Military readies to suspend gay discharges

SUMMARY: Preparing for war, the Pentagon authorized a suspension of military discharges -- including those based on a disclosure of homosexuality.

As the United States prepares for war in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks, Pentagon leaders have authorized each service secretary to suspend military discharges -- including those based on a service member's disclosure of homosexuality.

Major James P. Cassella of the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs office told the San Francisco Chronicle, in a report published on Tuesday, that a "stop-loss" order has been authorized, allowing leaders of the military services to call a stop to discharges.

The last time a stop-loss order took effect was during the Persian Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush in 1991.

Casella noted, however, that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy enacted by President Clinton in 1993 is still in effect. "Gays and lesbians would be allowed to serve during any war, just as they do now," he said, "as long as they remain in compliance with the homosexual conduct policy."

C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), said any stop-loss order would be "explicit recognition by the Pentagon that gays and lesbians can serve their country, and do so with honor and distinction."

Osburn added that during the stop-loss order implemented for the Gulf War, gay and lesbian discharges dropped "significantly."

The discharges increased, however, once the Gulf War service members returned to the United States, according to the SLDN, a Washington-based advocacy group for gays and lesbians in the military.

Osburn believes the stop-loss order highlights the need to change the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

"Any (stop-loss) order should not be a temporary reflection of gays' and lesbians' ability to be put in harm's way in defense of our freedoms," he said, "but a permanent recognition of their right to serve our nation in times of both war and peace."

CNN reported Wednesday that dozens of military aircraft will be deployed within days to bases in the Persian Gulf. Tentatively titled "Operation Infinite Justice," the move is a response to the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.