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:
- 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
I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.
While the LGBT ary muny has seen creased reprentatn the past , stris are still beg ma to improve acceptance, tegratn and health for gay and transgenr service members. * gay and in the military *
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).
TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
* gay and in the military *
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. 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.
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.