Holidays Underscore Painful Price of Serving in Silence
For most of us the holidays are a time for families and celebrations, a time of happiness. Hundreds of thousands of men and women serve our country around the globe, in places you see in the news every day, and others you've probably never heard of. The closest service members will get to family over the holidays is a morale call or an e-mail from their loved ones back home, or hopefully a care package from home. Hearing a loved one's voice from half way around the world can lift one's spirits with a little holiday cheer and brighten the monotony of a combat zone, if but for a moment.
But many of our brave service members called into harm's way will not have that luxury. Some of our service members will make morale calls this holiday season in secret. Not because they are embarrassed, but because they are forced to do so under the heavy yoke of the law we know as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." An innocent act as simple as placing a call home to a partner on Christmas Day becomes a clandestine act with the risk of exposure. An overheard word to mom or dad, a letter from a friend, a care package from a boyfriend or girlfriend, all carry the risk of exposing an LGBT service member to the harsh realities of life under DADT. There have been hundreds of examples of private communications between loved ones that have been twisted and manipulated by our military to successfully drum out another gay or lesbian from our ranks. The simple act of telling your partner you love and miss him or her, if overheard by the wrong person, is enough to get a one-way ticket back to civilian life, despite never making a public statement to the military. Score another victory in the war on gays and lesbians.
It was just such communications, private e-mails to friends written while deployed to Iraq, which ended my 13-year career as an Air Force Officer. After being fired from my job leading 200 men and women, security clearance suspended, enduring a grueling 16-month legal battle, I was discharged, despite never making a public statement that violated DADT. One more victory in the war on gays and lesbians.
This holiday season, for those of you fortunate enough to be with your loved ones and openly express your affection, pause a moment to remember our LGBT service members, bravely serving in harm's way, who don't have that luxury because of an archaic law called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
12-19-08 By Mike Almy, former Air Force Officer |
2 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.JACK in FT. BELVOIR on January 02, 2009 at 01.35 pm
WELL HUN! DO YOU WANT THEM TO PUT YOUR FACE UP ON THE WEB PAGE? MAYBE YOU COULD BE FAMOUS- LOL
IT SUCKS BUT YOUR STORY AS A COMMENT IS ONLY A SIMPLY ATTEMPT TO STEAL SOME SPOT LIGHT- AND YOU CANT DO THAT WITHOUT A PICTURE- CALL IN-
Rob Olson in Bellingham, WA on December 22, 2008 at 03.04 pm
13 is the magic number. After serving 13 years in the Regular Army and in the Washington Army National Guard as an intelligence offcier I was “asked” a question during a security clearance interview that I refused to answer (instead, I took the 5th). Seecurity clearance suspended, personnel actions administratively flagged, then a right-wing (self-described dittohead) superior officer who was aware of the investigation into my clearance used it as a behind-the-scenes method of denying me promotion and reassignment - to Hell with all those great evaluation reports I had received during my career.
As long as DADT"DP” exists, it seems there is little point in gays and lesbians serving or certainly wanting a career in the military.