The Stars and Stripes reports that several House Democrats are asking the Pentagon to allow troops previously dismissed under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law to petition the boards of correction to upgrade their discharges to “honorable” if they received a lesser discharge.
Such an upgrade would make them eligible to receive veterans’ benefits.
According to the Stripes:
Under Department of Veterans Affairs rules, only troops who receive a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge are completely barred from receiving veterans benefits. But troops with other-than-honorable dismissals do see some restrictions on their eligibility.
Troops with other-than-honorable dismissals can apply for health care related to service-connected injuries, but the department can deny treatment for health issues that develop later in life. They are not eligible for GI Bill benefits, and may be refused veterans home loans.
Other-than-honorable discharges also carry a “negative stigma” and can create big problems when the troops apply for civilian jobs.
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of pro-repeal Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said that the majority of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” dismissals have been honorable discharges, but there are a number of cases where troops were given lesser status “simply because of a commander’s negative views on homosexuality.”
More than 14,000 troops have been dismissed from the military under the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law since 1993, although none have been kicked out since November.
Sarvis adds:
…[H]is group is working on a proposal to allow all of the troops dismissed under “don’t ask, don’t tell” to appeal their status to the Pentagon. Even troops with honorable status have “homosexual conduct” stamped on their discharge paperwork, which creates privacy headaches when civilian employers ask for evidence of their military experience.
Read more here
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.