Press Releases

Senator Webb, chairman of the Armed Services Committee Personnel Subcommittee, issued the following statement today following his vote against an amendment that would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” prior to the completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) comprehensive review:

"Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen have both stated that military men and women in all services and at all levels should be engaged as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is reviewed.  For this reason, in February DOD instituted a comprehensive review process that they viewed to be important in their roles as the senior leaders of the Department of Defense.  The Obama Administration agreed with the importance of this process in its letter of May 24, stating that ‘ideally the Department of Defense Comprehensive Review... would be completed before the Congress takes any legislative action.’

"DOD reaffirmed this position in a statement on May 25: ‘Secretary Gates continues to believe that ideally the DOD review should be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law...’ The chiefs of all four military services also concur in this view.

"I agree with this viewpoint.  I have met personally with the officials in charge of this review, and communicated my own observations regarding the comprehensive survey that will be a part of this review.  I see no reason to pre-empt the process that our senior Defense Department leaders put into motion, and I am concerned that many members of the military would view such a move as disrespectful to the importance of their roles in this process."

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Excerpts from letters sent this week by the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines:

“I remain convinced that it is critically important to get a better understanding of where our Soldiers and Families are on this issue, and what the impacts on readiness and unit cohesion might be, so that I can provide informed military advice to the President and the Congress,” said General George W. Casey, Jr., U.S. Army.  “I also believe that repealing the law before the completion of the review will be seen by the men and women of the Army as a reversal of our commitment to hear their views before moving forward.”

“We need this review to fully assess our force and carefully examine potential impacts of a change in the law.  My concern is that legislative changes at this point, regardless of the precise language used, may cause confusion on the status of the law in the Fleet and disrupt the review process itself by leading Sailors to question whether their input matters,” said Admiral G. Roughead, U.S. Navy.

“I encourage the Congress to let the process the Secretary of Defense created to run its course.  Collectively, we must make logical and pragmatic decisions about the long-term policies of our Armed Forces – which so effectively defend this great nation,” said General James T. Conway, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

“I believe it is important, a matter of keeping faith with those currently serving in the Armed Forces, that the Secretary of Defense commissioned review be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the DA/DT law.  Such action allows me to provide the best military advice to the President and sends an important signal to our Airmen and their families that their opinion matters.  To do otherwise, in my view, would be presumptive and would reflect an intent to act before all relevant factors are assessed, digested and understood,” said General Norton A. Schwartz, U.S. Air Force.