Any changes to the present "Don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, which still bars homosexuals from military service but allows service members to keep their private lives private, should minimize "disruption to a force engaged in combat operations and other demanding military activities around the globe," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said March 2. Reflecting on the Obama administration’s intent to allow homosexuals to serve, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen’s subsequent approval, Gates told a panel charged with drafting such a plan to consider effects on military and family readiness, cohesion, recruiting, and retention. The panel will present its findings to Gates by Dec. 1.
