service members

Gay-rights advocacy groups and members of Congress applauded reports Tuesday that the Pentagon plans to propose extending benefits to some same-sex spouses of U.S. military members.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has not decided which benefits would be affected, The Associated Press reported, according to unnamed sources. But the Pentagon will likely extend access to some military bases and on-base stores, as well as to some health programs.

The Pentagon declined  Tuesday to confirm any details of the benefits being considered, but spokeswoman Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde said it was reviewing its policy. Read more »

They are images Americans had never seen before. Jubilant young men and women in military uniforms marching beneath a rainbow flag in a gay-pride parade. Soldiers and sailors returning from deployment and, in time-honored tradition, embracing their beloved â?? only this time with same-sex kisses.

It's been a year now since the policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" was repealed, enabling gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly, no longer forced to lie and keep their personal lives under wraps. Read more »

WASHINGTON -- A veteran advocacy organization that pioneered in pushing to repeal the military's ban on the service of openly gay soldiers is joining forces with a newer cadre of activists that began as an underground network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops.

The boards of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (or SLDN), founded in 1993 to combat the "don't ask, don't tell" policy launched that year, and OutServe, an association of gay and lesbian service members who connected anonymously on Facebook, voted over the weekend to combine. The merger will become final in October when the two groups meet in Orlando; the new organization will be called OutServe-SLDN. Read more »

By LEO SHANE III Stars and Stripes Published: December 2, 2010

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans continued their opposition to repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” law on Thursday, attacking the Pentagon’s new study as shortsighted and lacking the real views of military personnel.

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and a former Vietnam prisoner of war, has led the chorus of anti-repeal arguments and implored his colleagues again during the first of two days of hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“I am not saying this law should never change,” he said. “I am simply saying that it may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner … without further study of the issue by Congress.”

At the opposite end of the debate was Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recounted having served alongside gays during Vietnam without any detriment to the mission. He said the study only confirmed what he had long suspected, that gays could be allowed to serve openly with minimal disruption.

“And so what was my personal opinion is now my professional opinion,” he said. “I would not recommend a repeal of this law if I did not believe in my soul that it was the right thing to do for our military, for our nation and for our collective honor.”