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Servicemembers United Hosting Meeting Between LGBT Partners, Pentagon Officials

08/27/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The Pentagon Working Group reviewing the potential repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will be meeting next month with lesbian and gay partners of some servicemembers. The meeting has been set up and will be hosted by Servicemembers United. It will be held on 16 September, a Thursday, and will be between military officials and lesbian and gay partners. It is being billed as the first ever meeting of its kind.

According to Servicemembers United Executive Director Alex Nicholson, senior members of the working group will be attending the meeting. The meeting’s exact time and location is being kept secret in order to protect the confidentiality of the partners in attendance.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith stated “The meeting will enable [the partners] to provide their perspectives on the topic of repeal of DADT, should it occur. This engagement is consistent with our comprehensive approach to this review.”

Nicholson, who was himself discharged under DADT, stated “We have been pushing for partner input into the review process for quite some time. We are glad that the Pentagon recognizes the value of input from these silent heroes.”

One concern that might be floating around is whether or not the Pentagon officials are all civilians since this would eliminate any chance of compromising the active duty lesbian and gay troops represented by these partners.

The review of the repeal process is suppose to be due on 1 December. At that point, it will be up to President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen to determine if the repeal can go forward. The group is currently surveying via paper surveys the spouses of military service personnel, and last month surveyed the troops. Of the 400,000 surveys sent out, only 115,000 were completed.

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