The Pentagon is stepping up efforts to reach out to LGBTQ veterans who were discharged from service under “less than honorable conditions” before the 2011 repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to help them correct their military record.
On Wednesday, which marks the 12th anniversary of the formal repeal of the policy, the Pentagon released a new webpage dedicated to helping those who believe they were wrongfully discharged for their sexuality.
The webpage will help veterans connect with related resources and find information on how to apply to correct a military record.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the Pentagon will start reaching out to veterans who believe they were unfairly discharged to encourage them to correct their records.
The Defense Department will also conduct a review of veterans’ records, which would bypass the application process and make it easier to correct records, according to CBS News.
Austin said in a statement marking the anniversary of the policy’s repeal that “LGBTQ+ Service members were forced to hide or were prevented from serving altogether” for decades.
“Even still, they selflessly put themselves in harm’s way for the good of our country and the American people,” he said in a statement. “Unfortunately, too many of them were discharged from the military based on their sexual orientation – and for many this left them without access to the benefits and services they earned.”
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” law went into effect during the Clinton administration, allowing members of the LGBTQ community to serve in the military so long as they did not make their identity public.
Thousands of LGBTQ service members were discharged without an honorable distinction from the military before the policy was repealed in 2011. Those who were discharged under the policy often cannot access key benefits for veterans.
The new webpage released Wednesday encourages those who were discharged in the last 15 years for their sexual orientation to apply for their military department’s discharge review board.
Service members discharged wrongfully more than 15 years ago are advised to apply to the military department’s board for correction of military and naval records.