Military: Now Is Not the Time to 'Come Out'

Military officials are moving quickly to provide troop training on the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy but caution now is not the time to “come out.” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he wanted military leaders to start training within weeks, The Washington Post said.

Gates said that training of the 2.2 million members of the military will be a logistical challenge. “There's just a certain element of physics associated with the number of people involved in this process," Gates said according to The Post.

Gates said the military was working on a three-part plan that includes changing personnel policy and benefits, provide training for officers and chaplains, and then instructing the troops. In December, President Barack Obama signed into law a measure to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that the ban remains in effect until the president formally certifies the repeal. "Now's not the time to -- to come out, if you will," Mullen said, according to The Post.