Durg the 17 years "Don't ask, Don't tell" was place, nearly 14,000 service members were discharged for beg gay, and sce the end of WWII some 100,000 members of the ary were kicked out simply for beg part of the LGBTQ+ muny. As Pri month to a close, Jan Crawford speaks to two generatns of Air Force officers about what life was like before and after the repeal of "Don't ask, Don't tell."
Contents:
- OPENLY GAY AIR FORCE MAND CHIEF AT RAMSTE LENDS VOICE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FOR PRI MONTH
- THE FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. AIR FORCE AMY COMMANDANT
- GAY MAN ‘TORTURED’ FOR DAYS BY AIR FORCE AFTER SEXUALY UNVERED
- GAY SERGEANT CHALLENG THE AIR FORCE
- TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
- AIR FORCE HONORS GAY RIGHTS IN THE SERVICE KICKED OUT 1975
- 2 GENERATNS OF GAY AIR FORCE OFFICERS SCRIBE LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL"
- AIR FORCE LOOKED AT SPRAY TO TURN ENEMY GAY
OPENLY GAY AIR FORCE MAND CHIEF AT RAMSTE LENDS VOICE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FOR PRI MONTH
The Uned Stat ary stggled wh s stance on gay service members for s prr to the signg of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 1993 by former Print Bill Clton., * gay air force men *
“No longer will our untry be nied the service of thoands of patrtic Amerins who were forced to leave the ary – regardls of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance – bee they happen to be gay, ” said former Print Barack Obama. Milary psychiatrists theorized that heterosexual mal uld participate homosexual acts while alg wh the strs of war due to the lack of ‘normal’ sexual outlets war-torn areas. To protect Ameri’s servicemen om the ‘threat’ of homosexual men wh their ranks, the ary created more -pth physil and psychologil screengs of potential ary members.
The ary doctors believed that homosexualy uld be tected the physil featur and mannerisms of men and would dismiss recs who displayed the characteristics. “When was ascertaed that the basis of the maladjtment was homosexualy and this was reported to the dividual’s mandg officer, the subject ually received a ‘blue’ discharge, ” said Lt.
THE FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. AIR FORCE AMY COMMANDANT
Last week, the U.S. Air Force announced the lnch of two new diversy and cln programs, cludg a Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and * gay air force men *
Gay ary members no longer need to fear that their learship learng of their sexual orientatn will e them to lose chanc at promotn and advancement their reers.
Gay servicemen and women are protected unr the same laws as any other person and offered the same opportuni to excel and live wh a cent qualy of life whout fear of stroyg their reers. “That is why I say to all Amerins, gay or straight, who want nothg more than to fend this untry uniform: Your untry needs you, your untry wants you, and we will be honored to wele you to the ranks of the ft ary the world has ever known, ” stated Obama. Air Force announced the lnch of two new diversy and cln programs, cludg a Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer/Qutng iative team (LIT) and the Indigeno Natns Equaly Teams (INET).
GAY MAN ‘TORTURED’ FOR DAYS BY AIR FORCE AFTER SEXUALY UNVERED
Only 15 years ago, Chief Master Sgt. Jeremiah Grisham never imaged he’d be where he is today: the top enlisted lear for the 521st Air Mobily Operatns Wg at Ramste. As far as he knows, he’s the only openly gay mand chief the Air Force. * gay air force men *
Pri month was created 1999 by Print Bill Clton to regnize the gay and lbian muny and has sce been expand to clu the bisexual and transgenr muny.
Michelle Johnson’s e-mail to staff, obtaed by the Colorado Sprgs Inpennt, pats a picture of an acplished officer — the former vice manr of the 59th Bomb Wg and wg manr of the 2nd Bomb Wg, wh experience flyg at least a half-dozen different typ of ary aircraft cludg the B-2 Spir stealth is standard, Johnson left Goodw’s personal life out of the bgraphy, although is signifint, as Goodw will be the first openly gay mandant at the amy. The 2010 repeal the Clton-era “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” paved the way to allowg gay members of all branch to marry their partners and extend ary benefs to their fai and allow them to live on ’s likely that Goodw would rather be known for her acplishments as an officer, and for her upg tenure as mandant to be fed by the learship she provis ts, than her personal life.
