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Huffington Post: SLDN to Panetta: The Time is Now for Concrete Action
By Aubrey Sarvis
A year ago yesterday, President Obama, Admiral Mike Mullen and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta certified that the United States military was ready to implement the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT). It was a momentous occasion, and a genuine example of strong vision and determined leadership bringing about real change. While everyone acknowledged there was more work to be done in order to successfully implement the repeal, it was a day of celebration.
Yet, despite an historic LGBT Pride event at the Pentagon in June, there has been woefully little concrete action from the Department of Defense in the past year to ensure a lasting successful implementation of repeal. SLDN has written to Secretary Panetta several times urging the extension of benefits where he has the authority to do so. Senior members of the Secretary's staff--both civilian and military--have been actively reviewing this issue for months. In fact, at their invitation, we brought service members and their spouses to the Pentagon to meet with the review team to discuss these benefits.
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