For one of the few times in my 53 years, I’m speechless. I’ll get back to you after you read this from yahoo.com.

The Defense Department on Thursday announced it is allowing service members to march in uniform in a gay pride parade for the first time in U.S. history.

In a memorandum sent to all its branches, the department said it was making the allowance for San Diego’s Gay Pride Parade on Saturday even though its policy generally bars troops from marching in uniform in parades.

The Defense Department said it did so because organizers had encouraged military personnel to march in their uniform and the event was getting national attention.

The move came only weeks after the Pentagon joined the rest of the U.S. government for the first time in marking June as gay pride month and made an official salute to gay and lesbian service members.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed in a video message to remove as many barriers as possible to making the military a model of equal opportunity and said gays and lesbians can be proud in uniform with the repeal last year of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.

Last year, San Diego’s Gay Pride Parade had the nation’s largest contingency of active-duty troops participate before the military lifted its ban on openly gay service members. About 200 service members last year wore T-shirts with their branch’s name.

Former sailor Sean Sala, who organized the military’s participation in the parade, said he wanted service members to wear their official uniform this year to show there is no longer anything to hide.

“My soul is on fire,” he said after hearing the news Thursday. “They don’t fight in T-shirts. They fight in uniforms. This is about showing who they are.”

The Pentagon said the allowance is only for this year’s parade in San Diego and does not extend beyond that. Military personnel wearing civilian clothes do not need permission to march in any parades.

Back on September 20. 2011, abcnews.go.com reported that

Today, it’s official. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is formally repealed and gays and lesbians will, for the first time, be allowed to serve openly in the military. Reflecting on the milestone, President Obama said today he was proud to repeal the 17-year-old ban “because I knew that it would enhance our national security, increase our military readiness, and bring us closer to the principles of equality and fairness that define us as Americans.”

“As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love. As of today, our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and lesbian service members. And today, as commander in chief, I want those who were discharged under this law to know that your country deeply values your service,” the president said in a written statement.

Service members who were discharged under the policy will now be allowed to re-enlist and the military has already been taking applications from potential gay recruits.

Obama went on to note that the repeal “is a tribute to all the patriots who fought and marched for change,” from lawmakers to military leaders to the men and women in uniform.

“For more than two centuries, we have worked to extend America’s promise to all our citizens. Our armed forces have been both a mirror and a catalyst of that progress, and our troops, including gays and lesbians, have given their lives to defend the freedoms and liberties that we cherish as Americans. Today, every American can be proud that we have taken another great step toward keeping our military the finest in the world and toward fulfilling our nation’s founding ideals,” Obama concluded.

And now, Gay servicemen and women in uniform are going to march in a Gay Pride Parade, a clearly political exercise.

Now I’m not naive, gay Americans have always served in our Armed Forces…discreetly and professionally…not politically.

So, now they want to march? They’re a month late:

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is not requiring commands and agencies to hold gay pride events this month, even as the Pentagon prepares for its first celebration on Tuesday of gays serving openly in the ranks.

Mr. Panetta issued a message to troops June 15 recognizing June as Gay Pride Month in the military, after President Obama officially recognized it weeks earlier.

Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel who spearheaded the drive inside the Pentagon to repeal the policy against gays serving openly in the military, will be the keynote speaker at the Pentagon event, which will feature a panel discussion titled “The Value of Open Service and Diversity.”

The Pentagon has not released the names of panel members. A gay-rights group said it knows the names, but declined to identify them before the Pentagon does.

Pentagon spokesmen said Mr. Panetta has not directed commands, installations or agencies to hold companion gay pride events during June.

A spot-check of major commands – such as Special Operations Command, Pacific Command and Central Command – revealed that no special events or statements are scheduled. One spokesman said that does not mean an installation will not note the occasion with a statement or exhibit.

“I’m not aware of any events planned at this point,” said a Pacific Command spokeswoman.

Said Army spokesman George Wright: “Aside from the event at the Pentagon for [the Department of Defense], I’m not aware of any organized activities here at Army headquarters, nor at installations.”

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is not requiring commands and agencies to hold gay pride events this month, even as the Pentagon prepares for its first celebration on Tuesday of gays serving openly in the ranks.

Mr. Panetta issued a message to troops June 15 recognizing June as Gay Pride Month in the military, after President Obama officially recognized it weeks earlier.

Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department’s general counsel who spearheaded the drive inside the Pentagon to repeal the policy against gays serving openly in the military, will be the keynote speaker at the Pentagon event, which will feature a panel discussion titled “The Value of Open Service and Diversity.”

The Pentagon has not released the names of panel members. A gay-rights group said it knows the names, but declined to identify them before the Pentagon does.

Pentagon spokesmen said Mr. Panetta has not directed commands, installations or agencies to hold companion gay pride events during June.

A spot-check of major commands – such as Special Operations Command, Pacific Command and Central Command – revealed that no special events or statements are scheduled. One spokesman said that does not mean an installation will not note the occasion with a statement or exhibit.

“I’m not aware of any events planned at this point,” said a Pacific Command spokeswoman.

Said Army spokesman George Wright: “Aside from the event at the Pentagon for [the Department of Defense], I’m not aware of any organized activities here at Army headquarters, nor at installations.”

I tell you what, kids.  I’m going to march, too, and proudly proclaim my heterosexuality, every chance I get.

It would be just as appropriate.