Three retired general and flag officers—including Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, Major General Vance Coleman and Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett—issued a joint statement to accompany a new report showing that the Army, Air Force, and Navy/Marines have failed to comply with new Defense Department (DOD) rules on transgender personnel, according to a press release. The retired General and Flag Officers are joined by seven LGBT leaders and experts who signed the statement, including Kristin Beck (Military Freedom Coalition), Kylar Broadus (National LGBTQ Task Force), James Esseks (American Civil Liberties Union), Diane Mazur (Palm Center), Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights), Harper Jean Tobin (National Center for Transgender Equality) and Dayna Walker (Transgender American Veterans Association). The report is at www.palmcenter.org/files/services%20out%20of%20compliance%20memo.pdf.
In light of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stepping down (as soon as the U.S. Senate confirms his successor), SPARTA—the national organization of LGBT members of the U.S. armed forces and their families—commended him for his service on behalf of LGB service members and their families, according to a press release. However, the organization also called on him to immediately initiate a promised review of the policy prohibiting transgender individuals from serving. In May, Hagel told ABC News that Department of Defense policies should be reviewed.