Publication

On March 25, 2010, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced changes in the department’s enforcement of the 1993 "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law. Under these changes, Secretary Gates said only a general or flag officer would have the authority to separate someone who had engaged in homosexual conduct, that information provided by a third party must be given under oath, and that the information given to certain individuals—lawyers, psychotherapists, clergy, and domestic abuse counselors, for example—cannot be used in support of discharge proceedings.