The defense secretary said the measure will help “redress the harm” caused by the policy, which forced LGBTQ service members to conceal their identities.
The U.S. military has updated its record of service members who were discharged under an old anti-LGBTQ policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” to make amends.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that the status of 851 service members who lost their jobs under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been changed to “honorably discharged.”
Those who received discharges in categories other than “honorable” often lost military benefits ranging from education funds, medical care, pensions, and other compensation.
“Brave LGBTQ Americans have long volunteered their time serving the country they love. Some of these troops have been administratively shut down under the now-defunct ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. He had been separated from military service,” the statement said.
“Under the leadership of President (Joe) Biden, the Department of Defense has taken extraordinary steps to redress the harm caused by ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policies and other policies against former military members.”
under @POTUSUnder the leadership of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and other policies against LGBTQ+ military veterans, the Department of Defense took extraordinary steps to redress the harm caused by “don’t ask, don’t tell” and other policies against LGBTQ+ military veterans. Please read my full statement: pic.twitter.com/3wbh8nI3pP
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 15, 2024
The move is the latest effort to address the legacy of discriminatory policies enacted by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994.
The directive allowed LGBTQ people to serve in the military as long as they concealed their identities. Anyone openly gay or bisexual could otherwise be expelled.
Clinton championed “don’t ask, don’t tell” as an alternative to previous military policy that outright banned homosexuality. Democrats had hoped to lift the ban if elected president, but were unable to do so in the face of fierce resistance from military leaders and members of Congress.
That ultimately led to the rise of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Soldiers were not required to disclose their sexual orientation, and officials were not supposed to ask.
But critics said the new policy was equally discriminatory. It was eventually repealed in 2011, allowing LGBTQ people to serve openly in the military.
However, approximately 13,500 military personnel were discharged while “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was in effect.
The Biden administration is moving beyond “don’t ask, don’t tell” to address historic anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the military.
In June, Biden granted “unconditional pardons” to military personnel convicted of consensual sex under the now-defunct Section 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Previously, Article 125 prohibited sodomy and other “unnatural sexual intercourse with others of the same or opposite sex.” Thousands were court-martialed under the law.
But Biden’s pardons allowed some of those affected to regain access to lost benefits.
In the case of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Department of Defense announced in September 2023 that it would actively review old records.
“As a result of a year of extraordinary work, the Military Department Review Board has ordered relief in 96.8 percent of the 851 cases it actively reviewed,” Austin said.
However, while not all 13,500 service members had to have their records reviewed, some were honorably discharged, did not serve long enough to qualify for certain benefits, or had other This is because some people were dishonorably discharged for various reasons.
