Call for Open Service Hits Fargo
Former Air Force Major Mike Almy’s op-ed calling for DADT repeal was posted today in the online version of the High Plains Reader in Fargo, North Dakota. This is a great example of how all supporters of 
open service should make their voices heard to both their senators as we approach critical votes in the Senate next month.
In addition to writing to your local newspapers, you can also call, write and set up an in-district meeting with your senators today. The clock is ticking!
From the High Plains Reader online:
Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
By former Air Force Major Mike Almy
Contributing Writer
If the Senate votes to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), I will re-enlist the day President Obama signs the repeal into law.
For 13 years, I served in the United States Air Force, where I attained the rank of major before I was discharged under DADT.
I come from a family with a rich legacy of military service. My father is a West Point graduate who taught chemistry at the Air Force Academy, flew helicopters in Vietnam, and ultimately retired as a senior officer from the Air Force. One of my uncles retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant from the Marine Corps, with service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Another uncle served in the Army in Korea.
Growing up, I didn’t really know what civilians did. I just knew I would follow in my father’s footsteps and become a military officer.
I joined Air Force ROTC in 1988 and was awarded a scholarship. I earned my jump wings in 1991. In 1992, I graduated from ROTC in the top 10 percent of all graduates nationwide. In 1993, I went on active duty, just as DADT was becoming a law.
Stationed in Oklahoma, I was named officer of the year in my unit of nearly 1,000 people. Later, I was one of six officers selected from the entire Air Force to attend Professional Military Education at Quantico, Virginia.
During my career, I deployed to the Middle East four times. In my last deployment, I led a team of nearly 200 men and women to operate and maintain the systems used to control the air space over Iraq.
We came under daily mortar attacks, one of which struck one of my Airmen and also caused significant damage to our equipment. Toward the end of this deployment to Iraq, I was named one of the top officers in my career field for the entire Air Force.
In the stress of a war zone, the Air Force authorized us to use our work e-mail accounts for “personal or morale purposes” because private email accounts were blocked for security.
Shortly after I left Iraq – during a routine search of my computer files – someone found that my “morale” was supported by the person I loved – a man.
The e-mail – our modern-day letter home – was forwarded to my commander. I was relieved of my duties, my security clearance was suspended and part of my pay was terminated.
In my discharge proceeding, several of my former troops wrote character reference letters for me, including one of my squadron commanders. Their letters expressed their respect for me as an officer, their hope to have me back on the job and their shock at how the Air Force was treating me.
Approximately a year after I was relieved of my duties, my Wing Commander recommended I be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, even though the Air Force was actively pursuing my discharge.
But instead, after 16 months, I was given a police escort off the base as if I were a common criminal or a threat to national security. The severance pay I received was half of what it would have been had I been separated for any other reason.
Despite this treatment, my greatest desire is still to return to active duty as an officer and leader in the United States Air Force, protecting the freedoms of a nation that I love, freedoms that I myself was not allowed to enjoy while serving in the military.
But patriots like me who want to serve will continue to be denied this opportunity until we get rid of DADT.
The Defense Authorization Act – which contains the repeal amendment – passed the U.S. House and the Senate Armed Services Committee back in May. The next step toward repeal is the full Senate vote, which could come just after Labor Day.
As the full Senate approaches this critical point, advocates across the country are mobilizing as never before to tell both their senators to support open service.
As a gay veteran who has been directly impacted by this terrible injustice, I ask you to join the repeal coalition and help us scrap this law by calling both your senators today.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), with our repeal coalition partner the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), has launched a new grassroots campaign to increase support and to press for passage of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in the U.S. Senate.
This fight cannot be won without your active engagement and rapid response to the desperate tactics of repeal opponents.
We need supporters to contact their senators and tell them to repeal DADT and follow the lead of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) who will be managing the defense bill on the floor. It is critical that we beat back any filibuster threat, defeat attempts to strike repeal, and stop any crippling amendments.
With the combined resources of HRC and SLDN, we’ll be in a strong position to put maximum pressure on the Senate as we near these repeal votes. Now is the moment where we need your help and your leadership.
We need every person on board as we try to flood senators’ offices with pro-equality voices and drown out the ever-present opposition.
DADT affects the lives of countless active-duty service members, veterans, and their dependents, discharged under this law.
Don’t let bigots call the shots – now is your chance to weigh in on this issue with major decision-makers. Let’s get this done!
There are many ways to get involved, including writing and calling (http://www.sldn.org/CallMySenators), calling your your senators yourself, or participating in an in-district visit over the August recess. In-district meetings are a very personal way to tell both your senators why you support repeal and why this step toward equality is so important for our country.
To schedule an in-district visit, go here: http://www.sldn.org/MeetMySenators.
08-18-10 By Paul DeMiglio, Senior Communications Manager |
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