Since President Obama's State of the Union announcement about wanting to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell, there has been so much said about this and most of it has been hilarious.

There is talk about needing time to integrate gays into the military---but they are already there and have always been there!

There is talk of the need for special rules regarding sexual conduct specifically for gay members of the military. Why would special rules be needed? Wouldn't the same codes of conduct apply to all members of the military?

Finally and most funny, is the idea that up to one year will be needed to study the idea of allowing gays to serve openly in the military. Defense Secretary Gates is worried how gays in the military will affect re-enlistment of other military members. He is worried that all of the small minded people will leave the military and leave only open minded people. I can see how that might be a problem.

The following is the generic US Military oath:

"I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

Military is about obeying orders of the President and other officers. If the President and officers command that military members work right along side of gay members and to do so without prejudice, doesn't that make it easy to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

Tom Janoswki is absolutely correct, there have always been gays in the military; they have been in every military and, in the case of the battle of Thermopylae, we have been celebrating their heroism for well over two thousand years!

The suggestion that Bill Clinton “was sometimes called the first gay president. He was the first American president who even acknowledged the LGBT community” is hardly how I would describe Clinton, who gave the gay community both DADT and DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). With “friends” like that … I think we all know the rest of the adage.

I also agree with Mr. Janowski that it is unnecessary to “study” the issue for a year; that's just foot-dragging �" perhaps more accurate, Knuckle Dragging, as so many opponents seem to be troglodytes.

Sec'y Gates could better spend his time speaking to enlisted personnel �" the young men & women who make up our military forces; aged generals will only give you their dated perspective from half-a-century ago, whereas young people no longer care about this issue. Should you bother to observe, young people are completely unconcerned about differences between “race”, “religion” and “sexual orientation”.

Rather than waste time conferring with vanishing military dinosaurs, Gates should allow the generals to gracefully “just fade away ...” (in the words of MacArthur).