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SLDN’s Pepe Johnson, former U.S. Army Sergeant, West Virginia Public Broadcasting

March 31, 2010 · Clarksburg native Pepe Johnson didn't know he was gay when he joined the U.S. Army. He came out three years later under pressure, and was promptly discharged.

Johnson spent three years as a sergeant in Fort Sill, Okla. In 2001, he was named “Soldier of the Year” for the entire installation. Somewhere during that time period, he came to terms with his sexuality.

"I didn’t accept being gay until I was in the Army,” Johnson said. “For a lot of people, the military is what gives them the courage and the confidence to come to terms with that and to come out—it comes from the very institution that’s going to kick them out for doing that."

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was implemented in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. Before that, applicants were required to specify their sexual orientation and gays weren’t allowed.

Johnson and other opponents of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell say the policy doesn’t work—and that there’s nothing banning officers from asking.

“There’s only a prohibition against telling,” Johnson said. “And the prohibition against telling, it goes beyond the two of us during duty hours, that I can’t tell my fellow soldier while we’re on duty. It actually extends 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in all your relationships.

“You can’t even tell your family.”

Johnson says eventually, he did tell. He says his friends suspected he was gay, and eventually he came out to each of them.

“It’s so frustrating because these people do become so close to you, just like family, and you’re not allowed to be honest with them,” he said. “And it’s not because they can’t take it, it’s not because you can’t take it, it’s because Congress 17 years ago couldn’t take it and created this law.”

He says his friends accepted his sexuality, and all was well until a first sergeant started interrogating his friends. To protect them, he ended up coming out publicly, and issuing a statement to the Army.

“It’s one of those things that just kind of grows. It’s like a virus,” he said. “Once you tell a lie, it’s going to grow, and by me coming out to my friends, they were now part of what I was trying to hide. I don’t feel that it’s right that I had to hide it, and it was even worse now that my friends were part of this conspiracy.”

According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, more than 12,000 military men and women have been discharged since 1994 under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Johnson thumbs through his discharge paperwork.

“This is the DD214,” he says, as he holds it up. “It’s your official record of discharge.”

It has his name, rank, awards, and something else:

“And then down here: homosexual admission,” he points. “If you apply for a federal job, most state and city jobs, if you apply to work for a defense contractor, they ask for this. So you no longer have any control about who you come out to and who you don’t come out to because it’s right there on your paperwork.”

Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates inserted some changes into the language of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Under the new rules, only an officer with the rank of at least one-star general or admiral can initiate a discharge under the policy. The change also prohibits statements made to lawyers, doctors and clergymen from being used against a serviceman or woman.

Only Congress can repeal the law. Johnson says he doesn’t think a change would be as big a deal among today’s soldiers.

“The military already has non-discrimination policies that cover race, religion, various other characteristics,” he said. “Basically, what I think we need to do is add sexual orientation to that list of characteristics. It’s not going to be as difficult of a change as what some people may think it is.

“We interact with each other every day and people are aware of that now. We’re not hidden anymore so I don’t think this is going to be such a dramatic shift for a lot of people, especially for the younger soldiers.”

Supporters of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” argue that serving with openly gay men or lesbians threatens the bond that grows between soldiers. In his experience, Johnson found it to be the opposite.

“That unit cohesion that they talk about that’s so important, happens because of honesty,” he said. “And when you’re forced to be dishonest, that’s when unit cohesion takes a hit.”

The Department of Defense did not return phone calls seeking an interview for this story.

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