All of the services and combatant commands have provided their input to the Defense Department leadership in advance of the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law that bans gays from serving openly in the military, said Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan, Wednesday. It’s now up to the Joint Chiefs’ Chairman and the Defense Secretary to decide when to certify to the President that DOD is ready to move forward with repeal, he said, not venturing to guess when the certification might end up on the President’s desk. For now, the provisions of the 1993 DADT ban remain in effect as the Pentagon moves forward with implementing the repeal as mandated by last year’s repeal law. Mudding the waters is the July 6 federal appeals court ruling that DADT is unconstitutional and giving DOD 10 days to stop enforcing the ban. (AFPS report by Jim Garamone)
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.