Placing the costs and process of repeal into the framework of U.S. civil governance and military power reveals the faltering state of civilian control over, and understanding of, contemporary military institutions. The excessive delays, repetitive studies, and lack of judicial oversight that characterized the process of repeal expose a military unmoored from the constitutional and democratic constraints of civilian control. The end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is more than a civil rights triumph. It is also a lesson in the steep costs and troubling consequences of excessive civilian deference to the armed forces.