The Pentagon said this week that it
will begin reviewing the records of LGBTQ veterans who were
discharged under “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
DADT, approved by President Bill
Clinton in 1994, allowed LGBTQ service members to remain in the
military as long as they kept their sexual orientation quiet.
According to the Department of Defense,
at least 32,837 service members since 1980 were forced out of the
military because of their sexual orientation.
President Barack Obama fulfilled a
campaign promise when he signed a bill in 2010 that repealed the
policy.
CBS
reported that fewer than 1,500 service members have had their
discharge classification updated. A less than honorable discharge can
leave service members unable to access veterans benefits, including
home loans, tuition assistance, health care, and even some government
jobs.
“For decades, our LGBTQ+ Service
members were forced to hide or were prevented from serving
altogether,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement
released Wednesday. “Even still, they selflessly put themselves in
harm's way for the good of our country and the American people.
Unfortunately, too many of them were discharged from the military
base on their sexual orientation – and for many this left them
without access to the benefits and services they earned.”
"Over the past decade, we’ve
tried to make it easier for Service members discharged based on their
sexual orientation to obtain corrective relief. While this process
can be difficult to navigate, we are working to make it more
accessible and efficient. In the coming weeks, we will be initiating
new outreach campaigns to encourage all Service members and Veterans
who believe they have suffered an error or injustice to seek
correction to their military records,” Austin said.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks
said that “correcting these records cannot fully restore the
dignity taken from LGBTQ+ service members when they were expelled
from the military. It doesn’t completely heal the unseen wounds
that were left, it doesn’t make people whole again, even for those
many who received honorable discharges. But this is yet another step
we’re taking to make sure we do right by those who served
honorably.”
Wednesday marked the 12th
anniversary of the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”