WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Tuesday that more than 800 service members have had their service records upgraded to an honorable discharge before he was kicked out of the army under the former ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.
It is the latest development in recent decades to undo past discrimination against LGBTQ service members.
Article 125 of the 1951 Uniform Code of Military Justice had criminalized consensual gay sex. In 1993, former President Bill Clinton changed the military’s policy to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” allowing LGBTQ troops to serve in the armed forces if they did not disclose their sexual orientation.
That policy was repealed in 2011, when Congress allowed their open service in the military. The 1951 UCMJ code was amended in 2013 to be limited to non-consensual gay sex.
President Joe Biden announced this in June he pardoned to soldiers convicted on the basis of the repealed military policy.
Under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” thousands of service members still saw their military service end without an honorable discharge, meaning they did not receive the military benefits they would otherwise have, such as educational benefits. have affected their ability to apply for jobs or loans.
Last year, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said ordered a review of the cases of former military personnel who may have been affected by the policy.
The Pentagon estimates that a total of about 13,500 service members have been released from military service under the motto “don’t ask, don’t tell.” With the overhaul and upgrades to the more than 800 troops announced Tuesday, the Pentagon said about 96% of the 13,500 personnel affected by the policy have now been given honorable discharges.
Not in every case of the 13,500 was a review necessary: some of these staff had either not served long enough to qualify for benefits, were released with an honorable discharge at the time, or had already had their discharge upgraded in some other way , or they were ineligible for an upgrade due to other violations.
“We will continue to honor the service and sacrifice of all our troops – including the brave Americans who raised their hands to serve but were turned away because of who they love. We will continue to strive to do right by every American patriot who has served his country honorably,” Austin said in a statement.