Tag Archives: DOD

DOD To Announce New DADT Rules

Today the Pentagon is expected to issue another set of DADT guidelines in the wake of yesterday’s stay of Judge Virginia Phillips’ injunction. Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Thursday that he expects the guidelines be announced later in the day. An injunction last week barring the military from following the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law prompted the Pentagon …

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Maddow On Yesterday’s DADT News

This clip includes video of President Obama being confronted over DADT by a student during yesterday’s MTV Town Hall.

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Pentagon Suspends Discharges During Appeal Of DADT Overturn

The Pentagon has made it official. There will be no more DADT-related discharges until the DOJ’s appeal of its overturn is resolved. This move was leaked earlier today on the Rachel Maddow Show blog. The below message has been posted to the DOD’s defense.gov website. Pending an appeal, the military services have halted discharges under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” …

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates: DADT Should Be Decided By Congress Not Court

Today Defense Secretary Robert Gates lamented yesterday’s injunction against enforcing DADT, saying the issue should be up to Congress, not the courts. “I feel strongly this is an action that needs to be taken by the Congress and that it is an action that requires careful preparation, and a lot of training,” Mr Gates said. “It has enormous consequences for …

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BREAKING: Federal Judge Orders Military To Suspend Enforcement Of DADT

This just in via Daily Kos: “U.S. district judge Virginia A. Phillips orders the Defense Department to ‘immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding.'” Phillips’ ruling regards the case brought by the Log Cabin Republicans. Here’s the text of the order: 1) DECLARES that the act known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” infringes the …

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Sen. John McCain Loses It Over DADT Attachment To Defense Authorization Bill

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Maddow On DADT Comic Book

Last night Rachel Maddow gave an amusing recounting of yesterday’s revelation that the U.S. Army published a comic book meant to instruct troops on how to handle DADT regulations. The below clip includes an audio performance of the comic’s panels.

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Department Of Defense Explains The DADT Survey To Troops

From the official DOD YouTube channel. Anybody remember this old expression? “When you the Army wants your opinion, it’ll issue you one.” So much for that. (Via – Good As You)

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Here’s The DADT Survey For Troops

Dig into this and tell us what you think. UPDATE: Servicemembers United vents. “While it remains safe for gay and lesbian troops to participate in this survey, it is simply impossible to imagine a survey with such derogatory and insulting wording, assumptions, and insinuations going out about any other minority group in the military,” said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of …

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Obama May Veto DADT Repeal Over Aircraft Spending Provisions

Even if the defense appropriations bill to which the repeal of DADT is attached makes it through the Senate, the president may veto it over certain spending provisions to which he is opposed. Yesterday Robert Gates repeated the veto threat to Fox News. Robert Gates, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said the president was against any move by Congress to …

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House Passes Full Defense Spending Bill With DADT Repeal Attached

Last night the House of Representatives voted in favor of attaching the compromise DADT repeal to its massive Defense spending bill. Although some GOP reps attempted to derail the full bill today, it has just passed by a similar partisan vote. Now the fight returns to the Senate. The Dallas Voice reports: The Senate Armed Services Committee voted last night …

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates Reluctantly Accepts DADT Compromise

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has issued a lukewarm endorsement of the DADT compromised reached yesterday by the White House and Congress. “Secretary Gates continues to believe that ideally the DOD review should be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law,” Gates’ spokesman Geoff Morrell emailed journalists this morning. “With Congress having indicated that …

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TRANSFER RUMOR: Hillary Clinton Considered For Secretary Of Defense

Ben Smith at Politico is floating the rumor that Hillary Clinton is being considered to replace Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. Gates, for his part, has saved Clinton from a different kind of marginalization by a powerful White House staff, which has a sometimes-rocky relationship with her own staff of loyalists, a residue of the bitter 2008 campaign. He’s …

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Howard Dean Sends Open Letter To Obama Demanding Repeal Of DADT

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean has written an open letter to the president demanding that a repeal of DADT be attached to a Department of Defense funding bill. An excerpt: While I understand the need to research how repealing DADT will affect members of the military, the law can still be repealed with an implementation timeline this year. The time …

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Is the DOD Blocking DADT Repeal?

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director Aubrey Sarvis has penned a open letter (PDF) to the president demanding that he stand by his State of the Union pledge to repeal DADT. Sarvis told the Advocate this weekend that Capitol Hill staffers are reporting that the Pentagon has asked Congress to put off a vote until their repeal implementation study can …

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BREAKING: New DADT Rules Announced

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has just announced changes to the enforcement of DADT which go into effect immediately. ”I believe these changes represent an important improvement in the way the current law is put into practice, above all by providing a greater measure of common sense and common decency for handling what are complex and difficult issues for all involved,” …

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Barney Frank: The White House Doesn’t Want DADT Repealed This Year

According to Rep. Barney Frank, the reason the DADT repeal wasn’t attached to a defense appropriations bill is that the White House doesn’t want it repealed this year. Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate: As Rep. Barney Frank told me Friday, “I’m disappointed with the administration talking about delaying legislation for a year. But I’m working with Patrick Murphy [the lead …

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Barney Frank: DADT Repeal To Be Part Of FY 2011 DOD Funding Bill

Yesterday Rep. Barney Frank says that a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will likely be attached to a fiscal year 2011 Department of Defense funding authorization bill that will be voted on in the spring of next year. Via Washington Blade: “The House will take up and the Senate will take up ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal,” he said. …

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