Military Advertises for Jobs on Gay Web Site

Thousands of job openings in the Army, Navy, and Air Force were mistakenly advertised this week on a Web site for gays, USA Today reported today. The Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy prohibits gays from military service if they are open about their sexual orientation.

“We didn’t knowingly advertise on that particular Web site,” Maj. Michael Baptista, advertising branch chief for the Army National Guard, told the newspaper. The ads appeared on Glee.com, a Web site for gay professionals.

Jobs ranged from Army National Guard and active Army positions, as well as Navy openings for doctors and dentists. Some listings included civilian jobs, which apparently are not covered by the ban.

The military services reportedly used private ad agencies to purchase Monster’s “diversity and inclusion” package, which includes Web sites for blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and gays. Most of the ads were pulled, USA Today said.

Betty Huang, director, engagement and retention, at Community Connect Inc. (CCI), said the online social networking company is an official partner of Monster Diversity. Community Connect sites, including Glee.com and BlackPlanet, receive a copy of all jobs posted to Monster Diversity, while Monster communicates with its clients, she said. “It is unknown to CCI the origin of the job postings and if a client or an agency posted the jobs,” Huang said.