30 Days of Pride!
June 26: Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta most recently served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency before being confirmed as the 23rd Secretary of Defense in the summer of 2011. Panetta oversaw the certification process of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) after Dr. Robert Gates, then Secretary, retired from the post.
Secretary Panetta has been a supporter of the repeal of DADT from the start. On September 20, 2011, the day DADT was officially repealed, Panetta said that anyone who is capable of serving in uniform should be able to do so. He went on to say, “I am committed to removing all of the barriers that would prevent Americans from serving their country and from rising to the highest level of responsibility that their talents and capabilities warrant.”
This month, in a video message, Secretary Panetta reconfirmed this commitment and thanked LGBT service members and Department of Defense civilians, noting that “diversity is one of the department’s greatest strengths.” This is the first time in history a sitting Defense Secretary has acknowledged the LGBT community during Pride month.
The Department of Defense will also honor the service and sacrifices of the LGBT defense community at a ceremony at the Pentagon on June 26, 2012.
