"Don't ask,don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people,instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21,1993,and was in effect from February 28,1994,until September 20,2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants,while barring openly gay,lesbian,or bisexual persons from military service. This relaxation of legal restrictions on service by gays and lesbians in the armed forces was mandated by Public Law 103–160,which was signed November 30,1993. The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States,because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale,good order and discipline,and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability".
Brad Rogers Carson is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma who served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from 2015 to 2016. In that role,he initiated a number of notable reforms to include opening up all combat positions to women,open service by transgender service members,and new recruiting and retention practices.
Jo Ann Emerson is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Missouri's 8th congressional district from 1996 to 2013. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel,the Lead Belt and the Ozarks. Emerson is a member of the Republican Party. On January 22,2013,Emerson resigned her seat in Congress to become the president and chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. She served as CEO until August 2015.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense,and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority,direction and control of the Department of Defense in the exercise of policy development,planning,resource management,fiscal,and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD is the Secretary of Defense's support staff for managing the Department of Defense,and it corresponds to what the Executive Office of the President of the U.S. is to the U.S. president for managing the whole of the Executive branch of the federal government.
Robert Leon Wilkie Jr. is an American lawyer and government official who served as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2018 to 2021,during the Trump administration. He was previously Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness during the Trump administration,from November 2017 to July 2018. A Naval intelligence in the Reserve,he was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Barack Obama assumed office as President of the United States on January 20,2009,and his term ended on January 20,2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Elizabeth Frawley Bagley is an American diplomat,attorney,political activist and philanthropist who is the United States Ambassador to Brazil in the Biden administration. She previously served as the United States Ambassador to Portugal from 1994 to 1997.
Mari Carmen Aponte is an American attorney and diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Panama in the Biden administration since November 2022. She previously served as acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs on May 5,2016. She also served as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador from August 2010 until December 2011 and again from June 14,2012,until December 2015. Before that she was serving as a member of the board of directors of Oriental Group,a major financial and banking services enterprise in Puerto Rico. President Obama also nominated her as the United States' permanent representative to the Organization of American States,but the Senate had not acted upon that nomination upon adjournment in December 2014.
Bernard Daniel Rostker was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1977 to 1979;Director of the United States Selective Service System from 1979 to 1981;Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1994 to 1998;Under Secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2000;and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in 2000-2001. From 1996 to 2001,he also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Gulf War Illnesses.
Clifford Lee Stanley was the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness,having resigned that office in 2011.
Sung Yong Kim is an American diplomat of Korean descent serving as the United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy since 2021,and previously from 2014 to 2016. He has also served as the acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from January to June 2021.
Erin Cathleen Conaton is a former United States Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. She previously served as Under Secretary of the Air Force.
Rosemary Márquez is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney,former federal prosecutor and national security official who has served as the 39th deputy attorney general of the United States since April 2021.
Sara Lee Ellis is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Charles Langmaid Cragin III is an American politician from Maine. He was the Republican nominee for governor of Maine in 1982,losing in a landslide to Democratic incumbent Gov. Joseph E. Brennan. Afterwards,Cragin was a Republican National Committee member from Maine from 1983 to 1990,and as acting U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in 2000.
Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. is an American government official,philanthropist,and politician who serves as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Biden administration. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the U.S. representative for California's 39th congressional district from 2019 to 2021.
Christine Elizabeth Wormuth is an American defense official and career civil servant who serves as the United States Secretary of the Army since 2021. Wormuth previously served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2014 to 2016.
Shawn Graham Skelly is a retired United States Navy officer,national security expert,and LGBT rights advocate who is currently serving as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness since July 27,2021.
