Gay Military Discharges Up 10%

WASHINGTON, DC -- According to figures released by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the Defense Department dismissed 726 service members last year for being gay. This is a 10% increase compared to 2004, SLDN reports.

A spokeswoman for the Defense Department confirmed that it had released the information to the group after the group submitted a Freedom of Information Act request.

Several U.S. military installations saw a significant increase in the number of troops dismissed under the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on openly gay service members in 2005.

The sharpest increase of dismissals occurred at Fort Campbell, Ky., where PFC Barry Winchell was murdered in 1999 by fellow soldiers who believed Winchell was gay. In 2004, the base discharged 19 soldiers under the ban; that number climbed to 49 in 2005. Fort Sill, Okla., also saw a significant increase, from eight dismissals in 2004 to 27 last year. Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., a large training facility for the Army, saw an increase as well, from 40 in 2004 to 60 in 2005. Parris Island, S.C., a Marine Corps base, discharged 22 service members in 2005, up from just 12 the prior year.

"When the Pentagon fires skilled service members for being gay, like former Arabic linguist Bleu Copas, it is being utterly irresponsible," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of SLDN. "No American cares if the person who thwarts a plot to blow up an airplane is gay. We care that our nation is secure.

Osburn also called for Congress to pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act and repeal the "archaic and counterproductive 'don't ask, don't tell' law immediately."

Neither the Pentagon nor officials at the bases mentioned have provided an explanation of the increase in dismissals. Overall, gay discharges have decreased nearly 40 percent since 9/11. The 2005 dismissals represent the first annual increase since the beginning of the war on terror.

"Those who serve our country deserve respect and honor, not pink slips and dismissals," Osburn said.