Pentagon thanks gay troops, plans 1st pride event GAY RIGHTS

In this Saturday, May 26, 2012 photo, Kaitlyn Kelly reacts after a graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. At West Point, the alumni gay advocacy group Knights Out was able to hold the first installment in March of what is intended to be an annual dinner in recognition of gay and lesbian graduates and cadets. Kelly was among the dozens of cadets who attended the privately sponsored dinner. The 22-year-old Chicago resident was finally able to openly introduce her civilian girlfriend at an event marking 100 days before graduation. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) less In this Saturday, May 26, 2012 photo, Kaitlyn Kelly reacts after a graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. At West Point, the alumni gay advocacy group Knights Out ... more Photo: Mike Groll, Associated Press Photo: Mike Groll, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Pentagon thanks gay troops, plans 1st pride event 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Washington --

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta thanked gay and lesbian military members Friday for their service, as the Pentagon prepares to mark June as Gay Pride Month with an official salute.

In a remarkable sign of a cultural change in the U.S. military, Panetta said that with the repeal last year of the "don't ask, don't tell" law, which prohibited gays from serving openly in the military, gays and lesbians can now be proud to be in uniform.

Panetta's video message was part of a Pentagon salute to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender troops as the Pentagon joined the rest of the U.S. government for the first time in marking June as Gay Pride Month.

It comes nine months after September's repeal of the policy that had prohibited gay troops from serving openly and forced more than 13,500 service members out of the armed forces.

On Friday, the Pentagon announced that its gay pride event - the first of its kind - will be held June 26 in the Pentagon. It will feature remarks by Jeh Johnson, the top Pentagon lawyer, as well as a panel discussion of the value of gay service and diversity, with gay and lesbian service members participating.

Before the repeal, gay troops could serve but couldn't reveal their orientation. If they did, they would be discharged. At the same time, commanding officers were prohibited from asking service members whether they were gay.

Although some feared repeal of the ban on serving openly would cause problems in the ranks, officials and gay advocacy groups say no major issues have materialized - aside from what advocacy groups criticize as slow implementation of some changes, such as benefit entitlements to troops in same-sex marriages.

Basic changes have come rapidly since repeal; the biggest is that gay and lesbian soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines no longer have to hide their orientation to serve. They can put photos on their office desks without fear of being outed, attend social events with their partners, and openly join advocacy groups looking out for their interests.

OutServe, a once-clandestine professional association for gay service members, has almost doubled in size to more than 5,500 members. It held its first national convention of gay service members in Las Vegas last fall, then a conference on family issues this year in Washington.

Panetta said last month that military leaders had concluded that repeal had not affected morale or readiness. A report to Panetta with assessments from the individual military service branches said that as of May 1 they had seen no ill effects.

"I don't think it's just moving along smoothly, I think it's accelerating faster than we even thought the military would as far as progress goes," said Air Force 1st Lt. Josh Seefried, a finance officer and co-director of OutServe.