military

July 22, 2011 0

A federal appellate court issued an order late July 15 prohibiting the U.S. government from discharging additional service members under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” while allowing recruiters to continue to bar openly gay people from enlisting in the armed forces.

The order from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals partially reinstates a stay on an injunction barring the enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The injunction was reissued by the appellate court July 6 after it was first issued by a U.S. district court last year.

“[T]he stay entered November 1, 2010, is reinstated temporarily in all respects except one,” the order states. “The district court’s judgment shall continue in effect insofar as it enjoins appellants from investigating, penalizing, or discharging anyone from the military pursuant to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.”

Army creates ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ resource website

June 6, 2011 0

The United States Army has put together an informational website regarding the upcoming repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

According to the Army, the website was launched last week to provide the most up-to-date information for servicemembers and their families on the law's repeal.

"It's a way for the Army to provide the latest and greatest information about the repeal to Soldiers, family members and the public," said spokesperson Lt. Col Timothy M. Beninato via a media release.

Nonprofit Spotlight: American Veterans for Equal Rights

GA Spotlight

May 13, 2011 0

Although “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been officially repealed with President Barack Obama’s signature, when the repeal will actually be implemented is still not determined.

For more than 20 years, American Veterans for Equal Rights has sought fairness for LGBT people in the military and to make sure LGBT veterans have access to benefits, says Danny Ingram of Decatur. Ingram is the former Georgia AVER chapter president and now serves as the national president for the nonprofit organization.

Each year the Georgia AVER chapter holds a Taps service at Piedmont Park on Memorial Day.

“The national organization started about 21 years ago in Washington, D.C., and the Georgia chapter was formed about eight years by Jeff Cleghorn, who is now a board member for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund,” Ingram says.

Service Chiefs: DADT repeal implementation ‘going very well’

April 7, 2011 0

The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing today on the implementation of the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” For the first time since the repeal was signed into law by President Barack Obama late last year, the military's service chiefs were called before Congress to testify on the anti-gay policy's repeal.

Though no firm date for full repeal was given, several service chiefs said their branches are aiming to complete training before mid-summer and that most were on track or ahead of schedule with regard to training.

Today's hearing featured Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who represented the Army in the place of Gen. George Casey, who was tending to family matters.

Gay military org creates magazine for gay soldiers

March 28, 2011 0

OutServe, a collection of underground LGBT military personnel, announced today that it will publish a new magazine geared toward gay servicemembers. OutServe was formed in 2010 as the debate over the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy moved into the political spotlight.

The magazine's inaugural cover highlights a United States military in a post-DADT era.

“Our first objective with the magazine is to let all the gay, lesbian, bi, and trans members currently serving know that they are not alone,” said OutServe’s co-director, an active-duty officer who goes by the pseudonym JD Smith, via a press release. “And we also want to communicate to all troops that there are capable gay military members serving honorably, and that accepting that and moving on will make our military stronger.”

Servicemembers United: Military discharged 261 under DADT in 2010

March 24, 2011 0

The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security discharged 261 gay and lesbian troops last year under the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, according to Servicemembers United.

The policy, which has since been legislatively repealed, is still technically in effect. President Barack Obama signed the repeal into law late last year but it must be certified by military leaders and the president. After certification, the ban will remain law for 60 days.

No indication has been made about the process used to certify the bill or how long the process will take.

Defense secretary lays out plan for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal implementation

January 31, 2011 0

Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave the first indication of a move toward the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” late last week when he released a memo calling on military leaders to draft training material needed before the repeal’s implementation.

According to the memos, the effective date of repeal has yet to be determined, but they do, however, outline the upcoming policy changes each branch of the military will face after the law is overturned.

The memos also state that once repeal is certified, the military will no longer be allowed to discharge members of the armed services because of their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation and must cease all open investigations regarding gay servicemembers. The change in policy will also allow previously discharged soldiers the opportunity to re-enlist.

White House: President to sign ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal Wednesday

December 20, 2010 0

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that President Barack Obama will sign the recently passed Don’t Act, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law this coming Wednesday, Dec. 22., according to USA Today.

Gibbs also said that the White House has discussed hosting a news conference after Congress adjourns for its Christmas break Wednesday morning and would include a formal signing then.

According to the article, the White House and the Pentagon are currently investigating “implementation and legal issues” of repeal. Once repeal is signed into law, the president, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates would need to certify the policy could be lifted without adverse effect to the military.

President Obama calls ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal ‘historic step’

December 20, 2010 0

Over the weekend, President Barack Obama responded to the Senate’s passage of a stand-alone repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

The Senate passed repeal 65 to 31 on Saturday. The House passed an identical measure last week 250 to 175.

The bill will now make its way to the president to be signed into law.

Senate votes for cloture on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ repeal almost certain