Air Force Boots Their 25 Million Dollar Aviator (He’s Gay)
By Aubrey Sarvis
Huffington Post
May 19, 2009
New President. New Congress. No Change. Here is the latest evidence of what our country is losing under the law that prevents gay men and women from serving openly in the armed forces of the United States.
Lieutenant Colonel Victor J. Fehrenbach, a fighter weapons systems officer, has been flying the F-15E Strike Eagle since 1998. He has flown numerous missions against Taliban and al-Qaida targets, including the longest combat mission in his squadron's history. On that infamous September 11, 2001, Lt. Col. Fehrenbach was handpicked to fly sorties above the nation's capital. Later he flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has received at least 30 awards and decorations including nine air medals, one of them for heroism, as well as campaign medals for Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He is now a flight instructor in Idaho, where he has passed on his skills to more than 300 future Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force weapons systems officers.
Since 1987, when Fehrenbach entered Notre Dame on a full Air Force ROTC scholarship, the government has invested twenty-five million dollars in training and equipping him to serve his country, which he has done with what anyone would agree was great distinction. He comes from a military family. His father was a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, his mother an Air Force nurse and captain. Lt. Col. Fehrenbach has honored that tradition.
And the Air Force is about to discharge this guy, a virtual poster boy for Air Force recruiting, because he is gay? Someone has to be kidding. This is sheer madness.
But Lt. Col. Fehrenbach does not have to be discharged. There is something the Pentagon can and should do now. Lt. Col. Fehrenbach's commanders and senior commanders can retain him in the service. Individual commanders are allowing many gays and lesbians to continue to serve openly in the armed forces. They are doing so because these are good service members who are doing their jobs. Lt. Col .Fehrenbach is no danger to unit cohesion, or to morale, or to good order and discipline. He goes to work every day, does a fantastic job for his country, has all the medals and job performance evaluations to prove it, and he should be allowed to serve.
Is the discharge of an officer with such critical and valuable skills, whom the government has spent millions training, is that really what Congress intended when it gave us "don't ask, don't tell"? Only last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told members of Congress, "If we don't get the people part of this business right, none of our other decisions will matter." Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress, "This is how we take care of our people."
He should have said, "This is how we take care of some of our people," because neither Secretary Gates nor Admiral Mullen could have been thinking of the 65,000 gays and lesbians in uniform today. Certainly they were not thinking of Lt. Col. Fehrenbach when they talked about "getting the people part right" because they got the "people part" wrong.
Watching Gates and Mullen on the Hill last week, you could see what President Obama is up against. They know how to deliver great performances. They know very well that their new Commander in Chief wants to get rid of "don't ask, don't tell." They know the President needs their help to accomplish it. So far, to put it gently, they have not been particularly helpful. "Dragging their feet" best describes what they've been doing, and the President, waiting on his military, finds himself in a box.
In an Associated Press story this afternoon, reporter Lara Jakes quoted Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell as saying that both Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen are "aware of where the President wants to go on this issue, but I don't think that there is any sense of any immediate developments in the offing on efforts to repeal don't ask-don't tell." Does this mean they know where the President wants to go but they're not going there? It doesn't sound as if the President has made a lot of progress in getting the Pentagon players on his team.
The impending discharge of Lt. Col. Fehrenbach, an 18-year combat aviator, and the likely discharge of First Lieutenant Dan Choi , an Arabic speaking Army platoon leader, put real faces on this sad unfolding drama. These two service members and scores of others are paying an enormous price while grown men and women in Washington do their political dance. And make no mistake, Congress is in on this dance, too. It is their "don't ask, don't tell" law. They passed it; they own it. Only they can repeal it. Let's be fair and accurate here. This is far more complicated than a simple stroke of the presidential pen. If an Executive Order to temporarily suspend DADT discharges would work on all fronts, for all service members, I would be all for it. But we need a real, lasting fix.
A law is a law, even a bad law. Our country and service members are suffering the consequences as we watch this theater of the absurd play out. We need this new 111th Congress and this new President to engage each other immediately and with a sense of urgency to stop this obvious madness.
What is happening in the United States military today is not the 17th century witch trials in Salem - nobody has been hanged on Gallows Hill - but it's not what most Americans think of as just or fair in a country that prides itself as having the best justice system in the world.
Lt. Col. Fehrenbach has just made his case before the American people on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show tonight. Let the 25 Million Dollar Aviator serve!
