WASHINGTON -- The number of military members discharged under the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals rose by 11 percent last year — the first increase since 2001, officials said Wednesday. A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, said 726 service members were discharged under the policy during the 2005 budget year that ended last Sept. 30. That compares with 653 discharges the year before. She released the figures after a gay rights advocacy group said it had obtained the statistics on its own. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has represented military members who were forced out for...
