Defense Department

The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Chuck Hagel to be the nation's next defense secretary. The vote Tuesday was 58-41, with four Republicans joining Democrats in backing President Barack Obama's nominee. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON — The Senate cleared the way Tuesday for confirmation of Chuck Hagel to be the nation's next defense secretary after Republicans dropped their unprecedented delay of President Barack Obama's choice to head the Pentagon. [ Read more → ]

A bitterly divided Senate panel on Tuesday voted to approve President Barack Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the nation's defense secretary at a time of turmoil for the military with looming budget cuts, a fresh sign of North Korea's nuclear ambitions and drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. [ Read more → ]

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Monday announced he will extend to nearly the full extent permitted under current law the benefits available to gay and lesbian service members and their families. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials said Tuesday that outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is poised to extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of military members. [ Read more → ]

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel has pledged to “move forward expeditiously” on the issue of extending partner benefits to gay service members if confirmed for the role as defense secretary. [ Read more → ]

Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has committed to extending partners benefits “permissible under current law” to gay service members as part of attempts to allay concerns among Democratic senators about his potential performance as Pentagon chief. In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Hagel... [ Read more → ]

Rather than use his mandate from winning re-election to reward his key constituencies, President Barack Obama has poked a stick in the eye of the LGBT community by turning to former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary -- a man who had an abysmal voting record in Congress and drew criticism for using anti-gay slurs back in 1998. [ Read more → ]

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate, said Monday she would not to commit to supporting former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination as Defense Secretary until she is more confident that his apology for anti-gay remarks he made in 1998 is “sincere.” [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Monday nominated former Nebraska GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, stirring widespread criticism from both sides of the political establishment in Washington. [ Read more → ]

More than 15 months since the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's former ban on openly gay service members, the U.S. Department of Defense continues to block access to websites it categorizes as LGBT. [ Read more → ]

Retiring gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced on Monday that he strongly opposes the nomination of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary based on the former senator’s 1998 anti-gay comments and record on LGBT issues. [ Read more → ]

James Hormel — the nation’s first openly gay ambassador — questioned the sincerity of an apology that former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) issued on Friday over anti-gay remarks he made in 1998. Hormel pledged to oppose Hagel’s confirmation as defense secretary unless he affirms before the Senate that he will support equal rights for LGBT military families. [ Read more → ]

The former U.S. senator whom President Obama is reportedly considering for defense secretary on Friday apologized for using anti-gay remarks 14 years ago to describe a gay nominee for U.S. ambassador. [ Read more → ]

Military spouses’ organizations aren’t just social clubs – they provide critical support to families that face challenges that civilian families don’t understand - long separations due to training and deployment, stresses on everyone in the family when a loved one goes to war. Most Army wives, and husbands recognize that we need each others’ support to deal with the tough challenges of military life – and that we’re all in this together. So what the heck is wrong at Fort Bragg? [ Read more → ]

The final version of major Pentagon budget legislation includes watered-down “conscience” language similar to the anti-gay provision found in the House version of the bill, according to a top House Democrat on defense issues. [ Read more → ]

Some House Republicans are pushing for inclusion of a “conscience protection” clause in the final version of Pentagon budget legislation that could enable discrimination against gay service members, according to LGBT advocates familiar with conference committee negotiations. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill that would prohibit military chaplains from performing same-sex ceremonies and would prevent military installations from being used for such ceremonies. [ Read more → ]

ARLINGTON, Va. -- In a Pentagon auditorium Tuesday that normally seats 350 persons, a standing room only crowd celebrated as the U.S. Department of Defense marked “LGBT Pride Month” for the first time in its history. [ Read more → ]

Today, the Pentagon will hold its first ever event honoring LGBT pride month and Linda Harvey is predictably outraged, calling it " yet another low level of ungodliness" reached by the Obama administration and a "sad, sad time for the United States": [ Read more → ]