Tell: An Intimate History of Gay Men the Milary | GQ

Contents:

• ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, CONFIRMED BY U.S. SENATE
• SENATE NFIRMS FIRST OPENLY GAY OFFICIAL TO TOP CIVILIAN ARMY POST
• ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, GETS SWORN IN
• PRINT NOMAT FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY
• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
• ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, ON EMBRACG 'HONOR' AND FIXG A 'TIRED' ARMY
• ERIC FANNG FALLY CONFIRMED AS FIRST OPENLY GAY SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
• AN OPENLY GAY MAN RUNS THE ARMY
• OBAMA TO NOMATE FIRST OPENLY GAY SERVICE SECRETARY TO LEAD THE ARMY
• ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, SWORN IN BY SENATE
• SENATE CONFIRMS ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY LEAR OF MILARY SERVICE
• OBAMA NOMAT OPENLY GAY MAN TO LEAD ARMY
• THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY U.S. HISTORY
• OBAMA TO NOMATE FIRST OPENLY GAY MILARY SERVICE SECRETARY
• I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.
• TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, CONFIRMED BY U.S. SENATE

Ary service — a tone not lost on gay rights groups, g five years after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell, " which had prohibed gay and lbian service members om beg open about their Fanng at the 30th Space Symposium Corporate Partnership dner Colorado Sprgs, Colorado, May Wood / U. Related: Obama to Nomate Eric Fanng for Army, Would Be 1st Openly Gay Service ChiefFanng prevly served as the Army secretary's prcipal adviser on management and operatn.

"Related: First Openly Gay Army Secretary Nomee Stalled by Sgle SenatorFanng's path to the post began roughly eight months ago, but was stymied when Roberts held up nfirmatn.

SENATE NFIRMS FIRST OPENLY GAY OFFICIAL TO TOP CIVILIAN ARMY POST

The Senate on Tuday nfirmed Eric Fanng to be secretary of the Army, makg him the first openly gay secretary of a U.

Eric Fanng was sworn Wednday as secretary of the Army, beg the first openly gay lear of any U. Ary swearg marked another historic moment both for the Obama admistratn, which has phed for var gay and lbian rights, and the groups that have long awaed such a move five years after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, " which had prohibed gay and lbian service members om beg open about their sexualy. Charl Crail/ArmyIn addn to his long rume, Fanng would also mark a tone if he do bee the Army secretary, as the first openly gay secretary of a ary, a statement, ngratulated Fanng, llg him "an excellent choice.

But as a gay man, I have been fightg my whole life to enjoy the very privileg I am entled to as both a beholr and protector of them. I was one of few soldiers who joed the service before graduatg high school, but the admistratn at the time, which I believe was homophobic, chose to act as if I never existed bee of my queer hate that I experienced growg up on Long Island was my first enunter wh how others would treat me as a queer soldier. Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg thentilly while also beg a bean of visibily to other Soldiers and their fai.

ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, GETS SWORN IN

It terrified her to e out as gay such a public way, but she felt a rponsibily to do , she said.

PRINT NOMAT FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY

As difficult as was for her, g out publicly as gay “may not have been as easy for someone who was at a lower rank, ” Smh said an terview last week. “When I me durg the 80s, thgs were different for women and gay people, and now 2021, the societal l are different aga.

“People mt fd fort and ph back some of that ternalized homophobia, and build a b on the journey between hont and thentic. ”"It is the bt job that I have ever had — and an credible honor, " Fanng Senate nfirmed Fanng’s nomatn last month, a move that me five years after Congrs repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that had banned openly gay service members om servg the U. RELATED: Wele to NBC OUT — elevatg the nversatn around LGBTQ news“I was first this buildg the Clton admistratn as a 24-year-old junr ai and I end up leavg, bee I didn't see that there was a future for me as an openly gay man, ” he said.

“I feel a rponsibily as secretary of the Army, not jt bee of the historil nature of the appotment bee I'm gay, ” he said.

I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK

Ary the past , stris are still beg ma to improve acceptance, tegratn and health for gay and transgenr service members. Today, gay and transgenr ary service members enjoy far more rights than they did even five years ago—but the fight ntu to crease visibily and acceptance for this group the armed forc. Department of Defense (DoD) releas a policy statg that “homosexualy is patible wh ary service.

1988: The rults of a jot report nducted by the DoD and the Defense Personnel Secury Rearch Edutn Center rerce the fdgs of a 1957 report claimg that gay and lbian dividuals enlisted the armed forc pose no signifint risk to secury (which had prevly been the ratnale for barrg gay dividuals om enlistg the ary).

