Pentagon to Announce Certification of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal

Pentagon officials are ready to announce the certification of repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and will do so on Friday, according to reports.
The WSJ reports:

Top defense officials plan to certify Friday that the Pentagon is ready to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military, officials said, a landmark moment after almost two decades of controversy.

The military now has to resolve crucial questions such as what benefits same-sex couples will receive.

While the military will be free to provide some services to same-sex spouses, such as family support for spouses of deployed service members, federal law blocks it from providing them the full range of health, housing and education available to heterosexual couples.

Once the Pentagon announces certification, then it is left to Obama to certify, and then a 60-day waiting period begins before repeal is finally implemented.
We will see the formal end of the policy, instituted in 1993, in late September.
The WSJ adds: "Because the certification decision hasn't been announced, spokesmen for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment."


Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/07/breaking-pentagon-to-announce-certification-of-dont-ask-dont-tell.html#ixzz1SmiNR8mF
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