More than 800 service members ejected from US military under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ receive honorable discharges

More than 800 records of service members who were kicked out of the military under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy were recently upgraded to receive honorable discharges, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday.

“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,” Austin said. “After a year of exceptional work, the Military Department Review Boards directed relief in 96.8% of the 851 cases that they proactively reviewed.”

Austin announced in September 2023 that the Pentagon would be “initiating new outreach campaigns” to reach LGBTQ+ service members who may have been discharged based on their sexual orientation. Congress officially repealed the policy, which prohibited openly bisexual, gay, or lesbian individuals from serving in the military, in 2011.

A service member’s discharge status determines what benefits they are eligible for after military service. An individual who has received a discharge characterized as other than honorable or under bad conduct, for example, may not receive full benefits from the Veterans Affairs.

Last year, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said troops “were given discharges that may have denied them access to veterans’ benefits like home loans, healthcare, GI Bill tuition assistance, and even some government jobs.”

Austin said Tuesday that with the hundreds of changes recently made in the proactive review, 96% of all service members who were kicked out of the military under “don’t ask, don’t tell” — and who served long enough to receive a merit-based characterization of that service — now have an honorable discharge.

“We will continue to strive to do right by every American patriot who has honorably served their country,” Austin said Tuesday.