The Pentagon is scheduled to release a plan today that will outline the changes that must be made in the military in order to implement the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT). The plan outlines changes to regulations on recruitment, training, housing, and the discharge of troops.
The Department of Defense (DOD) announced plans to hold separate trainings for senior administrative officials and personnel officers, commanders, and personnel. Although each branch of the military will hold separate trainings, the trainings would be nearly the same in content.
Under the plan, it will take about three months to train personnel and “full implementation of the law could begin later this summer,” according to the Washington Post. Once the training is complete, the President and his top military advisors must certify that repeal of DADT won’t hurt military readiness. Sixty days after this certification, the new law goes into effect. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told the New York Times that “I’m confident we can get it done this year, and we’re shooting to get it done sooner rather than later.”
The Pentagon also reiterated that the Defense Department could not recognize same-sex marriage because the federal government does not. “As a result,” according to the New York Times, “the implementation plan does not allow a same-sex spouse to live with a partner in military housing, although it holds out the possibility that exceptions could be made. The plan also says that same-sex spouses would not be eligible for the military health care benefits of their partners.”
