Secretaries must now OK DADT separations - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Secretaries must now OK DADT separations

For now, all decision-making authority for kicking openly gay troops out of the military will be placed in the hands of civilian political appointees, according to Defense Department rules announced Thursday.

The move came after a federal court on Wednesday gave the Pentagon the go-ahead to resume barring gays from serving openly.

According to the rules issued by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday, only the service secretaries can authorize a separation under the law, and the secretaries have to consult with the Defense Department’s top attorney and the undersecretary for Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

All of those officials are civilians appointed by the president. And, perhaps most importantly, the secretaries can’t delegate that job to staffers — they have to sign off themselves.

That’s meant to “ensure uniformity and care in the enforcement of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law and policy during this period of legal uncertainty,” a senior defense official said Oct. 21.

Previously, general and flag officers were required to sign off on most separations of gay enlisted service members, and secretaries were required to authorize only the release of gay officers.

The rules may change again soon, if and when the courts make additional rulings, officials said.

The new rules cap a roller-coaster ride for top Pentagon officials, who were forced to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military Oct. 12 when a federal judge declared the policy unconstitutional.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” says gays may serve but only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret.

President Obama said last week that the Clinton-era law “will end on my watch” but added that “it has to be done in a way that is orderly, because we are involved in a war right now.” He said he supports repeal of the policy, but only after careful review and an act of Congress.