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About 20 years to late?<br>
<br>
Dave<br>
<br>
<br>
On 12-06-15 02:17 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:107BB950-4249-4CD0-A68B-47013196CF7C@moscow.com"
type="cite">
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<div><span>Courtesy of the Army Times at:</span></div>
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<div><span></span><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/06/ap-military-gay-pride-month-military-recognize-gay-troops-061412/">http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/06/ap-military-gay-pride-month-military-recognize-gay-troops-061412/</a></div>
<div> <br>
<span>-----------------------------------</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:
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<h2 style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px;
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26px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;
color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Military to recognize gay
troops this month</h2>
</span><br>
</span></div>
<div><span><br>
</span></div>
<div><span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>“Now you can be proud of serving your country, and be
proud of who you are,” Panetta said.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>The defense chief also said he’s committed to removing
as many barriers as possible to making the military a model
of equal opportunity.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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..</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>“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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>“The department is carefully and deliberately reviewing
the benefits from a policy, fiscal, legal and feasibility
perspective,” Eileen Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said
Thursday.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>Gay marriage has been perhaps the most difficult issue.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was in force for 18
years, and its repeal was a slow and deliberate process.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.”</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>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.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>-----------------------------------</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>Seeya round town, Moscow.</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>Tom Hansen</span><br>
<span>Moscow, Idaho</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>"If not us, who?</span><br>
<span>If not now, when?"</span><br>
<span></span><br>
<span>- Unknown</span><br>
<span></span><span></span> </div>
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