Military

Marine Commander At Camp Pendleton Ready To Adapt To Repeal Of DADT Policy

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published December 20, 2010 at 9:26 AM PST

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

The news that both the House and the Senate have agreed to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy means changes ahead for marines and sailors based in San Diego.

Major General Anthony Jackson, the Commander of Marine Corp Installations West, based at Camp Pendleton, said he's ready.

"First of all, the Marine Corp is going to adapt to the new laws of the nation," he said. "I think there still needs to be a lot of thought about the practicalities of making the change. Cultural values for some will be challenged. We'll adapt, just like we adapt in wartime environments, if it's an urban environment, a jungle, a desert, what ever it is, we'll adapt to that social change I think we'll do it with a lot of zeal. We'll make it work."

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The military will have a some time to make the adjustments, the policy does not go into effect till 60 days after the president has signed the measure and he and military leaders have considered the implications and certified it.

Service members Legal Defense Fund and the Human Rights Campaign have issued a critical warning to service members that the repeal of DADT is not effective immediately and service members are still at risk of being discharged on the basis of their sexual orientation until certification occurs.

Military

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.