The Pentagon announced earlier today that the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy will have a looser interpretation, effective immediately. This means that now:
-Third party information must be given under oath
-Anonymous complaints will be disregarded
-Third party informers who might have ulterior motives behind their statements will be investigated
-Confidential information cannot be used in support of discharges
-A high-ranking officer must sign off on each discharge
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that although it is ultimately up to Congresss to repeal the law, the new revisions will “allow us to execute the law in a fair and more appropriate manner.” Around 13,000 people have been discharged since the law’s 1993 inception.
UPDATE: The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was officially ended in September of 2011.