05-19-09 By Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN Executive Director |
16 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.Mike in Middle East on June 03, 2009 at 03.27 am
This is yet another great example of how the best Soldiers are being targeted and forced to leave the military. I am currently an active duty US Army Soldier who is deployed to the Middle East. I am serving in the combat zone with many active duty military Soldiers who are gay/lesbian. They are not openly gay, but they are model Soldiers who have just as much right to defend our country as straight Soldiers do. I am pround to serve with them and would gladly sacrifice my life for theirs as they would for mine. Like Lt Col Fehrenbach, I am waiting to see if President Obama will “step up to the plate” and put an end to this witch hunt that is forcing some of the US Military’s best to leave. I just want to thank Aubrey Sarvis and the Huffington Post for keeping this issue in the spotlight and thanks to Rachel Maddow for again having the guts to stand up to the “old boys”. I wish Lt Col Fehrenbach all the best and want him to know that fellow Soldiers like myself truly understand what he has had to go through.
Barbara Jugenheimer in California on June 01, 2009 at 11.44 am
I am not military, however, I have a daughter that once was. Right now, she is trying to reenter the reserves. It has been almost a year since she started her paper work. At this point, she is not sure if this is what she wants due to the fact that the government has made DADT a disgrace for our service men and women. The mere fact that they are trying to make them resign is so cruel and disrespectful, it is a crime. Let me assure the bigots that they, (the gays & lesbians) are not in there to push themselves on anyone. They are in there to defend out country and they do it with honor. Shame on our Government and shame on President Obama if he stands by and lets this happen to these men and women who give their lives to keep our country safe. GOD BLESS AMERICAN AND OUR TROOPS.
Martina on May 24, 2009 at 05.37 pm
I served for 20 years in the Air Force and recently retired. I am in shock at this pending discharge of an Air Force pilot and only 2 years before he would be able to receive his retirement benefits. I am in shock not because the Air Force spent so much on his training because in my mind, this discharge is not different than an airman or private who also has sworn to uphold and defend our constitution against all enemies - foreign and domestic. I am shocked because my nephew has been to Iraq 3 times and left to Afghanistan 2 days ago. My nephew and many other soldiers have served numerous deployments in Iraq when we have many gay people who WANT to serve and take the burden off those who are going over numerous times. The chances of being afflicted with PTSD go up every time someone is deployed. The military has had to reduce enlistment requirements and allow people who have raped, been in gang and other felonies. Now the military is faced with gang activity IN the military - something we have not seen before. This is a NO BRAINER to me - allow citizens who have integrity, honor and who are gay to serve so we can again raise the enlistment requirements to allow only the best and brightest to serve in the best military in the world! My daughter was recently sexually assaulted by a fellow Army soldier who had a laundry list of felonies before he was given a waiver to enlist. I am not worried about my daughter serving with gay soldiers who have integrity and honor but I am worried about her serving with soldiers who have prior convictions of rape. Obama - we didn’t wait to vote for you based on your promise to end the DADT policy - don’t wait to end this ridiculous policy.
gmoney in Asia on May 24, 2009 at 05.04 pm
Someone was asking on the how he got turned in.. classic story ...perhaps a love gone bad…. from the article below it appears that some Civi acquaintance turned him in…
Stars and Stripes
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62862
Lance in Iraq on May 24, 2009 at 02.14 pm
Welcome to the modern day witch hunt everyone. It’s interesting that they preach on and on about integrity first and everything and then they kick out one of our highest ranks for not asking and not telling. If your going to have a lame ass policy of don’t ask don’t tell, then at least stick to your own rules. I guess they would rather have the civilian blackmail the guy instead of letting him live his life. It’s amazing how people can be so ignorant to the common sense that it makes to get rid of a policy that promotes such a security risk for the entire coutry. It really just boggels the mind trying to figure out where someones sexuality comes into play when your bombing a terrorist hideout. Last time I checked, there was no error screen on a computer for people that were gay. I work with a ton of people that are gay and it doesn’t matter for one main reason. Your sexuality does NOT define who a person is and has no effect on the job you do.
ad in Midwest on May 23, 2009 at 09.31 am
As an active duty officer with less than 10 years from retirement, this story concerns me greatly. If, in fact, someone outside the military was the initiator of this investigation… help us all, because I typically only trust those outside the military to understand the sensitivity of this issue!
