Box Turtle Bulletin

Decorated Paratrooper Booted Under DADT

Via the SLDN’s Frontlines, the Stockton Record reports on Randy Miller, an army paratrooper who loved the armey, loved serving the country, and loved following in the footsteps of his late father, his mother and stepfather:

During the one year and 361 days that Miller served in the Army, he earned two Army Achievement Medals and a Combat Infantryman Badge. He voluntarily sought out the dangerous assignment of a paratrooper, making 22 jumps.

He was injured during one of his training jumps, although he didn’t realize it at the time. He went to Iraq with A Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne. After he returned to the US, an MRI showed that the tear in his knee had quadrupled. But his army career came to an abrupt end before it could be treated:

He said he was in a known gay bar minding his own business when a male soldier made him a sexual proposition, which he rejected. The rejected soldier reported Miller to a superior, and Miller was subsequently called in. He didn’t lie. He admitted he was gay.

Miller showed a great deal of integrity in refusing to lie. Unfortunately, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” leaves soldiers open to retaliation and blackmail. A lesser soldier might lie (or worse) to protect his career. Doesn’t anyone else think we leave our armed forces exposed when men and women of integrity are booted while others remain in the services?

Don’t Ask, Just Assume

Military policeman Pfc. Christopher Mastromarino, after months of harassment and anti-gay slurs, appears to have been targeted by Army leaders for dismissal because they think he is gay.

The decorated soldier with an exemplary service record was court-martialed in May after indecent assault charges were filed against him in February. Those charges were brought despite the sworn testimony from witnesses that they did not consider the physical contact between themselves and Mastromarino to be an assault. Mastromarino says the rumors and slurs started when he moved in with his openly gay cousin and partner who lived in the Washington, D.C. area.

A Poll last December found that two-thirds of military personnel who served with someone they knew to be gay did not believe their presence impacted unit cohesion. That same poll found that only 52% received training on prevention of anti-gay harassment. But Pfc. Mastromarino’s case shows how attitudes fostered by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” can affect military cohesion, even involving straight servicemembers who fall under the pall of suspicion.

Joint Chiefs of Staff nominee Admiral Michael Mullen thinks it’s time to revisit the military’s ban on gays and lesbians. During his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Mullen responded to Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-Me) question about continuing dismissals of qualified servicemembers. While he says that he supports the current policy while it is in place, he also believes that Congress ought to re-evaluate it:

“I really think it is for the American people to come forward, really through this body, to both debate that policy and make changes, if that’s appropriate.” Mullen indicated that he would like Congress “to make its own decisions” with respect to considering a repeal of the ban.

Meanwhile, the military continues to lower its standards for new recruits, with the number of incoming soldiers with prior felony arrests or convictions tripling in the past five years. CBS News reports that the Army accepted an estimated 8,000 recruits with criminal records. SLDN delves deeper into the numbers here. And now even gang members are preferred in today’s army over decorated patriots who merely fall under the suspicion of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Dutch Gay Soldiers Recruited

All but one of the international allied forces that served or are serving in Iraq allow openly gay soldiers in their ranks.  The Netherlands, who sent 1,100 troops, is one such example.

Some conservatives may find it tempting to think that those responsible for the military grudgingly accept gays and lesbians.  However, this notion may be challenged by the announcement that Cees van der Knaap, the Netherlands Defense State Secretary, has decided to march in a gay pride event on Saturday.

A ministry spokesman said Friday that Van der Knaap wants to show moral support for homosexual and lesbian military. “He is stressing via his participation that they are welcome in the armed forces”.

Perhaps our military might wish to take note.

Republicans Polled on Gay Rights

Assumptions about Republicans and gay support generally hold that the two are mutually exclusive. However, a new poll by leading GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio shows a party membership that is not quite as hostile as it once might have been. The national survey (slightly skewed to the South) of 2000 self-identified Republican voters found the following:

77% of Republicans believe an employer should not have the right to fire an employee based solely on their sexual orientation. Even among social conservatives, 67% don’t believe an employer should be able to fire someone for being gay.

49% of Republicans believe gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly in the U.S. military, while 42% are opposed.

