Don't Ask Don't Tell is Finally (Hopefully) Dead

America is finally ready to join the 20th century, a mere 11 years into the 21st century. America's top two military leaders, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will announce later Friday that the military will certify that the armed forces are fully prepared for the change and that it won't harm military readiness. The announcement will pave the way for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell to be lifted, allowing for gay and bisexual military members to serve openly, regardless of their sexual orientation. President Obama signed legislation in December outlawing the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. The legislation does not go into effect until the military certifies that enacting the change will not harm the readiness of the military to perform its missions. Panetta and Mullen's announcement will serve as that certification. Civil rights advocates are pleased with the end of formal discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals. “It's a rare moment when we can both strike a victory for national security and also for civil rights and the meaning of American citizenship, and certification is one of those historic moments,” said Aaron Belkin, director of a research institute at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Belkin is referring in part to the case of Dan Choi and other U.S. Army linguists who were fired under DADT for being gay. The Army came under fire for the moves, as the military was already understaffed in terms of experts who could read and translate the thousands of messages from the Middle East. Firing Choi and others made it more difficult for the U.S. military to sift through and gather intelligence, right as the war on terror was demanding more capacity for such skills. Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed, himself a former Army Ranger, has been out front of this issue for some time. “I am pleased our civilian and uniformed military leadership is finally eliminating this barrier to service,” Reed said in a statement. “Our military is stronger because of the diversity of our troops.”