"Toady, before I began my work day, I was doing my usual Google searches about news that effects the LGBT community.  I ran across an article in the Washington post by Anne Flaherty of the Associated Press: Pentagon starts clock on lifting gay ban.

For those of you who did not watch President Obama's State of the Union address on television of Thursday night, the President stated: “We finally strengthened our laws to protect against crimes driven by hate. This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.”

In the ArmyTimes. Obama restates plans: Leave Iraq, end gay ban article, it is revealed that "Before Obama’s speech, retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who had been urging caution in changing the law, said the time for change has come."

In the post-​​game analysis of the State of the Union address on ABC, George Stephanopoulos made a point of replaying the stone-​​faced reaction from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when their Commander-​​in-​​Chief announced his intention to push for action in Congress to end discrimination against gays in the military.

In the article by By Jamie McIntyr, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: No Applause From the Chiefs  states: "And that, by the way, is exactly how it should be.  The nation’s top military advisors are not the Joint CHEERLEADERS of Staff.  It is not their role to publicly applaud or deride the political policies of the civilian leadership.   Their job is to salute smartly, and carry out their orders.  If they feel the President, or other civilian leaders, are charting a disastrous course, they have the duty to tell them privately, and to even resign if they cannot faithfully implement those polices in good conscience."

The Stars & Stripes quoted Christopher Neff, deputy director of the gay-rights advocate Palm Center, said the path to repeal  “will require both a command decision by the president and a clear timeline which follows.”  The speech fell short in both those areas.