Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

Update 1:30 p.m.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -- The nation's top uniformed officer told graduating Air Force Academy cadets they need to support a changing military, as Congress nears a repeal of the military's ban on openly gay servicemembers.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talked to 1,001 graduating cadets at the academy on Wednesday. The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to vote Thursday on overturning the military's ban on gays.

Mullen didn't speak directly about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that appears to be nearing an end. But Mullen spoke broadly about change in the military. He said officers need "the strength of character to support whatever final decisions are made."

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

_____________________________________________

Original story

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — The nation's top uniformed military officer is addressing Air Force Academy graduates as Congress moves toward repealing the military's ban on openly gay service members.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, is the speaker at Wednesday's graduation. The White House says Mullen is on board with a compromise to allow the military to undo its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on its own timeframe. But Mullen hasn't spoken publicly about the matter that could move through Congress this week.

The head of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., has already said that institution will adapt to the repeal of the gay ban.

At Air Force, 1,001 men and women will graduate.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)