Marine Corps Commandant: Don't Change 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2010— -- One of the military's senior officers did not shy away from telling Congress this week that he thinks the current "don't ask, don't tell", law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military should not be repealed.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that he does not think the law should be changed.

"At this point, I think that the current policy works," Conway said. "My best military advice to this committee, to the secretary, to the president would be to keep the law such as it is."

Conway said he looks at the issue strictly from the point of view of whether changing the law would "enhance the war-fighting capabilities of the United States Marine Corps by allowing homosexuals to openly serve."

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presented the administration's proposal that Congress repeal "don't ask, don't tell". At the time, Mullen said he supported changing the policy because letting gays serve openly in the military would be "the right thing to do."

Annual hearings this week afforded lawmakers their first opportunity to ask the military service chiefs what they thought about the plan. Though none went as far as Mullen, they all supported Gates' plan to undertake a year-long study of attitudes within the military's ranks before Congress proceeds with repealing the law.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz support undertaking the study because they worry about how their forces might deal with the change while they're engaged in two wars. Schwartz said, "This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation."

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead did not provide an opinion at Thursday's hearing, though Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said it was his personal opinion that gays should be allowed to serve openly.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the service chiefs' testimony this week expressed "fundamental agreement" with the Gates plan to undertake a comprehensive study of what service members think about repealing the law.