Military Discharges

Women are far more likely than men to be kicked out of the military under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy against gays in uniform, according to government figures released Thursday. Critics of the policy said the disparity reflects deep-seated sexism in the armed forces. Women accounted for 15% of all active-duty and reserve members of the military but more than a third of the 619 people discharged last year because of their sexual orientation. The disparity was particularly striking in the Air Force, where women represented 20% of personnel but 61% of those expelled in 2008.

Senior physicians with the veterans health system in Los Angeles told the top U.S. military officer Saturday that the Pentagon needs to overhaul the way it discharges troops because hundreds are leaving the armed forces with undiagnosed combat-related mental health problems. Several of the physicians, including the system's chief of staff and its top psychiatrist, advocated mandatory mental health screenings for all service members who retire after serving in war zones.

A federal judge in San Jose has taken the unusual step of ordering the Marine Corps to grant a reservist's request for a discharge as a conscientious objector. Lance Cpl. Robert Zabala, 23, said he joined the Marines as part of a family tradition of military service. But he said he was shocked during boot camp here to find such a strong emphasis on killing.

The Marine Corps will not appeal a judge's decision ordering a lance corporal to be discharged as a conscientious objector, a spokesman said Tuesday. A federal judge in Northern California last week ordered that the corps grant the discharge requested by Robert Zabala, 23.

The German Defense Ministry said it has dismissed an instructor who told a soldier to imagine hostile blacks in New York's Bronx while firing a machine gun. The instructor was let go under a provision that permits the immediate dismissal of personnel who violate service obligations, or whose continued service would harm the order or reputation of the military.

A National Guard member charged with desertion while fighting for custody of her 7-year-old daughter has been granted an honorable discharge from the Army, her lawyer said Saturday. New Hampshire Army National Guard Spc. Lisa Hayes learned of the discharge Friday at Fort Dix, N.J., where she had surrendered earlier in the week. She and her daughter, Brystal, returned home to Rindge, N.H., early Saturday, said her lawyer, Linda Theroux.

An Iraq war veteran received a general discharge from the Marines after he wore his uniform during an antiwar demonstration, the military announced. Lt. Gen. John W. Bergman, commanding general of Marine Forces Reserve in New Orleans, gave Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh a general discharge under honorable conditions, based on a military panel's recommendation.

A military jury Friday sentenced a Marine lance corporal to a bad-conduct discharge but no jail time in the stabbing death of an Iraqi soldier. The jury could have sentenced Delano Holmes, a 22-year-old reservist, to eight years in prison and a dishonorable discharge after convicting him Thursday of negligent homicide and lying to superiors. Holmes has been in the brig since May. "We feel quite blessed," said his former foster mother, Jenni Crowley, an ordained minister.

A 56-year-old deserter being held in the Camp Pendleton brig will probably be released within a week without a court martial, the Marine Corps said Monday. Unless more information surfaces, the case of Allen Abney, who deserted in 1968 to avoid being sent to Vietnam, will be handled administratively, a Marine spokesman said. By law, the Marine Corps cannot divulge what kind of discharge Abney will receive.

A 56-year-old deserter was given an administrative discharge Thursday and a ride to San Diego's Lindbergh Field so he could catch a flight home, a Marine Corps spokesman said. Allen Abney deserted in 1968 and fled to Canada to avoid being sent to Vietnam. Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert decided to give him an administrative discharge rather than refer the case to a court-martial.