As "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to an end, we sent Chris Heath to terview dozens of gay servicemen om the past and prent to fd out what life was really like as Ameri's ary stggled wh s last great inty crisis
Contents:
- NAVY YEOMAN REMEMBERS HIS TIME AS A GAY SERVICEMAN THE 'DON'T ASK DON'T TELL' ERA
- NAVY SECRETARY: CHAPLA FED BY ‘CHOICE’ TO INTIFY AS GAY
- TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
- “I DID FOR THE UPLIFT OF HUMANY AND THE NAVY”: FDR'S GAY SEX-ENTRAPMENT STG
- US NAVY LNCH SHIP NAMED FOR GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST HARVEY MILK
- THE U.S. NAVY HAS CHRISTENED A SHIP NAMED AFTER SLA GAY RIGHTS LEAR HARVEY MILK
- NAVY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY SEAL BUILDS HIS LIFE ANEW
NAVY YEOMAN REMEMBERS HIS TIME AS A GAY SERVICEMAN THE 'DON'T ASK DON'T TELL' ERA
Navy Yeoman Jab Tate remembers his time as a gay serviceman durg the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" era, which kept openly LGBTQ service members om servg the ary. * navy homosexuality *
DoD LGBTQ+ Timele: This timele not signifint events and polici chronologil orr that had a signifint impact on Department of Defense (DoD) polici, stctns, or orrs as they relate to the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer (LGBTQ+) muny. Navy yeoman remembers his time as a gay serviceman the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' era Navy Yeoman Jab Tate remembers his time as a gay serviceman durg the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" era, which kept openly LGBTQ service members om servg the ary.,.
NAVY SECRETARY: CHAPLA FED BY ‘CHOICE’ TO INTIFY AS GAY
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro told an openly gay chapla that homosexualy is a choice; a Navy spokman says he meant a choice to intify as gay. * navy homosexuality *
Navy Yeoman Jab Tate remembers his time as a gay serviceman durg the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" era, which kept openly LGBTQ service members om servg the ary.
(Screenshot/YouTube)Edor’s Note: This story has been Secretary Carlos Del Toro told an openly gay chapla that homosexualy is a choice durg an onle town hall event that took place on Monday. They’re fed by your choice to be homosexual, and that we’ve got to work together and have hope and that we will, you know, ntue to make progrs time, ” Del Toro said the vio was posted by Lt.
TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
* navy homosexuality *
”Del Toro’s vio answer me om a qutn Newell asked about makg the Navy and the chapla rps ls Navy secretary thanked Newell for his urage askg the qutn and noted that “homophobia is still very much prent many, many circl. 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.
“I DID FOR THE UPLIFT OF HUMANY AND THE NAVY”: FDR'S GAY SEX-ENTRAPMENT STG
A Navy ship named for gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was ma to rign om the force bee of his sexual orientatn, was lnched San Diego Saturday. * navy homosexuality *
"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.
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. 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.
US NAVY LNCH SHIP NAMED FOR GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST HARVEY MILK
Milk served the Navy the 1950s, but was discharged after beg qutned about his sexual orientatn. He beme the first openly gay elected official California before his ath 1978. * navy homosexuality *
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.
THE U.S. NAVY HAS CHRISTENED A SHIP NAMED AFTER SLA GAY RIGHTS LEAR HARVEY MILK
Most lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr service members are still reluctant to disclose their sexual orientatn or inty. * navy homosexuality *
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.
(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. 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.
NAVY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY SEAL BUILDS HIS LIFE ANEW
The le self beme the very tool of their opprsn: "The ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, " says Joseph Rocha (navy, 2004–7), "punish homosexuals who ply, and protects bigots. Of a number of latg events—Rocha was also force-fed dog food and locked to a sh-filled dog kennel—the most abive and explicly homophobic was when he was orred by his manr to act a dog-trag scenar, repeated over and over so that every dog the un uld be n through .
Lovg so much that each scenar was gayer and more disgtg—the troductn of fake semen, that I would have to wipe my face, or that I would have to make slurpg nois.
Anyone who gets off thkg that ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ unr the Bh admistratn anyone uld have gone and said, ’Hey, I’m beg antagonized unr the prciple that I might be gay’ and feel safe is absurd.