DADT Repeal Could Be Official This Month

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the certification of the repeal of DADT could be completed this month. Gates leaves his post and will be replaced by CIA Director Leon Panetta in two weeks.

The move to end the ban on gay services could be one of Gates’ final acts as defense chief. But Gates stressed that he is not trying to hurry the process along, and that if it is not ready by the end of the month, Panetta can take action when he steps in. More than a million U.S. troops have been trained on the new law that repealed the 17-year-old ban on gays serving openly in the armed services, and Gates said the instruction has gone well. “I think people are pretty satisfied with the way this process is going forward,” he said. “I think people have been mildly and pleasantly surprised at the lack of pushback in the training.”