43% of Republicans support either marriage equality or civil unions. 51% oppose all relationship recognition.

53% of respondents agree that “the Republican Party has spent too much time focusing on moral issues such as abortion and gay marriage and should instead be spending time focusing on economic issues such as taxes and government spending.”

While these numbers show much room for improvement, they also indicate that the days may be waning when an anti-gay position wins you elections.

Update: Here’s the source: The Elephant Looks In The Mirror. Ten Years Later. (PDF: 260 KB/87 pages)

CNN Poll on Homosexuality

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp poll released today revealed the following attitudes Americans have about homosexuality:

Can gay people reorient: 56% say no; 45% say yes

What “causes” homosexuality: 42% say upbringing; 39% birth; 10% both; 3% neither

Let gay people serve openly in the military: 79% say yes; 18% say no

Recognize gay couples: 24% marriage; 27% civil unions; 43% neither

Allow gay couples to adopt: 57% say yes; 40% say no

Military to Gays: Take off the uniform but keep doing the job

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) reports that the Department of the Defense has a new message (dated May 16, 2007) for gay service men and women discharged under the Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell policy:  “Come back to work for us as civilians.”

Lesbian and gay personnel dismissed under the ban “have the opportunity to continue to serve their nation and national security by putting their abilities to use by way of civilian employment with other Federal agencies, the Department of Defense, or in the private sector, such as with a government contractor,” Cynthia O. Smith of the Defense Press Office, said in the statement.

Actually, she underlined that part.  The rest of the statement shifted the blame for DADT to Congress and reiterated that harassment was not tolerated against gay servicemembers.  Which makes me ask:  If the military isn’t gung-ho about DADT, is there anyone left out there who thinks this policy is a good idea?

What Some Politicians Fear The Most

I normally avoid partisan politics, but I couldn’t help being amused by Jon Stewart’s observation that every single GOP candidate for president supports “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”:

The only thing worse for these candidates than another terrorist attack would be a gay hero stopping it.

You can watch it here, after the annoying commercial.

DADT’s Death Rattle Just Got Louder

Sunday, it was Colin Powell calling for an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Today, the Wall Street Journal features an op-ed by rabidly anti-gay former Georgia congressman Bob Barr, the author of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), saying “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should go: (Sorry, no link; it’s not online):

Attitudes both within and outside the military have shifted greatly since 1993 when the current policy was formulated. Three-quarters of returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets said in a December 2006 Zogby poll that they are “personally comfortable” interacting with gay people. A majority of those who knew someone gay in their unit said the person’s presence had no negative impact on unit morale. Among the public at large, polls show consistently that roughly two- thirds of Americans favor letting gays serve, including majorities of Republicans, regular churchgoers and even people with negative attitudes toward gays.

These reasons, and the credibility of many experts making the arguments, have convinced me that there is little reason left to believe gays openly serving would break the armed forces. Americans want strong, moral leadership, and they are quick to sniff out pandering and expediency. It sure would be nice if the presidential wannabes were as quick to realize this.

The Death Rattle of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

This past Sunday, Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had some comments about the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy put in place during his term of service.

MR. RUSSERT: The only two countries from the original NATO group that do not allow openly gay people to serve in the military are the U.S. and Portugal. Is it a time to do away with “don’t ask, don’t tell” and allow openly gay people to serve in the military?

GEN. POWELL: I think the, the country has changed in its attitudes quite a bit. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was an appropriate response to the situation back in 1993. And the country certainly has changed. I don’t know that it has changed so much that this would be the right thing to do now. My, my, my successor, General Shalikashvili has written a letter about this.

MR. RUSSERT: Yes.

GEN. POWELL: He thinks it has changed sufficiently. But he ends his letter by saying, “We’re in a war right now, and let’s not do this right now.” My own judgment is that gays and lesbians should be allowed to have maximum access to all aspects of society. In the State Department, we had a very open policy, we had gay ambassadors. I swore in gay ambassadors with their partners present. But the military is different. It is unique. It exists for one purpose and that’s to apply state violence. And in the intimate confines of military life, in barracks life, where we tell you who you’re going to live with, where we tell you who you’re going to sleep with, we have to have a different set of rules. I will not second-guess the commanders who are serving now, just as I didn’t want to be second-guessed 12 or 13 years ago. But I think the country is changing. We may eventually reach that point. I’m not sure.

