Gen. John McHugh: I Take It Back

Secretary of the Army Gen. John McHugh is backpedaling on yesterday's comment that he would cease ejecting soldiers over DADT.

Army Secretary John McHugh apologized Thursday for mistakenly telling journalists the Department of Defense would place a moratorium on discharges of homosexual servicemembers while the Pentagon conducts a year long study on the impact of changing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military leadership have made clear they'll uphold the current law while the study is being conducted. Recently Gates announced new standards for discharging gay servicemembers, including raising the ranks of officers who can conduct an investigation and requiring all testimony from peers and outside parties to be given under oath. But Gates never said gay service members would not be dismissed in the interim.

McHugh's comments to a defense writers group on Wednesday were published on major wire services and newspapers, including the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post". His apology today: "Yesterday, in response to a series of questions from reporters regarding "Don't Ask Don't Tell", I made several statements that require further comment. "First, while President Obama has asked Congress to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell", it is and remains the law of the land... Second, I was incorrect when I stated that Secretary Gates had placed a moratorium on discharges of homosexual service-members. There is no moratorium of the law and neither Secretary Gates nor I would support one."

BAH.

Gen. John McHugh: No More DADT Firings

Secretary of the Army Gen. John McHugh says he will no longer expel soldiers under DADT.

Mr. McHugh, who spoke at a breakfast with Pentagon reporters, said it made no sense to pursue discharges of service members as he speaks with them about the change in policy. Mr. Obama, Mr. Gates and Admiral Mullen have all asked commanders to assess opinion within the military about the change in law. Mr. McHugh said it would be “counterproductive” to “take disciplinary action against someone who spoke with me openly and honestly.” He said the Pentagon was still trying to devise a way to more formally poll large numbers of service members about their views on changing the law.

At the same breakfast, Mr. McHugh also said that a three-star general who was criticized by the Pentagon leadership last week for speaking out against repeal of the law would not receive a letter of reprimand. Instead, Mr. McHugh said the officer, Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, had had numerous conversations with Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Army chief of staff, and now recognized that his comments were “inappropriate.” General Mixon, the commander of Army forces in the Pacific, wrote a letter published on March 8 in Stars and Stripes that urged those who support the current policy to write to their elected officials and lobby the leaders of their units.

Fascinating development, eh?

Sec. Of Army Nominee Rep. John McHugh Wants To "Change" DADT

Barack Obama's new nominee for Secretary of the Army, Rep. John McHugh (R-NY), agrees with the president that DADT needs to be "changed," whatever that means these days. The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld pressed White House press secretary Robert Gibbs about the nomination, asking if McHugh's stance on DADT played into his selection. As usual, Gibbs gave an evasive answer.

"I think it's obvious from those statements and other statements that Congressman McHugh has made that he and the president are in agreement on changing the policy they both don't think is working for this country right now," Gibbs said in response to a question from The Advocate about the congressman's past remarks. "It's a priority of the president's and I think, for any number of reasons, we have a nominee that we hope will be confirmed quickly and will have -- ah, based on his background and experience -- will help to improve the lives of the Army."