Gays the Milary: New Facts Conquer Old Taboos | RAND

Contents:

• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.
• RANGER SCHOOL IS “GAY”
• WATCH: GAY ARMY RANGER WANTS KATY PERRY TO BE HIS DATE FOR THE BALL
• ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
• BEG ALL THEY N BE — GAY UPLE ATTENDS ARMY BALL AT GEIA’S FT. BENNG
• GAYS THE MILARY: NEW FACTS CONQUER OLD TABOOS
• FORD UNVEILED A 'VERY GAY' TCK RPONSE TO A HOMOPHOBIC COMMENTER

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

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.

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

Army Rerve, participat a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer panel discsn June 24, 2021.

WASHINGTON -- Soldiers reprentg the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muny virtually celebrated Pri Month Thursday as part of a discsn that marked another step the Army’s growg regnn toward the LGBTQ muny. Every June, Pri Month is a natnal observance that is held to memorate the Stonewall Uprisg Manhattan, New York, 1969, a historic tippg pot wh the gay liberatn movement to empower all LGBTQ Amerins. The directive was a promise measure that barred LGBTQ-intifyg persons om ary service, but also prohibed ary personnel om discrimatg agast, or harassg, closeted gay and lbian troops.

Even 2011, after lawmakers repealed the directive, the repeal only ensured gay, lbian and bisexual troops uld openly serve.

RANGER SCHOOL IS “GAY”

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.

WATCH: GAY ARMY RANGER WANTS KATY PERRY TO BE HIS DATE FOR THE BALL

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. 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.

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

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. Rob Biro, jt one was top-of-md when he joed 2009: How he would manage to serve his untry whout his inty as a gay man beg a hurdle.

BEG ALL THEY N BE — GAY UPLE ATTENDS ARMY BALL AT GEIA’S FT. BENNG

” This year marks the fifth anniversary of the repeal of the so-lled Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, or DADT, which rtricted out lbian, gay and bisexual men and women om servg the U.

As we honor our fallen service members gay and straight this May, signs abound of a vastly improved environment for gays the ary.

GAYS THE MILARY: NEW FACTS CONQUER OLD TABOOS

Meanwhile, The Geia Voice uld fd prec few enlisted service men and women willg to go on the rerd wh their orientatn – evince that while gone, the ary’s longstandg stigma agast homosexualy is far om fotten. ” Coleman earng a vice printial nod for beg the first out class print at the Uned Stat Milary Amy; last fall, gay sger/songwrer Steve Grand rted a gay mare to the annual Mare Corps ball. Friends were ncerned: Biro was over 30 years old, clearly gay and enterg a regiment known for machismo and a at-like atmosphere.

“Basilly, the Army as a whole didn’t really have a problem wh openly gay troops, but the only part of the Army that did was Ranger Regiment, ” he said, rellg Pentagon surveys he read before enlistg. But Biro said he heard his fair share of gay slurs, and even earned a not-so-iendly name om a few particularly persistent bulli. “They lled me ‘Ranger Girl, ’” said Biro, who said thgs got worse the months ially followg the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, before higher-ups ma clear that anti-gay bullyg would be punished.

FORD UNVEILED A 'VERY GAY' TCK RPONSE TO A HOMOPHOBIC COMMENTER

Before "don't ask, don't tell" was officially repealed for gay, lbian, and bisexual ary personnel 2011, a photo of a male Mare drag uld have land him hot water.