But in practice, it's gonna have a whole host of side issues that come along with it's repeal.

Just one off the top of my head: today in co-ed basic training units, females and males are separated to prevent fraternization. What happens when there are openly gay troops in training? Where do they sleep and shower? Like I said, I don't have a problem with gays serving with me, but unless you can conclusively prove that DADT is weakening the military in the status quo, I don't think it's necessary to repeal it. Serving in the military isn't a right, and by volunteering in today's you sign away certain rights, including, if you're gay, the right to be open about your sexuality. If that changes, great, but we don't have a moral imperative to change it right now.