Army Rerve officer Tammy Smh was promoted to the posn of Brigadier General last Friday. In dog so, she beme the first gay general to serve openly the U.S. ary. Gen. Smh talks wh NPR's Lynn Neary about her reer the ary and the signifince of her recent promotn.
Contents:
- ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
- TAMMY SMH: FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL
- THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
- WOMAN BE FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL
ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
WASHINGTON -- Sce Maj. Gen. Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg... * first openly gay army general *
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. The policy banned lbians, gay men and bisexuals om servg the ary. It terrified her to e out as gay such a public way, but she felt a rponsibily to do , she said.
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.
TAMMY SMH: FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL
* first openly gay army general *
Smh is now the first openly gay general the Uned Stat jos om the Pentagon jt a moment.
If you are a gay or lbian member of the ary and have e out sce the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell, " please give a ll and tell your story at 800-989-8255. She is the first openly gay general the Uned Stat ary. And I also read that, you know, before you were able to be openly gay the ary that, you know, a lot of thgs had to - everythg you did or thought about had to sort of be planned, a way.
You - as a gay woman, you uldn't.
THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
SMITH: Well - and you characterized that as a gay woman, but I would have to say more jt as a woman the ary, that are there the Hmm.
But I do know that the Mare Corps do not honor gay marriag.
WOMAN BE FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL
Well, I wanted to ask you, you are - I know that you shy away om this, but you have to know that you are a role mol as a woman, as you said, and also, aga, as a gay woman.
So there will be some folks who will look up to me for beg gay - and not so much bee I'm gay, bee that's not really signifint, so much as that I upheld my personal tegry a way that is fortable for me. Go No - well, first, general, I am ecstatic that you are a general, and you beg gay has nothg to do wh you beg general. And she was reced to Naval Intelligence and live a closeted life, fact, married a gay man when she was telligence so they uld mata their ver.