Openly Gay Soldiers Still Serving In US Military

[Lee]

A US Army Sergeant has expressed his surprise that he wasn’t dismissed after admitting he was gay on live American TV.

Last month Army Sgt. Darren Manzella told CBS 60 Minutes that his army colleagues knew his sexuality. The programme also showed a video of Manzella kissing his former boyfriend.

"I thought I would at least be asked about the segment or approached and told I shouldn't speak to the media again," Manzella told USA Today .

Manzella is an army medic who has just returned from Kuwait. He previously earned a Combat Medical Badge for service in Baghdad.

He was the first active-duty gay service member to speak on television about life in the army under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which bans openly gay people from the US Armed Forces.

Manzella is only one of many other army members who have decided to be open about their sexuality with their troops and commanders yet have not been discharged.

Gay advocacy group, the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, has said it knows of about another 500 gay army members who are serving openly without any consequences.

"That's the highest number we've ever been aware of," says SLDN spokesman Steve Ralls.

"Their experiences point to an undeniable shift in the armed forces."

Over 11,000 troops have been dismissed under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy approved by former President Bill Clinton in 1993.

Discharges peaked at 1,273 in 2001 but halved in 2005.

The policy prohibits anyone who "demonstrates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" to serve in the US forces.

Serving gay men and lesbians are also not allowed to tell anyone about their sexual orientation or relationships.

"A lot of service members are getting 'wink-wink' treatment from their commanders," said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Centre at the University of California, which studies the policy.

Elaine Donnelly, whose Centre for Military Readiness favours the ban on homosexuals, has been "bothering" superiors at Manzella's base at Fort Hood, Texas to do something about his appearance on the live show.

"We have yet to get an answer," she says. "His commanders should be disciplined appropriately for failing to do their duty."

Manzella came out to his commander a year and a half ago because he was receiving anonymous e-mails threatening to expose him.

His case was investigated in 2006 and the Army viewed the video of Manzella kissing his ex-boyfriend.

They later told him they had found no evidence of homosexuality.

"They recommended that I just go back and keep doing my job," he said.

After that, he was sent to Kuwait for his second Iraq war deployment.

Eugene Fidell of the National Institute of Military Justice, a group of military legal experts, said "military managers may be turning a blind eye because it's a nuisance, and we need these people."

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6491.html



He's actually kinda hot

Regards,

Lee

[Kushiel]

I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers.

I'm glad the military is finally realizing that just because we're gay, doesn't mean we're not able to be as competent, or altruistic as heterosexuals.

11,000 individuals is a good number of people to be wasting just because they bump vaginae or take it in the bum. At least with us they don't have to worry about getting pregnant while in the field, right?

[cbl_chaz]

I am glad to see these types of changes FINALLY occurring, no matter how slight. I was denied entry into the armed forces at the tender age of 18 simply because I stated the obvious when asked about my sexual orientation (this was 1988 BEFORE Don't Ask, Don't Tell). Although I had a supportive family life, my school proved to be a training ground for defensive maneuvers! It wasn't until my Junior year of high school that the boys finally got the hint that you don't mess with Chaz or he'll kick your ass just to embarrass you. I was effeminate, but tough as hell and I held my own. Come to think of it, had the recruiter seen me in action he probably would have signed me!

[WegCash Robert]

I'd hit that for sure!! Put a cherry on top!

[tombarr]

I think the military is operating under what's called a "stop loss" provision right now, where normal tours of duty are being extended, discharges are being delayed, etc..and the prevailing thought very well might be to look the other way during this period of time when they can't afford to lose good active duty personnel. I bet that if and when the amount of active conflicts we ae involved with goes down and the stop loss provisions of contracts are no longer being utilized, we will likely see a return to the higher discharge rates. I believe this won't be due as much to local commanders wanting to get rid of people as much as them no longer having a valid reason to ignore pressure from outside groups.

The good thing about this current situation though is that it can be used to support possible future attempts at completely doing away with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

[chadknowslaw]

Elaine Donnelly, whose Centre for Military Readiness favours the ban on homosexuals, has been "bothering" superiors at Manzella's base at Fort Hood, Texas to do something about his appearance on the live show.

"We have yet to get an answer," she says. "His commanders should be disciplined appropriately for failing to do their duty."

Oh my god Gladys Kravitz!!

So why does this wacko think she is doing the right thing by "bothering" Army officers trying to get one guy discharged? Why are the wackos so afraid of homos walking among them??

And what connection does this wacko have to Military Readiness, or the military in general? Their website seems to indicate they are a group that hates the idea of women or gays in the military but they don't stand for much else.



Society will move forward with or without you, Gladys Kravitz/Elaine Donnelly

[scwebmaster]

Yummy. I would love to have him on YoungRecruits.Com. Hell what ever he wants we will give it to him for video of him on Young Recruits.

[chadknowslaw]

Yummy. I would love to have him on YoungRecruits.Com. Hell what ever he wants we will give it to him for video of him on Young Recruits.

He is nice looking but he does more for promoting the idea that gays can serve openly in the military if he does NOT do any porn. Doing a porn shoot would taint his image, plus give the haters another way to discredit him. We have already seen straight servicemembers discharged for being in gay porn, so being gay, telling people on national TV, and being in a gay porn would seem to be a sure fire way to get discharged.

There are millions of cute men in the world. Its OK to let a few go.