What The Military Is Like 5 Years After ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

For 17 years, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy prohibited lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons from disclosing their sexual orientations at the risk of being kicked out. Over the course of the policy, more than 14,500 service members were discharged for being homosexual, caught performing homosexual acts, or disclosing their orientation as anything other than straight.

Now, it’s been five years since the repeal of the bill, and not only are lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members able to openly discuss their sexual orientations, but just this year, Defense Secretary Ash Carter lifted the ban on transgender men and women as well. According to a 2011 RAND report, at the time of the repeal, an estimated 46,000 service members identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. For some, the policy repeal was just a formality, but for others, it was life-changing.