12,500 booted in ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Military personnel discharged under Don't Ask/Don't Tell

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer Updated 9:01 AM Friday, May 29, 2009

More than 12,500 military personnel have been discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for gay troops, including 219 booted since President Barack Obama took office in January.

That’s according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national nonprofit group advocating the repeal of the federal law banning military service by openly gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans.

At the center of a debate heating up again in Washington, D.C., is an Air Force officer who grew up in the Dayton area.

Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, 39, a decorated military weapons systems officer from Huber Heights, is being recommended for discharge for homosexual conduct after 18 years of service.

Obama’s top advisers want the president to move more slowly in overturning the policy than many gay-rights activists would like, citing other priorities, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We have a lot on our plate right now,” retired Marine Gen. James Jones, the White House’s national security adviser, said this month.

The administration insists that officials are working to overturn the policy, but when that will happen is unclear.

It would take an act of Congress to repeal the federal law.

“This is a tough case for all involved, and there are no easy answers,” said Jessica Towhey, spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester.

“Congressman Boehner defers to our nation’s military commanders on setting and interpreting military policies and procedures. But on a personal level, he sympathizes with Lt. Col. Fehrenbach and his family, and believes he should be saluted for his service to our country.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s Press Secretary Meghan Dubyak said Thursday, May 29, that the senator believes “the case of Lt. Col. Fehrenbach is another example, unfortunately, of why service members should be evaluated on job performance and this policy goes against that. It’s based on what a service member does in his or her private life.”

The Associated Press contributed  to this story.

Read more of this story: Will policy on gays in the military be overturned?

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