Don’t Ask Don’t Tell enforcement was suspended for eight days before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to allow the military to continue enforcing the anti-gay policy.
Now that DADT is back, there are some new rules: In memos released yesterday, the Pentagon announced that discharges under DADT can only be approved by a handful of people within the military. A discharge must be approved by the secretary of the branch the servicemember serves in, and discussed with both the Pentagon’s general counsel and Clifford Stanley, the undersecretary for personnel.
Stanley noted that the new guidelines were in response to “the legally uncertain period in which we now find ourselves,” calling the new rules “the latest twist.”
And after being told to accept gay enlistees, recruiters are now back to refusing would-be recruits who volunteer their sexual orientation.
The government is appealing a ruling that declared DADT unconstitutional. The first brief in that appeal is due in mid-January, the month after the military is scheduled to release its review of the policy.
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