While the President can lobby for the repeal of DADT, we must start pressuring Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and others on his committee. Only then will the pressure to bring it out of committee and up for a vote can the President sign the repeal of the law.
Judy in Hillsboro Illinois on May 22, 2009 at 11.29 pm
hes been in for 18 yrs hes high rank and highly decorated…isnt that enough to let him have his last 2 yrs…i think its stupid that hes being thrown out because of his sexuality..thats BS… how does it affect your squad…i can see if he was sick how that might affect them..but how does it mess tings up if he likes men and not women…so what let him serve its his life and not many men are devoted to a job like he is…im not speaking as an observer i actually know this man…and hes a great guy and you cant tell hes gay….
And yes it was a civilian that said something
Thomas Carpenter in Los Angeles on May 22, 2009 at 09.10 am
I have heard from third parties, which I have not verified, that allegations that Lt. Col. Fehrenbach was gay was reported to his command by a civilian which led to an investigation.
jack on May 21, 2009 at 10.51 pm
I am a 15 year active duty Air Force veteran stationed at his base and would really like to know that if no one knew about his homosexuality…how did he get turned in?? Or did he just try the marter card while all the election promises were being made? If he told…he broke the rules, and being a 18 year veteran and commissioned officer, he knows and must enforce all rules and standards regardless of personal feelings.
Max Andrew in Reno, Nevada on May 21, 2009 at 10.03 am
I watched and listened in disbelief as Lt. Col. Fehrenbach told Rachel Maddow of his upcoming discharge from the the U. S. Air Force…for being gay. The Obama administration must not allow this action to take place by turning its back on this decorated, combat veteran with 18 years of commendable service.
In his run for office, our president promised to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; he has yet to act. It’s time he stopped playing footsie with the evangelical generals in the Department of Defense and lived up to his word.
Dennis in Atlanta,ga on May 20, 2009 at 10.20 pm
This is probably not even an issue on his sexuality; they are just using it as means to cut costs by dumping him from service two years before retirement.
Dino in Washington, D.C. on May 20, 2009 at 03.36 pm
Let us all also educate ourselves who the players are on Capitol Hill in regards to DADT. The Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is US Representative Ike Skelton (D) of Missouri. He represents the fourth congressional district in MO which is the in the center of the state, predominantely rural. He is not on board for repealing DADT and needs to be prodded. His website is http://www.house.gov/skelton/. His US Senate counterpart is US Senator Carl Levin (D) Michigan, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He has gone on record favoring the repeal of DADT, but should be reminded how important this is. His website is http://www.levin.senate.gov.
Dino in Washington, D.C. on May 20, 2009 at 03.21 pm
Aubrey hit the nail on the head when he said that since congress passed the don’t ask don’t tell law “they own it” and it is THEIR responsibility to repeal it!!! As we get near Memorial Day, we can take this opportunity as Americans remember the bravery of our troops to remember the courage of people like Lt Choi and Lt Col. Fehrenbach. Hopefully they will get a great amount of publicity and the more attention they get the more DADT will be exposed as the nonsense it is. We should all thank Rachel Maddow for her interviews and exposure to the issue, and hopefully more media outlets will follow.
James Cannon in California on May 20, 2009 at 12.06 pm
It’s a very sad time in our history when decorated, heroric and honorable men such as Lt. Col. Fehrenbach are rejected and asked not to serve because of something that essentially is no ones business. I’m hoping there is a last minute reprieve although I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
Leland Frances on May 20, 2009 at 02.58 am
Worse still, Obama has gone from simply standing by while people like Lts. Choi, Tsao, & Fehrenbach are discharged [when he has Congressional authority to intervene] to replacing his old promise of fighting to get DADT repealed with a NEW promise to actively DEFEND it in court!
“A Justice Department spokeswoman said the government would defend the law at the trial over Maj. [Margaret] Witt’s dismissal. . . . White House spokesman Ben LaBolt added: ‘Until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system.” – Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2009.
This isn’t simply not “Change”—it’s Upside Down World.
Jay on May 19, 2009 at 09.13 pm
I am active duty military, and I stand by both Lt. Choi and Lt. Col. Fehrenbach. I have been in the Military for 10 years, there are many people I have served with that I know are gay like i am, some most of my units knew or were about 98% sure were gay, and nobody cared. Unit morale at home and in the desert on deployments didn’t suffer from our service.