Same-gender partners are expected to receive military identification cards, which will allow access to military perks such as commissaries and family-support programs, and access to military-only facilities including gyms and movie theaters. Additionally, same-gender partners could receive some privileges in health programs. The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, which enforced a mandatory discharge of any troops identified as gay or lesbian, was repealed 16 months earlier.

“Considering DADT was repealed well over a year ago, our families have waited far too long for the Defense Department to extend benefits to same-sex military spouses,” said Stephen Peters, president of the American Military Partner Association. “No military family should suffer because of outdated regulations. For the sake of our families, we hope for substantive action and look forward to hearing from Secretary Panetta on exactly what benefits will be extended.”

While a step in the right direction, the benefits being extended to same-gender couples will not encompass the full breadth of allowances—including medical, dental, housing and other spousal benefits—because of the continued existence of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law states that the federal government only recognizes heterosexual marriages.

What About DOMA? What Will SCOTUS Rule?

As more states have recognized same-gender marriage, the next big question is how the Supreme Court will rule on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8? Both cases will appear before the high court starting in March, with rulings expected sometime this summer. Proposition 8 refers to the ballot measure against same-gender marriage that was approved by voters in California but which has been ruled unconstitutional by lower courts.

“If you provide benefits to individuals seen as the most deserving and the social fabric doesn’t tear, that does make it easier down the line to do away with DOMA,” said Tammy S. Schultz, the director of the National Security and Joint Warfare Program at the Marine Corps War College. However, she says the benefits announced by the Pentagon “could be a flanking maneuver to keep chipping away at it.”

Global Equality Increasing

While global inequities for LGBT people remain and are examined in our recent Global Diversity Research report, there has been progress in certain countries. Our report examines LGBT resource groups and benefits, and companies’ abilities to create safe workplaces and to lobby for human rights. Most of the progress in LGBT equality globally has come in Western Europe. To that end, the British House of Commons just voted overwhelmingly to approve same-gender marriage in the United Kingdom.

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“Women have shown great courage and sacrifice on and off the battlefield, contributed in unprecedented ways to the military’s mission and proven their ability to serve in an expanding number of roles,” says Panetta. “The department’s goal in rescinding the rule is to ensure that the mission is met with the best-qualified and most capable people, regardless of gender.”

Panetta: Diversity Champion

DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti, a veteran, interviewed Panetta in 2010 on his desire for a more inclusive federal workplace, including the military. “Our mission is to gather intelligence throughout the world. …You can’t get good intelligence without understanding the world that we’re in, without reflecting the ethnic background of the world [and] relating to the nations that we’re involved in,” said Panetta during the interview, in which he discussed his experiences as a civil-rights champion and public servant. “The most fulfilling thing you can do in life is make a difference.”

“This was a good move, about eight years overdue. [The ban has] been holding down the careers of women who served in combat, but many officially have been in combat-support roles for the past 10 years. It shouldn’t have taken this long for policy to reflect reality,” says Visconti. Visconti served as a Naval aviator and commissioned officer with the U.S. Navy from 1982 to 1990, and he now serves on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Committee, where he has co-chaired three subcommittees regarding diversity and women’s issues, reporting out to the Chief of Naval Operations. Visconti also was a driving force in pressing now-retired Admiral Michael Mullen to revise the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which was repealed in 2010.

Women & Diversity in the Military

Military branches will have until January 2016 to implement the changes or to request special exemptions if they believe certain positions should remain under the ban. Congress will also have 30 days to consider the policy change. Front-line jobs could begin opening to women later this year.

“Today, by moving to open more military positions—including ground-combat units—to women, our armed forces have taken another historic step toward harnessing the talents and skills of all our citizens,” President Obama said, giving his endorsement. “This milestone reflects the courageous and patriotic service of women through more than two centuries of American history and the indispensable role of women in today’s military. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice, including more than 150 women who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan—patriots whose sacrifices show that valor knows no gender.” 

Women currently make up 14 percent of the country’s 1.4 million active military personnel. Although women were not allowed to serve in combat officially, military women frequently had to engage in combat throughout the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which blurred the roles of combat and non-combat personnel. More than 800 women were wounded, in addition to the more than 150 who were killed.

The decision is one of the last acts that Panetta will implement as Defense Secretary. Obama has nominated Chuck Hagel to assume the position for his second presidential term. Hagel is a former senator from Nebraska and a Vietnam veteran.

Panetta is a veteran who served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He attended Intelligence School and was Chief of Operations and Planning for Intelligence at Fort Ord prior to starting his political career. Panetta served as a legislative assistant, then Special Assistant to Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Robert Finch, and was Director of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights where he worked to enforce equal-education laws during the Nixon Administration.

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