DADT repeal to take effect in months: Obama

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that implementation of a repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy would be a matter of months.

Obama's comments were made in an online interview following his signing of the repeal into law.

Before signing the measure on Wednesday, Obama did not give a timeline but expressed urgency, saying his administration would not be dragging our feet.

While the policy banning openly gay service members has been repealed, the timing of the process to implement it has not been specifically described.

The implementation and certification process will take an additional period of time, said Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates last week after the Senate voted to repeal the law.

Obama, Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must certify that the policy can be implemented without harming military readiness, unit cohesion and recruiting. After doing so, there will be a 60-day period before it takes effect.

The plans to put the new policy into effect will include various administrative issues including revising policies and regulations, and creating training programs to educate troops about the change, among others.

The person Gates has charged with leading the repeal implementation is retired marine general Clifford Stanley, who currently serves as the undersecretary of Personnel and Readiness for the department.

When a court order temporarily blocked enforcement of the policy in October, Stanley warned military service members would have adverse consequences if they altered their personal conduct in this legally uncertain environment.

Gates and other top military officials had urged Congress to pass the repeal instead of allowing the courts to impose a repeal without adequate time to prepare the military for it.