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Hearings On Nomination Of General Clifford Stanley to DoD Post Likely To Be Crucial To Debate On DADT

10/22/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway wants to hear from his generals as to what they think of ending the law known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Perhaps he should consider asking the man who will soon outrank him, at least in civilian terms. Retired General Clifford Stanley has been nominated to be the Undersecretary of Defense in charge of Personnel and Readiness. This makes General Stanley the man in charge of enforcing DADT, and he is a man who has been endorsed by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

The SLDN offered this statement regarding the appointment of Gen. Stanley, a former Marine: “There were indications of seriousness of purpose on DADT repeal today by this White House with its intent to nominate an Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Dr. Stanley is likely to be the President’s key Pentagon player in the DADT debate and will be critical for the President in getting military uniform buy-in. Historically, the position of Under Secretary of Defense provides oversight of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Gen. Stanley served for thirty-three years in the Marine Corps, and was the first African-American to command a regiment. He retired in 2002 as a two star general. Since leaving the service, he has served as the president of Scholarship America, the largest non-profit scholarship organization in the country.

Gen. Stanley’s position on DADT is unknown, but it seems unlikely that the man who could be in charge of dismantling the law’s enforcement would be openly supportive of it.

In March, General Conway began to poll his generals about DADT, and it would be interesting to find out whether or not he included any retired generals such as Gen. Stanley in that. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York anticipates that the nomination hearing for Gen. Stanley will be the opening salvos in terms of the public discussion on ending DADT. Gillibrand spokesperson Matt Cantor stated “The Senator’s view is that this will be the hearing to watch and a critical prelude to the public debate about ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’”

There is, of course, some resistance among the older generals in the military regarding ending DADT. The typical reason why people oppose it is concerns over ‘unit cohesion’ even though there is no evidence to support that, and the evidence actually points to the law being more disruptive to unit cohesion than if the law were scrapped.

In 2001, General Stanley stated to an audience listening to a speech he gave for African-American History Month “I still feel it, still see it,” Stanley told the audience. “For example, I’m the person who goes into the company office and the first sergeant does everything but pay attention to me. I’m the person who goes into supply and the sergeant and his NCOs continue to chitchat and drink coffee, kind of ignoring me….Things change, and that’s one of the most beautiful parts of American society.”

General Stanley has also felt the problems of prejudice and violence first hand. In 1975, he and his family were victims of a sniper who killed his uncle and left his wife paralyzed. It was his wife who encouraged him to remain in the military and to not let this horrific incident force him into abandoning the life he was building.

Senator Gillibrand is correct, irregardless of the views of General Stanley, the upcoming confirmation will be the beginning of the push to end DADT and allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military openly.

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