Former commissioned officer Allyson Robinson, a transgender female, has been named as the new chief of the newly merged OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (OutServe-LSDN), which works to aid LGBT servicemembers and veterans.

According to Buzzfeed, Robinson is "the first out transgender leader of a national organization representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community," as opposed to an organization focused primarily on the transgender community. 

More after the jump.

Updated 3:30 p.m. EST

President Obama has released a statement commemorating the first anniversary of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Check out what the president has to say after the jump!

The inimitable Barbara Walters has just been announced as the emcee of a very special one year anniversary party taking place in New York in September. Details follow. 

With "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" a thing of the past (but still much work to do on behalf of LGBT troops), OutServe and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network today made the huge announcement that the two LGBT military organizations will spend the next several months combining forces.

A new bill has been introduced in the House that seeks to provide partners of LGBT servicemembers the same rights afforded to the married partners of heterosexuals in the military. Details follow. 

Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee are doing their best to ensure that gay servicemembers continue to feel like second class citizens.

The Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban military bases from hosting marriages or "marriage-like ceremonies" between same-sex couples.

More after the jump.

Republican House Leadership have once again chosen to intervene in a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and related laws brought by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SDLN) on behalf of gay and lesbian service members, veterans, and their spouses.

More after the jump.

With the helpful support of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Air Force Staff Sergeant Anthony Loverde, who was discharged from service under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 2008, will be reinstated into ranks in May. 

As Gov. Christie strikes down our rights in New Jersey, it appears that the Obama Administration seems to be steadily moving toward the Promised Land. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Department of Justice has concluded that legislation banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans’ benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment and will no longer defend the statute in court.

Late last week the Department of Defense released new details about expanding services from its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program to the families of straight servicemembers while explicitly excluding American LGBT troops. But the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network won't this DADT-esque discrimination go away lightly. 

One of the leaders behind the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal efforts announced his resignation today from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, though not until a replacement is found. More on Aubrey Sarvis’ decision after the jump.

DADT will be but a distant memory in a few months time and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network wants LGBT service members (both current and veterans) and their family members to be prepared for the new landscape. To accomplish this, SLDN has published a landmark legal guide for the post-DADT era titled "Freedom to Serve."