LGBTQ+ Veteran Allyship, Workshop 1 of 3: The LGBTQ+ Veteran Experience and LGBTQ+ Military History

Time: 2:00pm-4:00pm

Location: Virtual/Online

Instructor: Robin Lang, WDVA LGBTQ+ Veteran Program Manager

CE credits: Unavailable for this course at this time.

Course Description:

In this workshop, we look at how past policies impact LGBTQ+ veterans, shape their experiences, and affect their risk profile. We look at current executive orders that affect LGBTQ+ veterans as well as active-duty service members. As providers of benefits and services that affect veteran families in addition to the veteran, we touch on how those executive orders impact spouses, children, family, friends, and co-workers. The workshop closes with a look at LGBTQ+ veterans throughout history. Many veterans served under different circumstances, but regardless of when they served, we see the universal constant is discrimination and harassment and how resilience and determination to demand fair treatment and equal rights prevail.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the LGBTQ+ Veteran Experience through the lenses of cultural forces and current viewpoints.
• Learn the impact of historical policies on veteran risk profiles and specific risk profile categories.
• Recognize groups impacted, and effects caused by DoD and Executive policies, the veteran community, and the civilian community.
• Learn the impact of current executive orders, rescinded orders, and State laws on those currently serving, veterans, family members, friends, and acquaintances.
• Recognize individual contributions of LGBTQ+ veterans throughout history, and recognize commonalities of service across generations.