U.S. Air Force Colonel Will Share "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Lessons

by Susan Sullivan
February 20, 2013

Colonel Gary Packard of the U.S. Air Force will visit Columbus March 3-4 to discuss the repeal of the military’s controversial "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (DADT) policy.

Packard, who is head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the Air Force Academy, led the team that drafted the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) plan to implement the repeal of DADT.

"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" was the official United States military policy from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing gay, lesbian, or bisexual service members or applicants while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service.

Col. Packard served at the Pentagon as the Air Force writer on the Secretary of Defense’s comprehensive review working group studying the repeal of DADT in 2010.

He will discuss his personal involvement in the repeal debate over the past seven years, along with stories about how the Air Force Academy and other military institutions played a role in the repeal. In addition, he will also share personal insights based on his role as lead author of the Air Force Academy’s white paper on the repeal and as a writer assigned to the DoD’s comprehensive review working group.

A native of Chelsea, MI, Packard earned a bachelor’s degree from USAFA, master’s degrees in aeronautical sciences and developmental psychology from Embry Riddle University and Michigan State University, and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

There are two opportunities for interested members of the public to hear Colonel Packard speak in Columbus.

  1. Sunday, March 3: Col. Packard will speak at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus, located at 7850 West Goeller Road in Columbus, during their 10 a.m. service. Packard’s presentation will focus on the religious and moral implications of the decision to enact the repeal.

  1. Monday, March 4: Col. Packard will discuss his research and participation in the working group that led to the repeal at noon in the Columbus Learning Center in Room 1400 (the Summerville Room).

There is no cost to attend either event and parking is free.

 

Col. Packard’s presentation is co-sponsored by the Office of Student Involvement at IUPUC and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

 

For more information about the presentation at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, please contact Carol Kostrzewsky, Sunday service coordinator, at 812.371.4755.

 

For more information about the presentation at IUPUC, contact Anna Droste-Glowinski, assistant director of student involvement, at 812.314.8526 or drostea@iupuc.edu.