Defense Department

WASHINGTON -- Pentagon general counsel Jeh Johnson is set to keynote a Pride celebration for gay service members and LGBT civilians next week, the Washington Blade has learned. [ Read more → ]

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Friday released a video recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month, and thanked the families of gay and lesbian service members and LGBT civilians. [ Read more → ]

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday announced it will soon hold its first ever "pride" event to recognize gay and lesbian service members. [ Read more → ]

In a letter Tuesday to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, three U.S.Senators have asked the Secretary to use his authority to streamline the process for those discharged under the repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law in order to expedite discharge paperwork changes and upgrades. [ Read more → ]

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network on Tuesday marked the six month anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by calling on the Defense Department to extend available benefits and support to married gay and lesbian service members and their families. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon on Friday identified a total of 14 benefits where members may designate beneficiaries of their choosing, regardless of sexual orientation, but the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) said the announcement does nothing "to move the ball forward" in providing equal benefits for legally married gay and lesbian couples. [ Read more → ]

Nearly 2,000 members of the military-affiliated Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (CARL) have pledged not to perform same-sex "wedding" ceremonies under any circumstances, despite a recent Pentagon directive that authorizes chaplains to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, and military chapels to be used for "any private ceremony." [ Read more → ]

The U.S. Department of Defense on Friday announced Friday that the Chaplain Corps of the armed forces are authorized to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies for same-sex military couples in states where same-sex marriage is legal. [ Read more → ]

The two ranking Republicans on U.S. House Armed Services Committee have asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to delay the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" scheduled for next Tuesday, Sept. 20, claiming that certain regulations regarding military benefits for same sex couples have not been revised. [ Read more → ]

A federal court on Monday ordered the Obama Administration to reveal whether it intends to defend the constitutionality of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's ban on openly gay service members. [ Read more → ]

The Pentagon has ordered a halt to all separations of gay and lesbian service members under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” complying with a ruling this week in federal court that ordered an immediate halt to the ban’s enforcement. [ Read more → ]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday morning voted in favor of an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that prohibits the use of funds to implement training on the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law for chaplains. [ Read more → ]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted in favor of an anti-gay amendment to the defense appropriations bill that reaffirms the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as component of the Pentagon spending legislation. [ Read more → ]

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered the U.S. government to immediately halt enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military ban on openly gay service members. [ Read more → ]

Retiring Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday said that repeal of "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" will be certified as early as late July. [ Read more → ]

The Senate Armed Services Committee this week unanimously passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with none of the anti-gay amendments that were attached to the House version of the bill. [ Read more → ]

An Air Force spokesman on Thursday confirmed that the Secretary of the Air Force approved a discharge under the military's ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy on April 29, this first such discharge since the Pentagon on Oct. 21, 2010, directed that ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell' discharges would require the approval of the service branch secretary. [ Read more → ]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes three controversial, anti-gay amendments that seek to delay implementation of repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," and reaffirm Congress’ support for the Defense of Marriage Act. [ Read more → ]

The full U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved three amendments late Wednesday night that seek to delay implementation of repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and to reiterate Congress’s support for the Defense of Marriage Act. [ Read more → ]

Pentagon officials told a House subcommittee Friday that training for implementation of repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has gone “extremely well so far” and that certification to Congress might come by mid-summer. [ Read more → ]