Military’s ‘don’t ask’ training going well

WASHINGTON – Training for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits gays from serving openly in the military is going better than expected, military leaders told Congress on Thursday.

Top officials from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force testified before the House Armed Services Committee, with several telling committee members that training would be done as early as June.

“I’m looking specifically for issues that might arise coming out of the training, and the reality is that we’ve not seen them,” said Gen. James Amos, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. “I’ve asked for feedback … the clear majority of it is very positive.”

This attitude is a turnaround for several of the generals who vocally opposed the repeal when it was being debated during last year’s lame-duck session.

Last November, Amos said he was concerned about a possible loss of unit cohesion and combat readiness in the case of a repeal.

Amos told the committee Thursday that training for Marines would finish June 1, 2011. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, gave July 1 as the Navy’s completion date and Gen. Norton Schwartz, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, said his branch’s training would be complete around June 30. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, did not give a date for an end to preparations.