WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday that he would have preferred that Congress had waited before voting to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that bans gays from serving openly in the military.
Adm. Mike Mullen did not directly criticize a House vote on Friday that marked a step toward repealing the ban.
But he said it would have been better for lawmakers to wait until the Pentagon completed its review of how to make the repeal work. That study, due in December, is based on a survey of troops and their families.
“Ideally, I would certainly have preferred that legislation not be brought forward in terms of the change until we are completed with that review,” Mullen said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
There is worry among some in the military and in Congress that the House vote short-circuited the process of consulting with troops and their families.