MR. RUSSERT: Is it inevitable?

GEN. POWELL: I don’t know if it’s inevitable, but I think it’s certainly moving in that direction. I just don’t—I’m not convinced we have reached that point yet, and I will let the military commanders and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Congress make the judgment. Remember, it is the Congress who put this into law. It was a policy. And that’s all I wanted it to be was a policy change, but it was Congress in 1993 that made it a matter of law. And so there are some proposed pieces of legislation up there. I don’t know if all of the candidates the other night who were saying it ought to be overturned have co-signed that or introduced law. But it’s a matter of law now, not a matter of military policy.

It is comforting to hear that General Powell is not a defender of anti-gay bigotry. And it is encouraging to hear him question whether the ban should stay in place. But perhaps the most valuable result of this interview is that Powell has removed himself as a tool for others to avoid an honest discussion of the merits of the policy.

And an excuse he was. In the June 5 Republican primary debates, Rudy Guiliani shifted discussion of the policy to Powell saying:

This is not the time to deal with disruptive issues like this.

Back in 1994 we went through this. And it created a tremendous amount ofdisruption. Colin Powell, I think, was still the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before he left at the beginning of the Clinton administration

He came to the view that this was a good policy.

But Guiliani was not alone in trying to shift the conversation off of his own beliefs. In fact, none of the Republican candidates were willing to discuss the merits of the policy or what they personally felt about it.

Ron Paul talked about “disruptive behavior” whether heterosexual or homosexual, McCain said the policy “is working, my friends”, Romney punted the conversation to some future point in which we weren’t in war, and Huckabee decided this was a good time to talk about immigration. The other also-rans rest kept their heads down and hoped they didn’t get called on.

In short, there are very few voices willing to call for continued discrimination. Very few anxious to rant about sin and immorality in the troops. And the last one to do so, no longer has his job.

This battle is over on this. The policy is dead. Congress just hasn’t voted to tell it so yet.

It’s Hard To Kick a Good Man Out

Remember Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight, the openly gay sailor who thought he had been kicked out under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” only to be reactivated for an Individual Ready Reserve tour in Kuwait? When the Navy found out about the mixup, they kicked him out again. You’d think that would be the end of the story, wouldn’t you?

Well, this morning’s Stars and Stripes is reporting that once again, Knight wasn’t kicked all the way out again:

However, in the latest twist, Knight’s new discharge papers — like his previous discharge papers — do not mention homosexual conduct as the reason for his dismissal. Instead, they cite “completion of required active service.” And they list his recall code as RE-1, with a reserve obligation ending in April 2009.

The Navy says they are looking into the matter. When asked if he would go back to active duty if he were somehow called, Knight simply replied, “Of course I would.”

Since leaving the Navy last May, Knight became a spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which is actively working for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

It seems that with our armed services being stretched thin on all fronts in an increasingly unpopular war, denying Knight’s eagerness to serve is a terrible waste to all those who voluntarily put their lives in danger.

Military Continues To Discharge Valuable Arab Linguists

Citing the recent discharge of three gay Arabic linguists under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” 40 House members wrote to the House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) asking for a hearing on the matter. They say in their letter that 58 Arabic linguists have been discharged under the anti-gay policy, and  that this loss of “capable, highly skilled Arabic linguists continues to compromise our national security during time of war.”

One of the three recently dismissed linguists, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen Benjamin, has come forward to describe his ouster:

“I’d always had been out since the day I started working there,” Benjamin said. “We had conversations about being gay in the military and what it was like. There were no issues with unit cohesion. I never caused divisiveness or ever experienced slurs,” said Benjamin, who was in the Navy for nearly four years.

Benjamin, said his supervisor tried to keep him on the job and urged him to sign a statement saying he was not gay. His sexuality became a problem when he was caught improperly using the military’s secret level computer system to send messages to his roommate in Iraq. He said others who weren’t gay kept their jobs even though they were sending inappropriate messages over the same system.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Slam the Door On Your Way Out

Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight, the Navy linguist who had been discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and then reactivated a few years later, has now been officially discharged again. This time they mean it:

“I got my new DD214 this morning with its gleaming RE4 code and Homosexual Statement.”

