The standard policy for all parades and military involvement is that wearing uniforms in perceived “partisan” events is forbidden. A chain of emails released via the Freedom of Information Act reveals a frantic attempt through several branches of the military to discover who made the decision to allow service members to march in uniform. The damage control began when parade organizers announced the decision had come from the Office of the Secretary of Defense on their website in the lead-up to the 2012 SD Pride parade. It took nearly 20 years to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, but it was only a week before Pentagon officials decided they couldn’t fully disavow an erroneously reported decision to allow service members to march in uniform in San Diego’s Pride parade.Īs a result, the historic moment of United States military personnel being permitted to wear their service uniforms in a gay pride event came about thanks more to a mistaken press release than any progressive policy makers.
