Honorable discharges given to those booted by 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

While Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is posting bizarre videos wishing for a return to the violent masculinity that brought us the Vietnam War, the Biden-Harris administration has scored another big win for LGBTQ+ justice.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday that more than 800 former service members discharged under the homophobic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy have had their status upgraded to “honorable discharge” after a yearlong review.

“Don't Ask, Don't Tell” affected more than 13,000 military members during the 17 years it was in effect and barred openly gay people from serving. According to Christa A. Specht, a legal policy director at the Pentagon, while most of those members were given honorable discharges, “nearly 2,000 were separated with less than fully honorable characterizations.” 

While many of those affected by the policy appealed for an upgrade after the policy was reversed in 2011, others likely didn’t know that was an option and did not apply. Austin announced in September 2023 that the Pentagon would be reviewing the remaining cases in order to “do right by our outstanding service members, military families, and civilian employees.” According to Austin, 96.8% of the cases reviewed received an upgrade to their status.