According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an average of two service members per day are dismissed under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Jason is a linguist, one of the specialties in critically short supply. And according to a Zogby Poll last December, most members of the armed forces have no problem with serving alongside these Patriots. Britain has dropped its ban on gay service members with no problems with unit cohesion. It’s time for the U.S. armed services to join the 21st century and end the ban.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Support

On April 23, 2007 a captain with the 8th Marine Corps District in Fort Worth named Josh Gibbs wrote an opinion piece for the Marine Corps Times entitled It’s time to allow gays to serve openly in the military.  In this thoughtful article Gibbs challenged many of the assumptions and stereotypes that prop up the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the US Military, including the false comparison to the military’s treatment of adultery.

Though Gibbs has contributed pieces on a number of subjects, he discovered that advocating acceptance of gay soldiers is not only taboo but will get you punished.

Fallout from the April 23 column was swift, he said. According to Gibbs, he was notified April 30 that he was relieved of duty due to “loss of confidence” in his ability. His commanding officer shared the news only after Gibbs began asking questions after a posting for his position was prematurely listed on a Corps Web site, Gibbs said during a May 17 telephone interview.

Gibbs will be reassigned to 3rd Marines Logistics group on Okinawa, Japan, he said. His commanders told him, “It is a mark against me, but not one I can’t recover from,” Gibbs said.

After nine years in the service, Gibbs has decided to leave the military and pursue a life where he will be allowed to make change happen. 

And He’s Out Again

We previously reported about the Navy linguist who was called back for another year’s service after having been drummed out because of our nation’s increasingly indefenseable Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell policy.  Well, he’s DADTed again:

Late Friday, the Navy confirmed that it is again separating Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight, this time with a DD-214 reflecting separation due to admissions of homosexual conduct.

For those unaware, “homosexual conduct” includes any verbalization of same-sex attraction.

In The Navy: Discharged Gay Sailor Reactivated

He thought his Navy days were behind him:

On his wedding night in July 2004, then-Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Knight finally accepted a truth he had fought against for years: he was gay.

Almost immediately, he moved to get his marriage annulled. He apologized to the woman he’d married. And when it came time to explain his changing circumstances to the Navy, he left nothing out. Under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, he was quickly discharged from the service.

But now — whether through a clerical oversight or what some claim is an unwritten change in policy to keep more gay servicemembers in the ranks at a time of war — Jason Knight is back on active duty.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Knight– yes, he’s even been promoted — has decided that this time, having been kicked out once for being gay, there’s no reason to go back into the closet. And he’s even more determined this time to remain open, especially since Marine Gen. Peter Pace, Charmian of the Joint Chiefs described homosexually as immoral. Says Knight, “(T)here isn’t much they can do to me they haven’t done the first time.”

It looks like his fellow sailors are completely on board with his new openness while in uniform:

“He’s better than the average sailor at his job,” said Bill Driver, the leading petty officer of Knight’s 15-person customs crew in Kuwait. “It’s not at all a strange situation. As open as he is now, it was under wraps for quite a while. It wasn’t an issue at work.”

Another sailor with the detail, Petty Officer 1st Class Tisha Hanson, works in admin and has had to process discharges for homosexual sailors before.

“I’ve obviously never heard of something like this happening before,” she said of Knight’s return to active duty. “But it doesn’t bother me. The Navy tends to keep people who don’t want to be here, but Jason does.”

Sen. John McCain recently affirmed his support for continuing to discharge enthusiastic and qualified servicemembers in time of war, saying, “I believe polarization of personnel and breakdown of unit effectiveness is too high a price to pay for well-intentioned but misguided efforts to elevate the interests of a minority of homosexual servicemembers above those of their units.”

But a recent Zogby poll confirms that Knight’s crewmates aren’t all that unusual in their willingness to serve alongside him. Perhaps Sen. McCain should actually talk to some of the those service members before assuming that there would be a breakdown in unit effectiveness. In today’s Navy, that kind of anachronistic thinking is quickly sinking.