ORDERED: San Diego Marines start DADT-repeal training!

Pfc. Chris Copeland, 27, of Broken Arrow, Okla.,
 participates in “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal training
 at Camp Pendleton on Apr. 28.

Marines around San Diego County are beginning to get the Pentagon-issued training to prepare them for the repeal of the 17-year-old Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that prohibits the open service of gays in uniform. reports Sign On San Diego.


While the Marines are allowing media to watch training sessions going on at local bases, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has not yet made an infantry group available for observation.

Combat forces in the Marines and Army raised higher objections to serving with openly gay troops than other sections of the military, according to a Pentagon survey released in late November. The survey found that about 44 percent of combat Marines and 35 percent of combat soldiers said allowing gays to serve openly would hamper their readiness to fight.

On March 4, the Union-Tribune first reported on the text of the training that all military branches will receive.