman to answer the same question, Schwartz said “the answer is more complex than yes or no.”

Schwartz repeated the position he laid out before the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 24, saying it “is not the time to perturb the force stretched by combat operations.” Schwartz declined to state an opinion on repeal under questioning from Lieberman, citing the need for more data. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who backs repeal, has ordered the four service branches to complete a review of the policy by Dec. 1.

Schwartz said there are “possible complications” and “things that have not been thoroughly thought through” about repeal, such as its impact on benefits, discipline and cohabitation.

He added that “any interim change would not be wise,” in reference to a bill filed Wednesday by Lieberman and Levin that would immediately lift the ban on gays serving openly.

Donley didn’t offer an opinion on the bill at the hearing, but later said through a spokesman that like Schwartz, he opposes a moratorium on “don’t ask, don’t tell” and supports Gates’ review.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., praised Schwartz and the other service chiefs — all of whom have cited a need for further review of “don’t ask, don’t tell” — for standing up and stating their opinions under what he called “intense pressure” to support repeal.

Levin was less favorable in his comments to Schwartz, seizing on a comment the chief made early in the hearing about not knowing the current views of airmen and their families on the issue.

“I hope you talk to some of your airmen who were discharged solely because of their sexual orientation … who have led units and been highly decorated,” Levin told Schwartz. “I think it’s just an unconscionable policy.”