The decision whether to repeal the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy must not be left to the courts, asserted Defense Secretary Robert Gates. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Dec. 2, Gates called on the Senate to pass a bill overturning the ban on declared homosexuals serving in the military before year’s end. Gates said it is “only a matter of time” before federal courts again intervene over DADT, bringing the “very real possibility that this change would be imposed immediately by judicial fiat.” The Defense Secretary said that would be “by far the most disruptive and damaging scenario” imaginable for morale and combat readiness. Gates called potential repeal of the policy “a matter for the Congress to decide,” stating that any change should be made by the representatives elected by the American people, and should allow adequate time for “a well prepared and well considered implementation.” (Gates prepared remarks)
After years of describing to lawmakers and Pentagon leaders the nature of that threat and the key role spacepower plays in deterring conflict in the domain and enabling the rest of the joint force, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told reporters during AFA’s Warfare Symposium here that the message appears to…