A man battling terminal cancer had his dying wish answered last week when he was presented with paperwork adjusting his military records to reflect an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, replacing the other than honorable discharge he received in 1956 when his command found out he was gay. Hal Faulkner, 79, joined the Marine Corps in 1953 and served in Philippines. But in 1956, his otherwise flawless career in the Corps ended when he was discharged after a man with whom he had spent some off-duty time informed Hal’s commanding officer that Hal was gay, according to this opinion piece…
Browsing: don’t ask don’t tell
Late Friday, Headquarters Marine Corps released the following three-minute video featuring Commandant Gen. Jim Amos and his top enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, discussing the imminent repeal of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, which since the 1990s has prohibited military service by men and women who are openly homosexual. [HTML1] The pair explain that the service has established an operational planning team that’s working with the Defense Department “to determine the best way forward.” They do not specify any forthcoming changes or indicate what the timetable is for implementation. However, both lean heavily on leaders throughout the ranks —…
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos has said it before and he said it again tonight: The Marine Corps will demonstrate its fidelity to the constitution of the United States by implementing the new policies that will govern the service of openly gay men and women in the military. “As stated during my testimony before Congress in September and again during hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month, the Marine Corps will step out smartly to faithfully implement this new policy, ” Amos said in a statement released Sunday evening. He and Sergeant Major of the Marine…
