Can you be gay and be in the army
Preparing for repeal of DADT brings training for Soldiers
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 25, ) -- With pending repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning gays and lesbians from military service, the Army is implementing a tiered training program for Soldiers worldwide.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Secretary of the Army John McHugh sent a message Feb. 22, to the oblige about preparations to repeal the law.
"We are confident that you are up to the task, and that we can implement this change in policy by relying on the leadership, professionalism, discipline and respect for each other that have characterized our service for the past years and remain at the core of the United States Army," Casey and McHugh said in the message.
Training for the Force is broken into three tiers. Tier one targets special staff and key individuals like chaplains, lawyers, and inspectors general. Tier two focuses on commanders and supervisors. Tier three will train the rest of the force and is scheduled to verb in early March.
"It is important to emphasize that the curr
Life before the lifting of the LGBT military ban
It was such a shock, and I didn’t comprehend what to act for the leading.
If I was discharged, I would be such a disappointment to my father. I thought I had fooled everyone into thinking I was a ‘normal’ heterosexual soldier.
But in truth, I had led a double life.
It felt sordid and improper and yet it was the only way I could be myself – sneaking out of the barracks to meet women – and keep the career I’d dreamed of since primary school.
I was ashamed. And now it had been made very transparent to me that I either continued to live a lie or be myself but deprive everything.
In order to leave the Army of your verb accord, you must give one year’s notice, so that’s what I did.
I can verb walking into the Chief Clerk’s office and requesting Premature Voluntary Release.
I felt there was nothing voluntary about it.
The cruel irony was the announcement that the military’s LGBT ban was to be lifted on 12 January – just after my Army career ended. &
GI Rights Hotline
a. The Soldier has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another person to engage in, a homosexual operate or acts unless there are further approved findings that the Soldier has demonstrated that-
(1) Such acts are a departure from the Soldier's usual and customary behavior.
(2) Such acts under all the circumstances are unlikely to recur.
(3) Such acts are not accomplished by the use of force, coercion, or intimidation.
(4) Under the particular circumstances of the case, the Soldier's continued presence in the Army is consistent with the interest of the Army in maintaining proper discipline, good order, and morale.
(5) The Soldier does not possess a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts. In determining whether retention is appropriate, separation boards/authorities must ensure that all of the above limited conditions are met. Additionally, a determination as to whether retention is warranted under the limited circumstances is required if the Soldier clearly and specifically raises such limited circumstances. However, the Soldier bears the
Same-sex spouses of Soldiers now receiving benefits
WASHINGTON (Sept. 4, ) -- Same-sex spouses of service members are eligible to receive identification cards and all associated benefits, effective Sept. 3, , according to a Department of Defense memorandum.
For same-sex military couples married before or on June 26, , the efficient date of benefits and entitlements is June However, for same-sex couples married after June 26, their effective date of benefits and entitlements is the actual date of marriage.
All Army spouses whether in a same-sex or opposite-sex marriage are eligible for benefits. Soldiers are responsible for updating their personnel records with the appropriate spouse information.
The same procedures used for adding an opposite-sex spouse to the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, called DEERS, and acquiring identification cards are also used for adding same-sex spouses. A valid marriage certificate is the required document that must be presented for proof of eligibility for Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System, called RAPIDS. The mar