Less than a month after his historic election, Obama has already assembled almost half of his Cabinet, moving with record speed to establish an experienced, and tested team that can handle the challenges he will face from day one.

Today he officially announced key members of his national security team, nominating Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, selecting Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, nominating Eric Holder as Attorney General, nominating Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, nominating Susan Rice as Ambassador to the United Nations and selecting General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret) as National Security Adviser.

So how do these picks bode for us LGBT’s, especially his picks for Secretary of Defense and National Security Adviser in relation to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?



In a 2008 Washington Post–ABC News poll, 75% of Americans, including 80% of Democrats, 75% of independents, and 66% of conservatives, said that openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military.

In February 2005, the Government Accountability Office released estimates on the cost of the policy. Cautioning that the amount may be too low, the GAO reported $95.4 million in recruiting costs and $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops discharged from 1994 through 2003

In another study done in 2006, a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission including Lawrence Korb, a former assistant defense secretary during the Reagan administration, former Defense Secretary William Perry, a member of the Clinton administration, and professors from West Point U.S. Military Academy concluded that figure should be closer $363 million, including $14.3 million for "separation travel" once a service member is discharged, $17.8 million for training officers, $252.4 million for training enlistees and $79.3 million in recruiting costs

President- Elect Obama has said he opposes Don't Ask, Don't Tell and has promised to seek its repeal. Now however, Obama has back away from this a bit and in September said he wanted to get consensus with the Joint Chiefs of Staff before he moves forward in repealing DADT and the Gates and Jones selections could signal that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is being put on the back burner, at least for the near future.

But we do have friends in high places.

Last year when the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace told the Congress that he thought gays were immoral, I have it from a very good source that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was not very happy that the General was speaking his mind on this subject and this statement was probably the final nail in Pace’s coffin with respect to his re-appointment as the Joint Chiefs boss and he was not recommended for a second term in that post.

Gate’s hand picked successor for Pace, Admiral Michael Mullen, who has been far more receptive to changing the military’s position on gays and he has told Congress,

I really think it is for the American people to come forward, really through this body, to both debate that policy and make changes, if that's appropriate.”

Mullen also said last year, when speaking to graduating cadets at West Point, "that Congress, and not the military, is responsible for the 'Don't ask, don't tell'.

But publicly Gates himself has not been altogether favorable to this change, and has said that with two wars going on now is not the time to make such sweeping changes in Pentagon Policy.

The new National Security Adviser, General Jim Jones, has not said much publicly on 'Don’t Ask Don’t Tell', but he is a very good friend and a key adviser to Colin Powell, who took Bill Clinton on over this issue in 1993, forcing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell compromise currently in force today when Powell was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff .

Today I also asked my dad… er I mean… my pentagon source… a retired US Air Force General who works for Secretary Gates, about the appointments and what it might mean for LGBT’s he told me this…

Mark my words; the test that Barack Obama will face in the first months of his presidency will have nothing to do with foreign policy. It’s will to come from the military if he pushes change on the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy too fast. The secretary and many serving generals are not interested making the military a social laboratory. He needs to win them over, but if change is going to come, it will probably not come directly from Obama, it will come because Congress mandated that change."

But whilst Obama is likely to “play kick the can” on the issue of gays in the military for while, in December 2007, 28 retired generals and admirals urged Congress to repeal the policy. They cited evidence that 65,000 gay men and women are currently serving in the armed forces, and that there are over 1,000,000 gay veterans. Last month a group of 104 retired admirals and generals, including my pentagon source, signed a letter urging Obama to repeal Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

My dad… er I mean… my Pentagon source also said…

Secretary Gate knows I and many other very respected names signed that letter, and he knows there is a lot of support for change now, particularly amongst more pragmatic officers; we need good people and many Generals and Admirals can be heard in the Pentagon often quoting Barry Goldwater when he said ‘I don’t care if your straight, I just care if you can shoot straight’. If the Congress tell him to change, trust me he will change and he will make it happen quickly.”

So if I read my dad ….er I mean… my Pentagon source right…. Getting Congress in gear on DADT is going to be what we have to do if we want change.

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on February 28, 2007. The stated purpose of the bill is "to amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as 'Don't ask, don't tell', with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."

Sponsored by Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA) it also has 142 cosponsors.

On March 28, 2007 the House Committee on Armed Services sent the bill to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel and has remained in that subcommittee with no further action being taken on it...

The present member of that subcommittee are: Democrats Susan Davis, Chairman, of California,Vic Snyder of Arkansas, Loretta Sanchez of California, Nancy Boyda of Kansas, Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire, Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts and Republicans John M. McHugh, the Ranking Member of New York, John Kline of Minnesota, Thelma Drake of Virginia, Walter B. Jones (my Congressman)of North Carolina and Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

You can bet I will be giving Congressman Jones a call.

And you should be contacting your congress people as well... tell them the Generals and Admirials say it is ok with them if DADT passed into history, so what are they waiting for?

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