1993: Print Bill Clton signs the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, barrg openly gay and lbian Amerin cizens om ary service—while prohibg harassment of all “closeted” ary service members. 2015: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announc that the Milary Equal Opportuny policy has been modified to clu gay and lbian service members. 2016: The Senate nfirms Eric Fanng as secretary of the Army, makg him the first openly gay secretary of a U.

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

RECAP: One GOP Senator Is Blockg the Historic Appotment of Gay Army Secretary Nomee Eric Fanng. Senate unanimoly backed Print Barack Obama's nomatn of Eric Fanng as secretary of the Army on Tuday, makg him the first openly gay lear of a U.

But this tone of havg an openly gay dividual this high level posn wh the Department of Defense will help to ntue to set a tone of unrstandg and rpect for the LGBT muny throughout the armed servic. That is a tribute to those who fought so hard to repeal the ban, and a measure of the natn’s at tim uncerta, but as yet unfailg, march toward retrospect the fight that nvulsed this untry over whether gay Amerins should serve uniform seems sensels, almost absurd.

ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, ON EMBRACG 'HONOR' AND FIXG A 'TIRED' ARMY

Yet is stctive, if only bee a Pentagon plan to allow transgenr Amerins to serve openly uniform remas stalled by a siar, albe quieter, is broad agreement that prohibg openly gay people om servg was a cel policy that abetted bigotry. Peter Pace, then the chairman of the Jot Chiefs of Staff, told The Chigo Tribune, “I believe homosexual acts between two dividuals are immoral and that we should not ndone immoral acts. Jam Amos, then the mandant of the Mare Corps, utned that openly gay troops would be a distractn that uld st liv on the battlefield.

”A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn SR, Page 8 of the New York edn wh the headle: An Openly Gay Man Runs the Army. Print Obama, a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nomate Eric Fanng to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the ary servic.

ERIC FANNG FALLY CONFIRMED AS FIRST OPENLY GAY SECRETARY OF THE ARMY

Fanng’s nomatn, which mt go to the Senate for nfirmatn, reflects a major shift for the Pentagon, which only four years ago prevented openly gay troops om servg the ary. Durg his time office, Obama has overhled ternal polici to provi feral benefs to same-sex partners, appoted gay men and lbians to the executive branch and the feral urts and end the 18-year ban on gays servg openly the Army secretary, Fanng will be teamed wh Gen.

Eric Fanng, First Openly Gay Army Secretary, Sworn In By Senate NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks wh Eric Fanng, secretary of the U.

SHAPIRO: Every headle about your nfirmatn not that you are the first openly gay person to lead a branch of the ary. Senate Confirms Eric Fanng As Army Secretary, First Openly Gay Lear Of Milary Service: The Two-Way Eight months after Print Obama nomated Fanng to the posn of Army secretary, the Senate nfirmed the appotment.

AN OPENLY GAY MAN RUNS THE ARMY

The Senate nfirmed the nomatn of Eric Fanng to the posn of Army secretary, makg him the first openly gay lear of a U. " The Two-Way also reported on Fanng's experience wh the Pentagon as an openly gay man: "In a Defense Department statement July, Fanng said he me out as gay 1993 and talked about how attus at the DOD have changed recent s. In addn to extendg feral benefs to same-sex upl and repealg "don't ask, don't tell, " which allowed gays to serve openly the ary, last month, Obama announced the hirg of the first openly transgenr Whe Hoe staffer.

In 2010, the Print signed a law endg the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibed gays and lbians om servg openly the ary, and earlier this year, the Print moved to allow those who intify as transgenr to openly serve as well.

“History ntu to be wrten and equaly march forward wh the nomatn of an openly gay man to serve this signifintly important role. But that omissn is what ma the Senate’s cisn to nfirm Fanng as the 22nd Army secretary this week such a historic moment: Fanng is now the first openly gay lear of a U. Ary service, and the hight-rankg openly gay Pentagon official the untry’s Senate nfirmed Fanng by unanimo voice vote on Tuday, eight months after Print Obama nomated him to replace John McHugh, who held the posn for six years.

OBAMA TO NOMATE FIRST OPENLY GAY SERVICE SECRETARY TO LEAD THE ARMY

Army is a monstratn of the ntued progrs towards fairns and equaly our natn’s armed forc, ” said Chad Griff, the print of the Human Rights Campaign, the largt gay-rights anizatn the U. ”In 2011, Congrs repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that sce 1994 banned openly gay men and women om servg the U. Print Obama has nomated Eric Fanng as secretary of the Army, which uld make him the first openly gay lear of one of the U.

