The Pentagon took a major step this week toward the acceptance of gays and lesbians in the military, but the Fort Shafter general in charge of all Army troops in the Pacific is marching to a different drummer. If he can no longer keep in step with the chain of command, Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon should consider walking away from the ranks.

In a March 8 letter to the editor of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper, Mixon called President Barack Obama's call for repeal of the law mandating the “;don't ask, don't tell”; policy “;ill-advised,”; and urged readers who agree with him to “;write your elected officials and chain of command and express your views. If those of us who are in favor of retaining the current policy do not speak up, there is no chance to retain the current policy.”;

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a news conference Thursday that it was inappropriate for an officer—especially of Mixon's three-star rank and stature—to publicly challenge the president's priorities. Army officers were given “;very specific direction”; on toeing the line on repeal, he said.

“;The answer is not advocacy,”; Mullen stated. “;It is, in fact, to vote with your feet.”;

Mullen made his remarks as Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the terms of “;fairer and more appropriate”; enforcement of the 1993 congressional ban on gays and lesbian serving in the military while being open about their sexual orientation. Gates said the changes are “;an important improvement in the way the law is put into practice,”; short of repealing it.

The new guidelines, effective immediately, require that the firing of gay enlisted personnel be done by an officer at a rank at least equivalent to a one-star general. That should provide little solace for a gay or lesbian soldier serving under Mixon's command.

The guidelines also require that information by third parties be given under oath and not be from a person who might be seeking revenge. Information given by lawyers, clergy, psychotherapists or medical professionals will not be allowed.

Twenty-five countries now allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, and they serve in all levels in Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Israel, including in combat, according to the Palm Center, a University of California think tank. More that 13,000 skilled and patriotic Americans have been discharged from the U.S. military because of the “;don't ask, don't tell”; policy.

Mixon is not alone in the upper ranks of the military in his opposition to Obama's proposal, as senior military officials have been candid in questioning before congressional committees.

“;I think the current policy works,”; Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, testified in February. “;My best military advice to this committee, to the secretary, to the president would be to keep the law such as it is.”;

However, writing a letter to the editor campaigning for retention of a policy that the commander in chief aimed to repeal goes far beyond answering questions posed by members of Congress. Mixon's attempt to drum up political opposition to that repeal amounts to a serious breach in the chain of command.