The Pentagon issued a report today showing a rise in the reports of male-on-male sexual assault between the fall of 2013 and summer of 2014.
Of course, opponents of ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell say allowing openly gay men to serve in the military is the cause of the rise in reports.
Wrong.
I’m not so sure there’s been an actual increase in such assaults as much as the Pentagon has ramped up efforts to encourage men to come forward.
Statistics show men often never report being sexually assaulted because they don’t have confidence in the chain of command. Additionally, there is the social stigma and embarrassment attached to being viewed as “less than a man.”
On Friday, President Obama nominated Eric Fanning, currently serving as acting under secretary of the Army, to be the next secretary of the Army.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called Fanning an “excellent choice” to lead the Army.
The appointment would make Fanning the first openly gay secretary of a U.S. military branch.
GOP White House hopeful and constant opponent of anyone/anything gay, threw a hissy fit on his Facebook page about the nomination:
“It’s clear President Obama is more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals than honoring America’s heroes.
“Veterans suicide is out-of-control and military readiness is dangerously low, yet Obama is so obsessed with pandering to liberal interest groups he’s nominated an openly gay civilian to run the Army.
“Homosexuality is not a job qualification. The U.S. military is designed to keep Americans safe and complete combat missions, not conduct social experiments.”
What everyone else can see is this: Huckabee has it backwards – Fanning isn’t being appointed because he’s gay. Fanning, who happens to be gay, has decades of experience at the Pentagon.
He has previously served as Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense, Acting Secretary of the Air Force, and Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy.
THAT’s why he’s being appointed to the position.
Huckabee’s animus to all things gay is getting more and more transparent.
USA TODAY is reporting on a proposal that would end the ban on transgender military personnel by May 27, 2016.
The move could affect about 12,000 troops.
The memo, circulated last week among top personnel and medical officials, lays out the road map for ending the policy and highlights some of the potential issues, including a pilot program that would provide leaves of absences for transgender troops being treated with hormones or having surgery.
Meanwhile, Army and the Air Force leaders know for sure of about 20 transgender troops in each service, according to a Defense Department official familiar with the issue who spoke on condition of anonymity because officials were not authorized to speak publicly. The condition of gender dysphoria disqualifies them from service under current policy, but a de facto moratorium on dismissals was enacted last month by Defense Secretary Ash Carter.
Carter ordered a six-month review of the issues surrounding transgender troops with the assumption that they can serve openly unless “objective, practical impediments are identified,” the Aug. 19 memo says. During that period, one of Carter’s chief deputies would have to approve any request to discharge transgender troops.
The memo details a list of issues surrounding the open service of transgender troops, including medical treatment, housing, uniforms and physical fitness standards.
Military leaders are also looking at reconsidering the discharge status of transgender troops who may have been kicked out in recent years. A change from dishonorable to honorable discharge would affect veterans benefits.
The Associated Press has learned that Pentagon leaders are finalizing plans aimed at lifting the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
Senior U.S. officials say an announcement is expected this week. They say the military would have six months to determine the impact and work out details, with the presumption that they would end one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service.
The officials say that during the transition, transgender individuals would still not be able to join the military. Decisions to force out those already serving would have to be referred to a top Defense Department leader.
The Pentagon is preparing to update its Military Equal Opportunity Policy to include sexual orientation as a protected class and the change could be made final as soon as the end of next month, the Washington Blade has learned.
A senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed late Friday the Defense Department is planning to update the Military Equal Opportunity Policy to add the words “sexual orientation” as part of the non-discrimination policy.
The proposed change is set to be delivered as early as the middle of next week to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter for his review and final approval, the official said. Each of the military services has already agreed to the change, the official said.
Transgender people are still barred from open service in the U.S. Military.
I wrote about this last week, and now we get official word from the Pentagon:
The Pentagon plans to extend to legally married same-sex couples the same privileges and programs that are provided to legally married heterosexual couples, including benefits tied to health care and housing, the official said.
In addition, the official said that service members who are stationed in one of the 37 states where same-sex marriage is illegal will be offered up to 10 days of leave so they can travel to one of the 13 states, plus the District of Columbia, that grant same-sex marriage licenses. The Defense Department had earlier planned to permit same-sex spouses of military members to sign a declaration form in order to receive limited benefits, such as access to military stores and certain welfare programs, according to The Associated Press.
Implementation of the new policies could begin as early as next month.
