Pentagon Details Which Benefits Will Be Extended To Same-Sex Partners

By Mark Memmott / NPR

Published February 11, 2013 at 7:45 AM PST

This story was published more than 11 years ago.

In 2011, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alejandra Schwartz, and her daughter Destiny Bautista, were living in San Diego, Calif., with Schwartz's then-fiance, U.S. Navy Counselor 1st Class Luz Bautista, who was pregnant at the time. Then, same-sex partners weren't able to get the benefits that heterosexual couples could.

Commissary privileges, family center programs, dependent I.D. cards, joint duty assignments and space-available travel on military aircraft are among the military benefits the Pentagon will now extend to same-sex partners, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday.

His announcement follows the word that broke last week about the Defense Department's plans to extend many benefits to same-sex partners and their dependents since the "don't ask, don't tell" policy has been discontinued.

Some benefits cannot, because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, be extended to same-sex partners. But Panetta's announcement says that these benefits will be extended to such partners:

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-- Dependent I.D. cards

-- Commissary privileges

-- Exchange privileges

-- Morale, welfare and recreation programs

-- Surveys of military familes

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-- Quadrennial quality of life review

-- Emergency leave

-- Emergency leave of absence

-- Youth sponsorship program

-- Youth programs

-- Family center programs

-- Sexual assault counseling program

-- Joint duty assignments

-- Exemption from hostile-fire areas

-- Transportation to and from certain places of employment and on military installations

-- Transportation to and from primary and secondary school for minor dependents

-- Authority of service secretary to transport remains of a dependent

-- Disability and death compensation: dependents of members held as captives

-- Payments to missing persons

-- Space-available travel on DoD aircraft

-- Child care

-- Legal assistance