Pentagon declines to honor Pride Month

The Defense Department has declined to send out an official memo recognizing Pride month. This absence of acknowledgment is an odd (but not unexpected) move for the American military in the era of Trump. In ...
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5 LGBTQ things you need to know today, Feb. 27

1. Maj. Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesperson, confirmed yesterday that a transgender person signed a contract Friday to become the first official transgender recruit to join the armed forces since the ban was...
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5 LGBT things you need to know today, Dec. 21

1. Rapper Eminem raised some eyebrows when he revealed in an interview with Vulture that he was playing the field post-divorce and trying online dating — including Grindr, known primarily as a gay hookup app. ...
Australia gay marriage

5 LGBT things you need to know today, Nov. 15

1. Here's how the world reacted as Australians voted in favor of marriage equality yesterday. 2. The Pentagon confirmed that it will pay for a soldier’s gender reassignment surgery for the first time. The su...

5 LGBT things you need to know today, July 13

1. Pentagon officials are finalizing a plan to lift the ban on transgender individuals in the military. An announcement is expected this week and the services would have six months to assess the impact of the c...

5 LGBT things you need to know today, June 1

1. The Pentagon is adding non-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and bisexual troops. Transgender people are prohibited from serving openly in the military but officials say they continue to look into ...
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Pentagon study: Majority of military sees no negative impact from openly gay troops

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, answered questions today regarding the Pentagon's finalized report on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Both Gates and Mullen thanked the authors of the study for their work over the last 10 months and reiterated their desire to see Congress pass a repeal of the law during the current lame-duck session.

"I fully endorse the report, its findings and the implementation plan," Mullen said.

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Senate schedules ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ hearings

Senator Carl Levin chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear testimony regarding a Pentagon study on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on Dec. 2 and 3.

According to the Armed Services Committee website, the session will feature the full committee.

Scheduled to testify on Dec. 2 are Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and General Carter Ham (co-chair of the Review Working Group).