[oneolcop]

Not that Chief of the Army Staff Casey is any better, but this was the Secretary of the Army, a civilian appointee. He is a politician first and formost.

[Lucky Dog]

Neither, the secretary of the Army nor any other federal official has the power to ignore public law.

TITLE 10 > Subtitle A > PART II > CHAPTER 37 > § 654

§ 654. Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces

(a) Findings.— Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States commits exclusively to the Congress the powers to raise and support armies, provide and maintain a Navy, and make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces.

(2) There is no constitutional right to serve in the armed forces.

(3) Pursuant to the powers conferred by section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States, it lies within the discretion of the Congress to establish qualifications for and conditions of service in the armed forces.

…. (15) The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.

Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

Article 125—Sodomy

“(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient 
to complete the offense.

(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall by punished as a court-martial may direct.”