Mission partially accomplished

The Pentagon announced this week that it will move forward with the plan to grant some support and benefits to same-sex partners of military members.

In a memo issued Monday, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta detailed 22 new benefits that will be extended to same-sex partners of military members and their children. The list includes such items as ID cards that will facilitate access to military establishments, inclusion in morale, welfare and recreational programs, youth programming for dependents, access to sexual-assault counseling, transportation to certain employers and schools and access to child care and legal assistance.

The announcement of the rollout of the benefits brought Panetta’s time in office full circle — one of his first acts was to oversee the lifting of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and the benefits extension will be one of his last before retiring.

Now that the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers already seems like an archaic relic, it was past time that the military took the next steps to move its forces forward into the 21st century. But this shouldn’t quell the momentum for more progress.

For instance, same-sex partners of military members still won’t have access to such benefits as housing allowances or health-care coverage. Panetta addressed these issues in his memo, noting that these benefits are, by statute, only available to “spouses,” and that the military is bound by the Defense of Marriage Act to interpret that as heterosexual spouses. Additionally, extending access to on-base housing and burial at national ceremonies to same-sex partners, Panetta said, constitutes “complex legal and policy challenges” and raises fiscal questions. And, although it was not mentioned in Panetta’s memo, open service by transgender members remains an issue that needs attention.

This latest development is essentially the best that the military can do — for now.

The demise of DOMA could very well occur this year with the much-anticipated Supreme Court ruling on the issue, but that shouldn’t mean the LGBT community and its supporters cool their heels and wait. This military milestone should provide even more fuel for activists seeking an end to DOMA. While civilians may feel somewhat disconnected from inequality in the military, discrimination is discrimination, regardless of the context.

Panetta asserted in this week’s memo that “discrimination based on sexual orientation no longer has a place in the military.” That’s partially true — his leadership took the military much closer to that goal but, until LGBT military members are treated exactly as other service members, that accomplishment remains elusive.

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