Navy's Top Officer Praises DADT Report

The Navy's top officer, Adm. Gary Roughead, said he will soon deliver his recommendations to Defense secretary Robert Gates on the repeal effort for "don't ask, don't tell" after going over a Pentagon study of the matter.

Roughead praised the review as "the most expansive survey of the American military that's ever been undertaken," according to the National Journal. Roughead, however, has not indicated whether he will fully support repeal of the policy, even as President Barack Obama has called for it.

As reported earlier, Gates ordered the report to be released one day earlier than expected, on November 30, to expedite the repeal process during the lame-duck session of the Senate. Many senators have said they will not vote on whether to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military until they have reviewed the report.

Roughead was one of the four members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who expressed their opposition to early legislative efforts to repeal the ban in letters to Sen. John McCain. Roughead said any early moves by the Senate would undermine the Department of Defense's study.