2094
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Written by admin
Dec 30, 2010
One battle is won, but another will continue on the home front and in the service for years to come. As we applaud the vote of Congress, only part of the battle is won. The damage of “don’t ask, don’t tell” will not go away with the whisk of a pen. Trust now has to be built between the military and LGBT soldiers and sailors. At home, the Veterans Administration still has the problem that LGBT vets feel they may be singled out if they apply for benefits.
Oppression has a strange effect on the human mind. It lingers for years as we’ve seen in other rights movements and even in conquests across the world. The VA has taken great strides to relieve this stigma, by setting up diversity teams within their facilities, educating doctors and staff and in some instances marking doors in their facilities LGBT-friendly.
Although DADT is repealed, our work as an organization has just begun. Assisting LGBT veterans by educating them about the VA system and removing the stigma of the ban will continue to be a challenge. Within the military, we must confront such issues as the fair handling of cases of military trauma due to sexual harassment in men and women and intimate partner violence in women veterans.
With the suicides of female service personnel exceeding those of their male counterparts from multiple deployments, we, as family and friends, have to be more observant of the signs and need to learn more. The VA has programs in place for families of returning vets to help them recognize what these vets are going through and how to cope. Families need to contact their local VA and inquire about these programs.
The mission of Vets Do Ask Do Tell, Inc., is to make known and educate LGBT veterans to any and all VA programs targeted to the LGBT community when information becomes available to us; to educate LGBT veterans to policy changes within the VA and the military concerning DADT; to provide a forum where LGBT veterans can openly discuss issues that are related to their service, benefits, and social aspects; to promote and support change within the VA system; to give awareness to the specific needs of LGBT veterans; to develop groups of veterans in support of Vets Do Ask Do Tell, Inc., and to develop and support programs in direct response to the needs of LGBT veterans.
Ellen Kozel
National President
Vets Do Ask Do Tell, Inc.
Milwaukee
