[Vision2020] How's This for a First?!?!

[Dave]

About 20 years to late?

Dave


On 12-06-15 02:17 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> Courtesy of the Army Times at:
>
> http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/06/ap-military-gay-pride-month-military-recognize-gay-troops-061412/
>
> -----------------------------------
>
>
>     Military to recognize gay troops this month
>
>
>
> WASHINGTON --- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Friday thanked gay 
> and lesbian military members for their service, as the Pentagon 
> prepares to mark June as gay pride month with an official salute.
>
> In a remarkable sign of a cultural change in the U.S. military, 
> Panetta said that with the repeal last year of the "Don't Ask, Don't 
> Tell" law that prohibited gays from serving openly in the military, 
> gays and lesbians can now be proud to be in uniform.
>
> "Now you can be proud of serving your country, and be proud of who you 
> are," Panetta said.
>
> The defense chief also said he's committed to removing as many 
> barriers as possible to making the military a model of equal opportunity.
>
> Panetta's video message was part of a Pentagon salute to gay, lesbian, 
> bisexual and transgender troops as the Pentagon joined the rest of the 
> U.S. government for the first time in marking June as gay pride month..
>
> It comes nine months after repeal of the policy that had prohibited 
> gay troops from serving openly and forced more than 13,500 service 
> members out of the armed forces.
>
> On Friday the Pentagon announced that its gay pride event --- the 
> first of its kind --- will be held June 26 in the Pentagon. It will 
> feature remarks by Jeh Johnson, the top Pentagon lawyer, as well as a 
> panel discussion of the value of gay service and diversity, with gay 
> and lesbian service members participating.
>
> This month's event will follow a long tradition at the Pentagon of 
> recognizing diversity in America's armed forces. Hallway displays and 
> activities, for example, have marked Black History Month and 
> Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.
>
> Before the repeal, gay troops could serve but couldn't reveal their 
> orientation. If they did, they would be discharged. At the same time, 
> a commanding officer was prohibited from asking a service member 
> whether he or she was gay.
>
> Although some feared repeal of the ban on serving openly would cause 
> problems in the ranks, officials and gay advocacy groups say no big 
> issues have materialized --- aside from what advocacy groups criticize 
> as slow implementation of some changes, such as benefit entitlements 
> to troops in same-sex marriages.
>
> Basic changes have come rapidly since repeal; the biggest is that gay 
> and lesbian soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines no longer have to 
> hide their sexuality in order to serve. They can put photos on their 
> office desk without fear of being outed, attend social events with 
> their partners and openly join advocacy groups looking out for their 
> interests.
>
> OutServe, a once-clandestine professional association for gay service 
> members, has nearly doubled in size to more than 5,500 members. It 
> held its first national convention of gay service members in Las Vegas 
> last fall, then a conference on family issues this year in Washington.
>
> At West Point, the alumni gay advocacy group Knights Out was able to 
> hold the first installment in March of what is intended to be an 
> annual dinner in recognition of gay and lesbian graduates and Army 
> cadets. Gay students at the U.S. Naval Academy were able to take 
> same-sex dates to the academy's Ring Dance for third-year midshipmen.
>
> Panetta said last month that military leaders had concluded that 
> repeal had not affected morale or readiness. A report to Panetta with 
> assessments from the individual military service branches said that as 
> of May 1 they had seen no ill effects.
>
> "I don't think it's just moving along smoothly, I think it's 
> accelerating faster than we even thought the military would as far as 
> progress goes," said Air Force 1st Lt. Josh Seefried, a finance 
> officer and co-director of OutServe.
>
> He said acceptance has been broad among straight service members and 
> has put a spotlight on unequal treatment that gays continue to receive 
> in some areas. "We are seeing such tremendous progress in how much the 
> military is accepting us, but not only that --- in how much the rank 
> and file is now understanding the inequality that's existing right 
> now," he said.
>
> That's a reference to the fact that same-sex couples aren't afforded 
> spousal health care, assignments to the same location when they 
> transfer to another job, and other benefits. There was no immediate 
> change to eligibility standards for military benefits in September. 
> All service members already were entitled to certain things, such as 
> designating a partner as one's life insurance beneficiary or as 
> designated caregiver in the Wounded Warrior program.
>
> As for other benefits still not approved, the department began a 
> review after repeal with an eye toward possibly extending eligibility, 
> consistent with the federal Defense of Marriage Act and other 
> applicable laws, to the same-sex partners of military personnel.
>
> "The department is carefully and deliberately reviewing the benefits 
> from a policy, fiscal, legal and feasibility perspective," Eileen 
> Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said Thursday.
>
> Gay marriage has been perhaps the most difficult issue.
>
> Though chaplains on bases in some states are allowed to hold what the 
> Pentagon officials call "private services" --- they don't use the 
> words wedding or marriage --- such unions do not garner marriage 
> benefits because the Defense of Marriage Act says marriage is between 
> a man and a woman.
>
> The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was in force for 18 years, and its 
> repeal was a slow and deliberate process.
>
> President Obama on Dec. 22, 2010, signed legislation repealing it. 
> Framing the issue as a matter of civil rights long denied, Obama said, 
> "We are a nation that welcomes the service of every patriot ... a 
> nation that believes that all men and women are created equal."
>
> The military then did an assessment for several months to certify that 
> the forces were prepared to implement it in a way that would not hurt 
> military readiness. And it held training for its 2.25 million-person 
> force to inform everyone of the coming change and what was expected.
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "If not us, who?
> If not now, when?"
>
> - Unknown
>
>
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