John McCain attacks Pentagon's 'don't ask, don't tell' study
| Washington
A little-publicized, normally perfunctory hearing to confirm the next commandant of the Marine Corps turned into a grand stage for political theater Tuesday when Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona traded jabs with his fellow legislators and Pentagon officials on the topic of "don鈥檛 ask, don鈥檛 tell."
During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Senator McCain, the ranking Republican, was clearly irritated and apparently amazed at the ongoing Congressional push to repeal the ban on openly gay troops serving in the US military. 鈥淗ave you seen the, quote, study, that is being conducted by the Department of Defense?鈥� he asked Gen. James Amos, currently the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps and now up for the branch鈥檚 top job. The study he referred to is a Pentagon survey to determine opinions about the repeal among troops and their families.
McCain did not wait for an answer. 鈥淵ou know that this study, quote unquote, does not assess the impact of morale and effectiveness on the repeal of the law?鈥�
He then raised a particular source of contention 鈥� that the study currently being conducted by the senior Pentagon officials on the impact of repealing the ban on openly gay troops was designed to help Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others figure out not, 鈥渨hether,鈥� but how best to change the policy. He called this 鈥渁n incredible act of disingenuous behavior on their part.鈥�
Gen. Amos seemed unsure how to respond to this attack on his bosses.
He didn鈥檛 have to, as McCain continued. 鈥淪o I guess my question is,鈥� the senator wondered, 鈥渨ould you be able to determine the effect on morale and battle effectiveness鈥� of the repeal, or instead would the survey simply 鈥渢ell you how best the repeal can be implemented?鈥� The answer he was hoping for was not particularly tricky to figure out.
In his advance policy questions submitted to the committee, Amos made his opinion on the matter clear. 鈥淚n my personal view, the current law and associated policy have supported the unique requirements of the Marine Corps,鈥� he wrote, 鈥渁nd thus I do not recommend its repeal.鈥�
Amos's primary concerns, he said, include 鈥渢he potential disruption to cohesion鈥� and that a change in policy would be 鈥渁 distraction to Marines who are tightly focused at this point on combat operations in Afghanistan.鈥�
But in the face of McCain鈥檚 earlier questioning, Amos chose to defend his boss. 鈥淪enator McCain, I鈥檝e been a big fan of the Secretary of Defense鈥檚 effort to introduce this survey since the beginning,鈥� he said.
He added, too, that the cultures of the various military service branches differ. Some 60 percent of US Marines are under the age of 21, Amos pointed out, 鈥淪o we鈥檙e not sure what the impact is going to be.鈥�
He noted, however, that 鈥渙ne of the rights of passage of being a young enlisted Marine is being able to grouse.鈥� He went on, 鈥淚f we step away from don't ask, don't tell, there are a lot of things that the average marine won鈥檛 agree with.鈥�
But what the service does have, he said, is discipline. 鈥淲e are the most disciplined service of all the ones you have,鈥� Amos reckoned. 鈥淲e follow orders.鈥� Any new policy, he added, would be backed by strong leadership and strong discipline. 鈥淚f the law is changed... the Marine Corps will get in step and do it smartly.鈥�
McCain added a final note as his allotted questioning time drew to a close. The push for the repeal is 鈥渁ll being done in light of the November 2 elections,鈥� the veteran politician said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never seen anything like it in all my years I鈥檝e served here.鈥�
