Army Secretary John McHugh said yesterday that repeal of DADT would not lead to “major turmoil” in the Army. This statement from an extraordinarily high ranking official within the Pentagon flies in the face of claims by Elaine Donnelly and other DADT champions who chaos and revolt would ensue if gays were permitted to serve openly.
The statement came during a wide-ranging interview with Rick Maze of Army Times. Here’s the relevant section of the interview:
McHugh finds himself at the center of debate over Obama’s pledge to repeal the law banning open service by homosexuals.Army Secretary John McHugh
In the interview, McHugh carefully avoided offering his personal views on the issue, saying his job now is to provide input to Obama on how to make the change and to talk with members of Congress about the issue. Selling the idea to Congress, which has the final say, could depend on exactly what the administration tries to do in terms of the timing of repeal and how it is applied, McHugh said.
It’s possible, for example, that homosexuals could be allowed into some occupations or units but barred from others, McHugh said, stressing that he was not aware of any such plans but only discussing how the issue might play out.
“I don’t want to prejudge the situation,” he said. “I am saying if he did that, it would be my job to explain it when the appropriate time comes.”
When asked specifically if lifting the gay ban would seriously disrupt the military, as predicted by those who oppose repeal, McHugh said there is no reason to think major turmoil would ensue.
“Anytime you have a broad-based policy change, there are challenges to that,” he said. “The Army has a big history of taking on similar issues, [with] predictions of doom and gloom that did not play out,” he said.
This isn’t coming from a lefty loon, or whatever O’Reilly is calling people these days. Before taking the role of Army Secretary last month, McHugh served for many years as a Republican congressman from a conservative district in New York.
In reporting the story today, Reuters sought out the opinions of two officials from the Palm Center:
“What we’re seeing is a tipping point in the opinions of both military and civilian leaders on this issue,” said Dr. Nathaniel Frank, senior research fellow at the Palm Center. “The Army is the largest of the services and the most heavily involved in our wars abroad, and for Secretary McHugh to state clearly that it can handle repeal sends a strong signal to the other service secretaries that they can do the same.”
Dr. Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, said Secretary McHugh’s comments were enormously significant. But he pointed out that there is no research to support the idea of letting gay soldiers serve in some units but not others. “The rationale for the ban applies equally across all job categories,” he said. “So if it’s okay to be an openly gay Arabic interpreter, it’s also okay to be openly gay in the infantry or on a submarine. Since conduct rules apply across the board, there’s just no basis for applying different standards to different specialties.”
The fight to repeal DADT seems to be picking up steam lately. Senators Joe Lieberman (CT) and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) have both been rumored to be taking point in the Senate, and Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA) has been fighting for repeal in the House. President Obama is theoretically on board.
Could this be a signal that the end is near?
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