Despite the armed forces claiming to offer relocation help to servicemembers facing racial and LGBTQ+ discrimination, the service branches – apart from the Air Force – have not tracked family relocations, Military.com reported.
The military began offering resources, support, and relocations to help families escape discrimination in 2022, amid a rise of anti-LGBTQ+ laws across the country. There are almost 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the U.S., according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Since 2021, the Air Force has recorded 15 relocations under such circumstances – letting families move before the end of a standard posting term – but declined to share additional details.
"Examples of relocation ETP denials are very rare, but when they occur, can be attributed to delays of mandatory clearance for dependents (including medical) and/or delay of travel documents for overseas assignments," the Air Force said. "We do not normally release relocation details due to the risk of personal identification of these families."
As for the other branches, discrimination-based relocation options are not heavily advertised, instead opting to rely on existing policies to accommodate troops. And in general, the services have been nigh silent on the extent to which help is offered to families.
"There's no transparency," said Jennifer Dane, an LGBTQ+ advocate and an Air Force veteran who was one of the last to be investigated under the Pentagon's old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. "There just needs to be more transparency across all branches."
And not being clear on the purpose of programs and failing to advertise can lead to confusion, said Michelle Norman, founder of military family nonprofit Partners in PROMISE.
"In order to sustain this military life, we do rely on these support systems and we know that the Department of Defense cannot offer it all, but they have some great programs out for us," Norman said. "But there's always room for improvement for messaging to families to make sure that they are connected with resources that they need."
The Army and the Marine Corps do not track specific reasons for any relocation that could be prompted by LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Meanwhile, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Rick Chernitzer said that the branch "has not approved any requests for transfers related to state laws concerning the LGBTQ+ community." And Lt. Alyson Hands said that the branch used an pre-existing policy of "safety transfers" to help sailors transfer, though there is little in the official regulations that approves of such a move.