In a Defense Department statement July, Fanng said he me out as gay 1993 and talked about how attus at the DOD have changed recent s. In rponse, and apparently to monstrate his petency his assigned posn, the nonmissned officer had taken upon himself to approach the person he nsired cled toward mtg a siar offense the future: me, the only openly gay soldier my un. Together we approached our un’s learship, where she sisted that the ments had stemmed om the reprentative’s own homophobic feelgs and remend that he be reprimand and removed om his posn as the un’s sexual harassment watchdog.

ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY, SWORN IN BY SENATE

But by then was hard to ignore the anxiety I felt durg required social activi — “mandatory fun, ” as ’s lled the ary — or the tensn om my fellow moment I cid to bee a soldier and the moment I chose to live openly as a gay man occurred so closely time that ’s hard to remember which me first. It was still four months before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell, ” a double-edged policy prohibg askg any service member about his or her sexualy while enforcg a ban on openly gay service members. As long as gay soldiers kept their mouths shut, the burn of proof fell on those makg the accatns.

SENATE CONFIRMS ERIC FANNG, FIRST OPENLY GAY LEAR OF MILARY SERVICE

A uple were more elaborate: tailed scriptns of what might happen to me if I was ught alone, and proclamatns about the wrongns of gays the ary. There are moments when feels wrong to claim my stat as a veteran; as if beg gay ma me ls of a soldier and somehow validated my service. Every memory evok an emotn: rage that I had to serve wh a nstant sense of fear of my fellow soldiers; paralyzg sadns for those who endured ab worse than I n know; and, the worst, guilt over the service members — gay or straight or transgenr — who died while servg the ary while my body is still whole.

The are the voic explag what has been like to be a gay man1 the Amerin ary over the prev seventy or so years, om World War II veterans their late eighti to young servicemen on active duty. Life Today as a Gay ServicemanHow we got here: In 1992, many people thought that the discrimatn was nearly over.

OBAMA NOMAT OPENLY GAY MAN TO LEAD ARMY

"I remember beg the Castro, " says John Forrett (army rerve, 1987–99), "and watchg the TV at a bar wh some iends, watchg Al Gore and Bill Clton swearg that if they beme the tag team for Ameri they were gog to get rid of the harassment of gays and lbians servg the ary. " Gay people were allowed the ary but only as long as they didn’t reveal their sexualy; to facilate this, all members of the ary were also prohibed om quirg about anyone’s possible orientatn.

Gay people were only acceptable, effect, to the gree to which they uld succsfully masquera as nongay. Servicemen were advised that until then the policy would still apply, and that they uld potentially face s sanctns if they intify themselv publicly as gay. ’ "Air Force #1: "Two of my iends were disvered, both officers—’s a long and arduo procs for an officer to get kicked out for beg gay.

THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY U.S. HISTORY

"Air Force #2 (senr airman, three years): "No one at my job would ever, ever spect that I was gay at all. And you’re good at your job—a gay person wouldn’t be good at his job, so obvly you’re not gay.

OBAMA TO NOMATE FIRST OPENLY GAY MILARY SERVICE SECRETARY

You’re a Mare, you don’t md gettg dirty, gog out to the field and not showerg for weeks at a, if you were gay, when you have to shower wh all the other guys you’d get all exced. I mean, if you want to hi, the Mare Corps is one of the bt plac to do that, bee nobody wants to adm they are standg next to a gay guy. I had ma about halfway through and the recer was trated wh how long was takg me, and he said, ’Well, basilly, are you gay?

I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.

One Man’s Operatn Iraqi FreedomMany gay servicemen the morn era—cludg Eric Alva (Mar, 1991–2004)—have pleted long ary reers whout their sexualy ever beg revealed.

And therefore few people realized that the first Amerin serly wound the vasn of Iraq durg the send Gulf war was a gay Alva signed up, before "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " he had to lie on his paperwork. Lbians have suffered unr the same prohibns and prejudic and share many of the same experienc, as well as some that are distct, but this article ncentrat on the experience of gay men.

And when, 2006, the battl over "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" the ary and gay marriage the wir muny were simmerg, Alva’s boyiend at the time poted out to him that he did have some notoriety that might be of e. For gay ary members who choose to do so, there has been the extra burn that their partners mt rema visible. (The meetgs have been arranged through a private onle work lled OutServe, set up only last year, which allows gay and lbian servicepeople a safe and secure way of fdg and munitg wh one another.

TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

To be the ary and still try to live any kd of life as a gay man, ’s not Force #4 (senr airman, four years): "Right now our relatnships don’t exist.

In the shadow of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " whenever gay servicemen did face any kd of homophobic harassment, they were powerls to draw attentn to whout potentially triggerg the end of their ary reer.