http://youtu.be/R0cuGgXd8sE In a first, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his wife Lilibet released a holiday message to men and women of the Defense Department last week that included an image of MM2 2nd Class Jerrel Revels’ proposal to his boyfriend Dylan Kirchner. Watch he video above.
Washington, DC – SPARTA, the national organization of LGBT members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, commended Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for his service on behalf of lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members and their families, while calling upon him to initiate immediately a promised review of the outdated policy prohibiting transgender…
What a weekend it was for the LGBT community this past Mother’s Day weekend. Michael Sam became the first openly gay football player drafted by an NFL team, drag performer Conchita Wurst won the annual Eurovision Song contest and the Arkansas State Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality. But in a development that truly made…
WASHINGTON – Over the weekend on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in response to a question about military health regulations which effectively bar military service by transgender persons, said he believes that regulations should be reviewed. Hagel said: I do think it continually should be reviewed. I’m open to that….
Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on same-sex benefits, released by the U.S. Department of Defense today: On Oct. 31, I called on the chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement Department of Defense policy by providing DoD identification cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation. Following…
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel as defense secretary after a bruising political fight. The former Nebraska senator, a Republican, was confirmed by a a vote of 58-41 and will succeed Leon Panetta at the Pentagon. Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson praised the Senate for confirming Hagel and called on…
(CNN) — For Gen. Martin Dempsey, Thursday’s move to open combat units in the U.S. military to women had its roots nearly a decade ago, on the streets of Baghdad. Dempsey took command of the Army’s 1st Armored Division in June 2003, when Iraqi insurgents were starting to target American troops with sniper fire, grenades…
There is a measure by which we’ll be able to judge current secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel’s support for the LGBT community that I haven’t seen mentioned yet in discussions. Should Sen. Hagel be confirmed as secretary of defense, his legacy on open service for transgender servicemembers will be a plumb line measure for…
(CNN) — A conservative group is planning a television and online ad campaign urging senators to vote against former Sen. Chuck Hagel at his confirmation hearings to be secretary of defense. The American Future Fund plans to run television ads in Washington and in certain states against Obama’s nominee, the group said, as well as…
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.” This famous quote came to mind as I thought about the overall tone in America and in our city. The ability to forgive can be a powerful human emotion, but sometimes it is the hardest thing for a person or community to do. As President Obama awaits confirmation…
