DoD Upgrades Military Discharges Under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
The Department of Defense has finished what it calls a “proactive review” of service members administratively discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era. This policy, in effect from 1994 to 2011, prohibited gay, lesbian, and bisexuals from openly serving in the U.S. military.
Over 13,000 service members were discharged under this policy. Some of those kicked out of the service received honorable discharges, but some sources say as many as 2,000 did not.
Following the policy’s repeal in 2011, the DoD allowed troops to appeal to their branch of service for an upgrade to their discharge status, and many did so successfully.
A Proactive Review of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Discharges
In 2023, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks initiated a review of qualifying military records to upgrade discharges without requiring individual requests.
The Pentagon announced the process was complete in October 2024. The Department of Defense has issued corrected records and informed those affected about obtaining copies of their newly upgraded discharge certificates.
According to a Pentagon news release, more than “96% of those administratively separated” under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” who meet the requirements now have an honorable characterization of service. That expands options for veteran benefits such as VA healthcare and the GI Bill.
The Department of Defense encourages anyone who believes their military record contains an error or injustice, particularly those discharged for their sexual orientation before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to request a records review through their branch of military service.
A Statement by the Secretary of Defense
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III issued an official announcement about the DoD’s “Proactive Review of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Records,” which includes the following:
“America’s greatest national security asset is the brave and qualified patriots who step up to form our all-volunteer force. Brave LGBTQ+ Americans have long volunteered to serve the country that they love.”
Austin says some of these troops were “administratively separated from military service” under the now-repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
“Just over a year ago, I announced that the Department would, for the first time, begin to proactively review the military records of former Service members discharged during “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” because of their sexual orientation who might have been eligible for upgrades to the characterization of their discharge or changes to their reason for separation but had not yet applied.”
After a year of these reviews, “Military Department Review Boards directed relief in 96.8% of the 851 cases that they proactively reviewed.”
Approximately 13,500 service members “who were administratively separated under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and served long enough to receive a merit-based characterization of service, 96% now have an honorable discharge,” according to the Pentagon statement.
About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
