Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

Interview with Carrier Producer Jeff Dupre

The new PBS documentary Carrier set sail this week and the third installment of the series exposes viewers to the "Super Secrets" which exist aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz -- including what life is like for the lesbian, gay and bisexual sailors living under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." SLDN sat down with series producer, Jeff Dupre to talk more about his experiences shooting the documentary, his observations on ship and his thoughts about what life is like for gay service members who live each day with their own "Super Secret." SLDN: Jeff, you and your crew lived and filmed aboard the U.S.S Nimitz for 6 months. During that time you encountered a number of gay and lesbian sailors. As a third party, watching the way they interacted with their shipmates, did you draw any conclusions about the toll "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" takes on these sailors? Dupre: From my own personal experience, I would say that homophobia must take a toll on them. In the hangar bay and on the mess decks, you'd often hear people use the word "gay" to mean "lame" or "bad." It was always jarring to hear people talk like that—a flashback to high school. As an outsider, I always had the option to call someone on it but the sailors I knew couldn't do that without putting their careers in jeopardy. I heard horror stories about friends of friends on other ships who had been kicked out of the Navy. One sailor told me his best friend could not go home on leave to be with her partner when she suffered a death in the family. On the other hand, I was surprised to learn that being gay is for the most part a non-issue for many of the enlisted gay and lesbians sailors I met. Their friends knew, the people they worked with knew. It was an open secret and not a big deal. It's a generational thing and the next generation by and large does not care so much if you are gay or straight. So from what I experienced, I think the military is better prepared to have the ban lifted than some of the senior military and government policy makers would have us believe. What impressed me the most about the Navy was the camaraderie and the bonds that form between sailors. The sailors and marines I met really took care of each other. They were like family. For some of them, it's the only family they've ever known. Because the gay and lesbian sailors on the ship are forced to lie about who they are, they're not able to really bond with and be supported by their Navy family in the same way that their straight shipmates can. They probably weren’t out to their biological families at home, then they join the military to serve their country and are once again denied those family ties that we all need to get by. We honor the men and women who serve because of the sacrifices they make to defend our freedom. To me, there's a whole other level of sacrifice that gays and lesbians make when they sign up to serve their country. SLDN: Brian Downey, one of the sailors you interviewed for your third episode entitled "Super Secrets," which deals in part with being gay aboard ship, has left the service and is talking about his experience serving as a gay sailor. Did you follow up with any of the other gay sailors you interviewed? Do you know if any of them are still serving? Have they left the service? Have any been discharged for being gay? Dupre: A number of sailors came out to me over the course of the deployment. As far as I know, with the exception of Brian, they are all still in the military, which is why I needed to blur their faces and electronically alter their voices. Having to sit there in the edit room and obscure their identities made me feel terrible -- like I was complicit in a policy that says they don't really exist. From what I observed, if they were to suddenly remove all the gay and lesbian sailors from the Nimitz, they would have a difficult time replacing them. There were a lot of them and as Brian says, they are good at their jobs. SLDN: Can you describe for us a little bit about the command climate aboard the Nimitz regarding treatment of gay sailors or those who were perceived to be lesbian or gay? Can you tell us about the attitudes of their straight colleagues towards these gay and lesbian sailors? Dupre: The commanding officer of the U.S.S. Nimitz at that time, Ted Branch (now a Rear Admiral) is a great guy. I consider him a friend. I never once heard any sailor complain that homophobia was coming from the top down on the Nimitz. All the sailors I met - straight and gay - thought very highly of Captain Branch, Strike Group Commander Admiral Peter Daly and the Commander of the Air Wing, Rear Admiral Select Tom Cropper. I observed them working with people I knew to be gay and it was a complete non-issue. I don't know if they knew or not - and honestly if they did know I do not think they would have cared. We were headed to the Persian Gulf so believe me, they had bigger fish to fry. SLDN: Did you see any interactions between the crew of the Nimitz and foreign militaries who allow gays and lesbians to serve openly? Dupre: No, I did not observe this. A bunch of us hung out with sailors from the Australian navy on a port call in Perth. But the American sailors were more agog and envious of the Aussie sailors' daily ration of beer than anything else SLDN: Did the crew of the Nimitz have any problems working with you as an openly gay man? Dupre: I don't think so, but you would have to ask them. I tried to make it a non-issue. The film is not about me; it's about the crew of the Nimitz. There were times when it was hard for me to reconcile my admiration for who they are and what they do with the painful awareness of DADT and all the needless destruction it has wrought. But as I got to know many of them better it became easier to separate the policy from the people. SLDN: I am sure you and the camera crew talked about some of the personalities and experiences you encountered while on the Nimitz. Did your time aboard ship change the way you view the Navy? Did your time aboard ship change the way you view the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law? Dupre: I think it's important that we don't conflate this terrible policy with the men and women who serve. They did not create the policy but they must adhere to it. Unfortunately, DADT makes it seem like everyone in the military is homophobic. That is just not the case. -Victor Maldonado

04-29-08