Tag Archives: military

Led by GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, 23 anti-gay members are the U.S. House are seeking to thwart the certification of the repeal of DADT. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: The GOP letter to Obama states Congress should have the opportunity to review the new regulations before the president and defense leaders give the OK for “Don’t Ask, Don’t …

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the certification of the repeal of DADT could be completed this month. Gates leaves his post and will be replaced by CIA Director Leon Panetta in two weeks. The move to end the ban on gay services could be one of Gates’ final acts as defense chief. But Gates stressed that he is not trying …

“It’s hard to believe that he made that statement with a straight face. After all the testimony and Pentagon scrutiny, it’s incredibly disingenuous to suggest that the military won’t be affected by repeal. Some leaders may be on board with the change, but even they recognize that it is change. If this were just business as usual, would the military …

“You’ll have to complete your enlistment just like everybody else. The reality is that you don’t all agree with each other on your politics, you don’t agree with each other on your religion, you don’t agree with each other on a lot of thing. But you still serve together. And you work together. And you look out for each other. …

Via press release: In preparation of the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the Army has launched a new website to provide servicemembers and their families the most up-to-date information about the change. The website features current news articles, key facts, frequently asked questions and additional resources. It is just one of the many training resources the Army …

A massive version of the above chart can be found here.

The American Family Association has posted another of its classic “polls,” this one about the Obama administration’s denouncement of the GOP’s attempt to derail the repeal of DADT.

The leaders of 21 religious groups that provide chaplains to the military have sent a letter to the chiefs of chaplains of the armed services seeking assurance that anti-gay troops won’t face retribution for publicly stating their beliefs. “This is already an assault and a challenge on individual conscience and some soldiers may think it’s forcing them to abandon their …

“I held my composure as I stood in the back of a small but crowded room with standing room only. The formal briefing was a slightly awkward attempt at a conversation between one of my superior officers and the 40 or so of us squeezed in that room. He was clearly not used to talking about the topic of homosexuality …

A civilian employee of the Marine Corps writes us this morning to note that the USMC has blocked the website of the International Day Against Homophobia. The repeal of DADT is nearly official and the Secretary of State has issued a statement in support of the site’s goals. But Marines still can’t read about it. Or any other “LGBT” classified …

The Washington Post is tweeting that the Pentagon has revoked the U.S. Navy memo granting permission for chaplains to perform on-base same-sex marriages. This comes after two days of intense anti-gay lobbying on the issue by House GOP members working under the orders of the Family Research Council.

“When the Pentagon’s own studies show that military effeminization may have an extremely costly impact on recruiting and retention, when Islamists have shown their willingness to sexually brutalize American female reporters, why would John Boehner’s House Republicans be caving to political correctness? Why would House Republicans who know better be fostering inappropriate attractions in the intimacy of tents, bunks, barracks, …

Wingnut Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will introduce amendments to the Defense Authorization Act which will require each member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to certify that the repeal of DADT won’t damage military readiness. Under Hunter’s plan, one renegade service head could potentially undo the repeal. “The four military service chiefs are far more closely connected to the day-to-day …

If you’re going to lie about having been a war hero and Navy SEAL, you totally shouldn’t use the plot of Steven Seagal’s Under Siege to tell your story. PennLive has the humiliated confession of Rev. Jim Moats.

It appears that the U.S. Navy has authorized the usage of military chapels for performing same-sex marriages in jurisdictions where it is legal. Lez Get Real reports: The changes came in the form of an April 13 advisory memo issued to all chaplains which said the Chaplain Corps was revising its Tier I DADT Repeal training manuals, which had previously …

The Associated Press reports: A U.S. official says Osama bin Laden has been buried at sea. After bin Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan, senior administration officials said the body would be handled according to Islamic practice and tradition. That practice calls for the body to be buried within 24 hours, the official said. Finding …