Tammy Smh: First Openly Gay U.S. General : NPR

Contents:

• ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS
• TAMMY SMH: FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL
• US ARMY GENERAL COM OUT AS GAY, INTRODUC HIS ‘HBAND’ AT PENTAGON GAY PRI EVENT
• AN ARMY GENERAL OPENS UP ABOUT BEG GAY DURG DADT
• SMH BE FIRST GAY GENERAL OFFICER TO SERVE OPENLY
• WOMAN BE FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL
• THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
• MEET BRIG. GEN. TAMMY SMH, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL
• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• SALUTE IS ORR FOR NEW GAY GENERAL
• ARMY’S 1ST OPENLY GAY GENERAL CELEBRAT ADVANC DURG PRI OBSERVANCE S. KOREA
• HISTORY’S GREATT GAY GENERAL

ARMY’S FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL RETIR AFTER SPIRG OTHERS

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.

TAMMY SMH: FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL

“People mt fd fort and ph back some of that ternalized homophobia, and build a b on the journey between hont and thentic. 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.

US ARMY GENERAL COM OUT AS GAY, INTRODUC HIS ‘HBAND’ AT PENTAGON GAY PRI EVENT

She is the first openly gay general the Uned Stat ary.

AN ARMY GENERAL OPENS UP ABOUT BEG GAY DURG DADT

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.

SMH BE FIRST GAY GENERAL OFFICER TO SERVE OPENLY

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. 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.

WOMAN BE FIRST OPENLY GAY GENERAL

Did the fay know that she was gay, but she never uld tell the ary that? Yeah, she knew she was gay when she was eight years old.

Brigadier General Tammy Smh joed om the Pentagon - as of Friday, our natn's first openly gay general.

US Army General Randy Taylor has now e out of the foot locker and announced he is gay. Not only that but at a Pentagon-sponsored gay pri event he also troduced his “hband” to the world. The event kicked off wh a song om a gay choir, so we have that gog for , which is nice.

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

Taylor, whose 27 years of service spanned an outright ban on gays, then “don’t ask, don’t tell” and fally, the ban’s liftg 2011.

MEET BRIG. GEN. TAMMY SMH, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY U.S. GENERAL

Taylor was the master of ceremoni for the Pentagon’s 4th Gay Pri celebratn that shows a month of gay-themed posters and history.

I don’t want to celebrate gays the ary.

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

Their beg gay do not make them notable. As the first general officer to e out as gay while still servg, Smh has led the charge for equaly, diversy, and tegry the ary.

SALUTE IS ORR FOR NEW GAY GENERAL

And while genr equaly the ary has e a long way sce she first missned, thgs have not always been easy for servicewomen, nor has been possible to be an openly gay service member.

20, 2011, the Defense Department repealed s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays servg the ary.

ARMY’S 1ST OPENLY GAY GENERAL CELEBRAT ADVANC DURG PRI OBSERVANCE S. KOREA

“Like thoands of gay and lbian service members, I chose to set asi who I was for the privilege to serve our armed forc. The policy that was place prr to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” entirely banned gays om jog the ary, said Smh, addg that ma them feel like unsirable, lser people. “How I mataed my tegry is that I didn’t let that view, of what gay people were, take my digny, ” she said.

If I chose to hi, what was I signalg as a lear to the rt of the members of the armed servic who were gay and lbian? Wh homosexuals now ee to serve openly the U. Ary didn’t take long for a gay officer to climb to the top of the missned ranks.

Star and Strip, the Defense Department’s semi-official newspaper, proudly reported that the Army has promoted s first homosexual officer to general stat. The paper add that the ceremony Augt 10, at which Smh was officially promoted, “marks an important tone for gay rights advot, givg the movement s most senr public ary figure. ” Acrdg to the New York Tim, Smh, a 26-year Army veteran, married homosexual activist Tracey Hepner March 2011, after they had dated for ne years.

HISTORY’S GREATT GAY GENERAL

The Tim reported that Hepner is the founr of an anizatn lled Milary Partners and Fai Coaln, which, s webse explas, exists to provi “support, rourc, tn, and advocy for lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr ary partners and their fai.