The Palm Center has issued a scathing response to former Air Force Chief of Staff Merrill McPeak's op-ed in today's New York Times about gays in the military. It reads in part:Gen. McPeak claims that “advocates for gays in the service have by and large avoided a discussion of unit cohesion” which ought to be the main focus of the debate. This is simply false. There are at least twenty studies from the last fifty years, many written by the military’s own researchers, which find that gay and lesbian troops do not harm cohesion. As an article published by the ...

Today, a group of conservatives will try their hardest to make military fairness a major controversy. Meanwhile, those who are actually risking life and limb for their country will focus on what truly matters: After Tuesday's question-and-answer session, [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael Mullen] told McClatchy Newspapers that although he's held three town hall sessions with troops since his testimony, not a single service member has asked him about the issue [of Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal]. At Tuesday's session, which included not only Marines, but members of the Army and the Air Force, both ...

 Jonathan Karl asked Dick Cheney about the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on This Week. Cheney said he supports efforts to do away with it as long as the proper military protocol is followed.Said Cheney: "Twenty years ago the military were the strong advocates of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" when I was Secretary of Defense. I think things have changed significantly since then. I see that Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has indicated his belief that we ought to support a change in the policy. So, uh, I think my guess is the ...

    ::: The Palm Center, think tank at the University of California, Santa Barbara, announced today that it will convene a summit this Spring of officials and experts from military forces that allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly. Dr. Aaron Belkin, the director of Palm Center, noted in a statement that military forces in 25 countries now allow gay and lesbian members to serve openly. Officials from several of those countries, including Israel and several NATO member states, have been invited to join the summit, Belkin said. They will help the US Congress and Pentagon officials ...

More News for Thursday: Colin Powell on DADT; A Cheat Sheet for Straight Allies; Anti-Discrimination & Macedonia; Cameron on Gay Rights and Gay Refugees; Gender reassignment & Taxes; Gay NY teen’s harassment suit and more… DADT Update: CNN Political Ticker — Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State [...] ...

West Point Military Academy cadets must adhere to the Cadet Honor Code, which states "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."  In addition, the values of the U.S. Army are stated on the Army website as: "Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage."  However, the official policy of the the Army and the entire military toward gay soldiers is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  This basically means don't tell the truth about who you are.    Senator John McCain, though claiming respect and admiration for all soldiers (including the gay ones), calls the policy "effective."  He seems to be ...

When Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military, said under oath before a Senate committee that they were absolutely in agreement with President Barack Obama's pledge to... ...

Forgive me if I don't get too excited that Colin Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs who pressured President Clinton into signing Don't Ask Don't Tell into law, has now come around on the issue. Don't get me... ...

This is a big deal! The person who is single-handedly most responsible for the imposition of the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, then-Joint Chiefs of Staff head Colin Powell, has come out in favor of the approach favored by the current head of the military, Admiral Mike Mullen:In the almost seventeen years since the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed. The principal issue has always been the effectiveness of the Armed Forces and order and discipline in the ranks. I strongly believe that this is a judgment to be made by ...

The Family Research Council has printed yet another piece criticizing Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal. So in order for us all to get a better understanding of this group, we have decided to print their remarks, in full. Though we have made one teensy weensy wittle addition, incorporating recent developments that truly flesh out the FRC's mission: On DADT, Obama Orders Military to Fall in While the President plows ahead on his agenda with--or more likely without--the country's support, he could emerge from these fights with nothing more to show for it than the last Democratic President. But make ...

That the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is on Twitter? Or that this was his tweet for today?: Stand by what I said: Allowing homosexuals to serve openly is the right thing to do. Comes down to integrity.... ...

Perfect person to do Antia Bryant biopic for HBO? Gay “Sex & City” creator Darren Starr. Other world headlines: Joint Chiefs chair on “Don’t Ask,” trans man expecting, lesbian moms in the animal kingdom, and more. • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen (top photo, right), the military’s top uniformed officer, makes an impassioned plea to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gay soldiers serving openly. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (left) announced an official investigation into lifting the ban during the same testimony. • Pope Benedict XVI chides Britain for its gay-friendly laws in advance of his U.K. ...

The nation’s top two military officials told a Senate hearing this morning that they support repeal of the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, but said they’ll need another year of study before they could recommend ways to implement a repeal. “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed ...

The first "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hearing took place today around noon, and featured testimony from Joint Chiefs Chair Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who, as expected, announced that a year-long study into the repeal would begin. Gates indicated that a Washington Post story indicating that the military would ease on discharges provoked by outings by third parties was not correct. Gates said that additional study needed to be undertaken before that could happen.Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen offered this opening statement: "Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it ...

Perfect person to do Antia Bryant biopic for HBO? Gay “Sex & City” creator Darren Starr. Other world headlines: Joint Chiefs chair on “Don’t Ask,” Trans man expecting, lesbian moms in the animal kingdom, and more. • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen (top photo, right), the military’s top uniformed officer, makes an impassioned plea to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gay soldiers serving openly. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (left) announced an official investigation into lifting the ban during the same testimony. • Pope Benedict XVI chides Britain for its gay-friendly laws in advance of his U.K. ...

UPDATEDInteresting NYT article this morning on the forces — "a new generation in the military, a change in climate at the top levels of the Pentagon, pressure on the president from a critical interest group, even Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand’s anticipated Democratic primary battle in New York" — that have compelled the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' debate to finally begin. Also the timeline up till now. And the second part of this paragraph would be welcome news: On Tuesday, in the first Congressional hearing on the issue in 17 years, Mr. Gates and Admiral Mullen will unveil the Pentagon’s ...

Say what? A new AP article on the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal suggests it won't be complete until at least 2012: "The Defense Department starts the clock next week on what is expected to be a several-year process in lifting its ban on gays from serving openly in the military.A special investigation into how the ban can be repealed without hurting the morale or readiness of the troops was expected to be announced Tuesday by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While the review is likely to take the ...

A portion of the defense budget hearing will be set aside for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," DC Agenda reports: "Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) on Thursday told DC Agenda he’s reserving a portion of the budget hearing next week for lawmakers to ask questions on the 1993 law banning gays from serving openly in the U.S. military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen are set to testify at hearing, which is set for Tuesday. 'We’re going to have our hearing on the budget on Tuesday with Secretary Gates ...

“Studies have shown that three-quarters of service members say they are personally comfortable around gays and lesbians. Two-thirds say they already know or suspect gay people in their units. This raises important questions about the assertion that openly gay service would impair the military. In fact, it shows that gays and lesbians in the military have already been accepted by the average soldier. Additionally, at least twenty-five foreign militaries now let gays serve openly, including our closest ally, Britain. Although we lead rather than follow these militaries, there is no evidence suggesting that our troops cannot effectively carry out the ...

Time to ask and tell, say John and Kirsten: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 27, 2010 IN MESSAGE TO PENTAGON LEADERSHIP, GILLIBRAND, FORMER JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN SAY IT’S TIME TO REPEAL “DON’T ASK DON’T TELL” Top Military Leader Joins Broad, Growing Support To End Unjust, Harmful Policy Washington, D.C. – Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili today joined U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s call for action to finally end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by issuing the following statement urging top leadership at the Department of Defense to move forward on repealing the policy: STATEMENT FROM GEN. SHALIKASHVILI: "Thank you for the opportunity to ...