Neverthels, ’s not signifint that Goodw land this specific Air Force Amy has equently been embroiled ntroversi over accatns that senr lears there have built a zy relatnship wh fundamentalist Christian groups which have tried to dissemate anti-gay doctr at the ’s also relevant that the Air Force Amy is suated jt outsi Colorado Sprgs, which is home to more than 100 evangelil groups cludg Foc on the Fay, a proment anti-LGBT polil lobby anizatn. Army photoCase pot, when the Army Tim published the headle that Eric Fanng was the first openly gay person to serve as actg secretary of the U. However, while atten were generally upbeat and optimistic about the future, they weren’t shy about discsg what they saw as ridual homophobia that hadn’t ught up wh the change Sgt.
GAY SERGEANT CHALLENG THE AIR FORCE
I am an Amerin Airman. I am a warrr. I have answered my natn’s ll.I am a wgman, a photojournalist and a hband.I am gay., * gay air force men *
Joe Carrillo, an fantry bat veteran and openly gay soldier, told War Is Borg that a “generatnal gap” led some senr officers to see the prence of gay troops as a disptive new cultural fad.
TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
Simon Hchley-Robson acced Royal Air Force police of repeatedly assltg him the 1980s after disverg that he was gay. * gay air force men *
Print Donald Tmp — spe voicg his opposn to gay marriage — was mostly ambivalent on the mpaign trail about gays the ary and don’t seem to have strong feelgs on the issue. Mike Pence is outspoken about his belief that gay people are immoral, a harbger of “societal llapse” and that their existence threatens tradnal nuclear ’s fense secretary Jim Mattis had exprsed disfort wh repealg DADT, particularly when he was an active duty Mare.
AIR FORCE HONORS GAY RIGHTS IN THE SERVICE KICKED OUT 1975
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 * gay air force men *
But by the time of his nfirmatn hearg January 2017, his views seemed to have New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand prsed Mattis on the future of gay troops the ary, his reply was “ankly senator, I’ve never red about two nsentg adults and who they go to bed wh. It has tght how to balance our prri and ultimately, has refed our ncept of out as a gay man tted the relatnships of those clost to me, yet members of my Air Force fay ntued their support and enuragement as if nothg had changed.
”I share this quote as a remr that we, as members of the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny, have loved on we have vowed to protect jt like our fellow Airmen.
2 GENERATNS OF GAY AIR FORCE OFFICERS SCRIBE LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL"
Lbian, gay and bisexual Air Force ts scribe life the Uned Stat Air Force Amy after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." * gay air force men *
And while I am a gay man, I am proud to say that I intify first and foremost as an ’s LGBT Pri month celebratns are relatively new to as an Air Force, but the importance of s msage should ronate wh every me, pri go far beyond sexual orientatn or intifitn – speaks to the rilience and clivens of our force.
AIR FORCE LOOKED AT SPRAY TO TURN ENEMY GAY
It is an honor to put on the same uniform worn by the strongt and bravt dividuals our untry, and I do so every day wh appreciatn for their sacrifice and mment to excellence, tegry and a member of a married, dual-ary, gay uple, I n speak for both my hband and myself when I say I am proud to serve my untry alongsi the great men and women of the Air Force who have allowed and embolned to do so the only way we know how – wh pri.
He add: “Although they say you n be open the forc, I would still dispute, if I walked to an army recment office or the mar and said ‘by the way I am gay, I want to jo up’, they would fd everythg they uld to stop me om jog up. READ NEXTGay Film ‘Passag’ Gets Slapped Wh An NC-17 RatgWhen You Get In Bed Wh Bigots, Please RensirAtomic Blon: Our Film Crics Discs ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’Bowen Yang, Dan Levy and Ben Platt Were Almost ‘Barbie’. But to actually be lockg ey wh Ellen and hold her, shakg hands as she said, "I'm gay, " on natnal televisn and for the first time, as she has shared outloud that way publicly, was such a profoundly extraordary and timate gift to that moment that I will forever be grateful for.