President Obama repealed the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which banned openly gay men, lesbians and bisexuals from military service for the past 17 years, on Friday July 22.

The certification was signed by the president, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Administration Mike Mullen.

"As of September 20th, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country," said Obama in a statement.

While the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was in effect, more than 13,000 gay and lesbians troops were discharged from service.

According to The New York Times, Pentagon officials will use the 60-day period to review the possibility of offering some limited health, housing and legal benefits to homosexual couples.

Under the Defense of Marriage Act, however, the Pentagon is not permitted to extend federally financed benefits to same sex couples.

Pentagon officials confirmed that more than 1.9 of 2.2 million active duty and reserve men and women have been trained in preparation for the end of the policy. They attended training sessions, which last from 45 to 75 minutes, in groups of 50 to 250. The service members viewed a PowerPoint presentation, reviewed the communication tool of the military and discussed hypothetical situations.

"Every American can be proud that our extraordinary troops and their families, like earlier generations that have adapted to other changes, will only grow stronger and remain the best fighting force in the world and a reflection of the values of justice and equality that define us as Americans," said Obama. " We are not a nation that says don't ask, don't tell. We are a nation that says out of many, there are one... We are a nation that believes that all men are created equal, those are the ideals that generations have fought for, those are the ideals that we uphold today..."