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:
- SO ANY GAY GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN THE MILARY OR NAVY POST HERE?
- TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
- WHEN GAY SAILOR WAS OUTED, HE FOUND HIS NAVY BUDDI HAD HIS BACK
- MEET THE GAYBROS
SO ANY GAY GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN THE MILARY OR NAVY POST HERE?
I jt really wanted to know kd of experienc you had as a Gay man the Milary or Navy?Also your experience what Branch has the most Gay guys ?I am sure we would love to hear your ... * gay navy reddit *
Got missned as an officer 2002 and am approachg my 12th year a gay man, 2002 - 2004 were the worst bee I was so aaid of gettg kicked out unr Don't Ask Don't those were technilly supposed to be among the bt years of my datg life! Surprisgly, I've found the Army to be the gay-iendlit branch (most of my good iends are straight Soldiers who know I'm gay and have been nothg but supportive) Anonymoreply 6Febary 9, 2014 9:51 PM. Coast guard seems to be the most gay tend to al wh civilians more than the other Anonymoreply 15Augt 3, 2018 5:32 PM.
Before "don't ask, don't tell" was officially repealed for gay, lbian, and bisexual ary personnel 2011, a photo of a male Mare drag uld have land him hot water.
TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
"Lbian, gay, and bisexual ary personnel had been servg our untry for s whout receivg equal protectn, while transgenr troops are still prohibed om servg openly. The are the voic explag what has been like to be a gay man1 the Amerin ary over the prev seventy or so years, om World War II veterans their late eighti to young servicemen on active duty.
Life Today as a Gay ServicemanHow we got here: In 1992, many people thought that the discrimatn was nearly over.
"I remember beg the Castro, " says John Forrett (army rerve, 1987–99), "and watchg the TV at a bar wh some iends, watchg Al Gore and Bill Clton swearg that if they beme the tag team for Ameri they were gog to get rid of the harassment of gays and lbians servg the ary.
WHEN GAY SAILOR WAS OUTED, HE FOUND HIS NAVY BUDDI HAD HIS BACK
" Gay people were allowed the ary but only as long as they didn’t reveal their sexualy; to facilate this, all members of the ary were also prohibed om quirg about anyone’s possible orientatn. Servicemen were advised that until then the policy would still apply, and that they uld potentially face s sanctns if they intify themselv publicly as gay. ’ "Air Force #1: "Two of my iends were disvered, both officers—’s a long and arduo procs for an officer to get kicked out for beg gay.
You’re a Mare, you don’t md gettg dirty, gog out to the field and not showerg for weeks at a, if you were gay, when you have to shower wh all the other guys you’d get all exced. I mean, if you want to hi, the Mare Corps is one of the bt plac to do that, bee nobody wants to adm they are standg next to a gay guy. I had ma about halfway through and the recer was trated wh how long was takg me, and he said, ’Well, basilly, are you gay?
MEET THE GAYBROS
One Man’s Operatn Iraqi FreedomMany gay servicemen the morn era—cludg Eric Alva (Mar, 1991–2004)—have pleted long ary reers whout their sexualy ever beg revealed. And therefore few people realized that the first Amerin serly wound the vasn of Iraq durg the send Gulf war was a gay Alva signed up, before "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " he had to lie on his paperwork. Lbians have suffered unr the same prohibns and prejudic and share many of the same experienc, as well as some that are distct, but this article ncentrat on the experience of gay men.
And when, 2006, the battl over "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" the ary and gay marriage the wir muny were simmerg, Alva’s boyiend at the time poted out to him that he did have some notoriety that might be of e. (The meetgs have been arranged through a private onle work lled OutServe, set up only last year, which allows gay and lbian servicepeople a safe and secure way of fdg and munitg wh one another.
To be the ary and still try to live any kd of life as a gay man, ’s not Force #4 (senr airman, four years): "Right now our relatnships don’t exist.