The nation's top two Defense officials called on Tuesday for an end to "don't ask, don't tell," a major step toward allowing openly gay and lesbian members to finally serve in the U.S. military.

"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday.

It was his belief that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do." Mullen is the first sitting chairman of the Joint Chiefs to support a repeal of the policy. lt;/p>

According to the New York Times, Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday that they needed more time to figure out how to carry out the change in the 17-year-old policy, which requires an act of Congress.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that he also supported President Obama's decision to seek the repeal of the policy and has appointed a "high-level working group" to figure out how to implement the task.

In his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates announced that Gen. Carter Ham, who leads U.S. Army forces in Europe, and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson will lead the review. The defense chief called for an "implementation plan" by the end of the year. 

"I fully support the president's decision," Gates said. "The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we ... best prepare for it. We have received our orders from the commander in chief and we are moving out accordingly." 

In Gallup's latest poll, two-thirds of Americans support the right for gays and lesbians to serve.

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