Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday released a statement saying that all states are now processing health benefits for gay and lesbian troops.

“On Oct. 31, I called on the chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement Department of Defense policy by providing DoD identification cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation,” Hagel said in the statement. “Following consultations between the National Guard Bureau and the adjutants general of the states, all eligible service members, dependents and retirees – including same-sex spouses – are now able to obtain ID cards in every state.”

The Pentagon announced in August that it would recognize the legal marriages of gay troops following a Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibited federal agencies from recognizing such unions.

As of September 3, service members in a marriage with a member of the same sex could apply for spousal benefits.

But National Guard bases in several states refused to process the requests and instead encouraged gay troops to enroll at bases operated by the Department of Defense. The Pentagon previously identified 9 states opposed to the policy change: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

According to several media reports, some of the states have transferred the responsibility to federal workers. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, a Republican, was widely criticized last month when she ordered state-owned National Guard bases to no longer process the applications.

(Related: Oklahoma's Mary Fallin halts processing of benefits rather than serve gay couples.)

“All military spouses and families sacrifice on behalf of our country. They deserve our respect and the benefits they are entitled to under the law. All of DoD is committed to pursuing equal opportunities for all who serve this nation, and I will continue to work to ensure our men and women in uniform as well as their families have full and equal access to the benefits they deserve,” Hagel said.