US Military Chief Says Gay Ban Should Go

Adm. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee he believed the "don't ask" restrictions—which require gay troops to keep their sexual orientation a secret—could be eliminated without harming military morale, recruitment or readiness.

With the comments, Adm. Mullen became the highest-ranking military officer to ever endorse repealing the restrictions, a source of controversy within the Pentagon since they were put in place by the Clinton administration in 1993. His immediate predecessor, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, in 2007 described homosexuality as "immoral."

"It is my personal and professional belief that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do," Adm. Mullen told the Senate panel. "No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

(...) Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon would take its strongest steps yet to allow gays to more easily serve in the military, making preparations to ease the enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" restrictions and creating a high-level commission to review the many practical questions that will arise if Congress repeals the ban.

The defense chief said he was appointing a group to be led by Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson and Army Gen. Carter Ham to develop a plan for safely incorporating openly gay military personnel into the ranks of the nation's armed forces.