LGBTQ+ veterans dismissed under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ given honourable discharge

Following a yearlong review, the Pentagon announced Tuesday that hundreds of veterans dismissed under the repealed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy have received honourable discharges.

“Although most service members discharged for their sexual orientation… were honorably separated, nearly 2,000 were not given fully honorable characterizations,” stated Christa A. Specht, a Defense Department legal policy director, in a Tuesday news release.

Post-repeal, those dismissed under the policy could request an upgrade to an honourable discharge for full military benefits, but many were unaware of this option, noted Specht. The “proactive review” aimed to remedy this lack of awareness.

According to ‘NBC News’, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed that 851 cases were reviewed over the past year, with 96.8%—over 800 cases—qualifying for “relief.”

“Brave LGBTQ+ Americans have long volunteered to serve the country they love,” Austin expressed on Tuesday. “Under President Biden’s leadership, the Department of Defense has taken significant steps to rectify the harms caused by ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and other policies affecting these former service members.”

This announcement follows the department’s declaration over a year ago to conduct a “proactive review” of service members dismissed under the policy, which had barred gay and lesbian military members from openly expressing their sexual orientation. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ was enforced from February 1994 to September 2011, leading to the discharge of over 13,000 service members.

“What this signifies is that of nearly 13,500 individuals administratively separated under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, who served long enough to earn a merit-based service characterization, 96% now have an honorable discharge,” Austin stated.

The legacy of dismissing gays and lesbians from the military dates back well before the 1994 policy, with historians estimating that at least 100,000 service members were expelled due to their actual or perceived sexuality between World War II and 2011.