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Metro News: Gay Former Soldier Speaks Out
Metro News
02/03/2010
Gay Former Soldier Speaks Out
A West Virginia man who was discharged from the U.S. Army in 2003 under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy says lifting the ban on gay people serving openly in the military will not be as difficult as many people think.
"When the leaders step up and say, 'We're not going to tolerate this' and those individuals that create a hostile environment for gay troops are dealt with appropriately, it's not going to be a problem," Pepe Johnson said on Wednesday's MetroNews Talkline.
Johnson, who is from Clarksburg, serves on the Board of Directors for Fairness West Virginia.
He served with distinction in the Army from 2000-2003 as an artilleryman at Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he was selected as "Soldier of the Year" in 2001.
While serving at Fort Sill, the then Sergeant came out under pressure to come out and, when he did so, was discharged.
"I did eventually come out to the leadership in my unit," Johnson said. "I had already been out to a number of my friends who were in my battery. I was a field artilleryman and a situation did develop because a lot of people suspected that I was gay."
He says those who suspected he was gay could not ask him directly, so they started asking his friends.
A year long study is now underway on how best to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which was implemented in 1993 under the Clinton Administration.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen said the following at a Congressional hearing earlier this week: "I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
If the ban on gays serving openly in the military is lifted, it'll be the largest policy change since 1948 when the Armed Services were integrated.
"There are already a number of individuals across the military who are out, who people know that they're gay so I think a lot of people are already prepared to deal with that," Johnson says of the potential impact of such a change.
