Gay Activists Misunderstand Gay Soldiers

Army Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times
May 3, 2004

Jeff Cleghorn

“Just a soldier.” This is how a young gay infantryman in Afghanistan described himself in an email I received earlier this year. He’s a first-termer, looking forward to getting out of the Army in “two and a half years.” I imagine he looks death in the face most days, but along with his infantry buddies he says that he “keeps drivin’ on.”

I thought of this brave young man when I read a recent Washington Post editorial criticizing the Pentagon for forcing gay soldiers to serve during this time of war. It occurs to me that the reality of this gay soldier is very different from the perception proffered by the Post and much of the rest of the media.

The Post editorial was based on a new report from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a gay activist group that monitors the Pentagon’s compliance with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The report reveals that gay discharges are down for the second year in a row. Discharges dropped from 1,273 in 2001, to 906 in 2002, to 787 in 2003, a 39% decrease since September 11.

In a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t twist of irony, the activists – who for years complained about the high rate of discharges – are now up in arms because so few gays are being discharged. They cite a recent University of California study showing that gay discharges always decrease during wartime, with the Pentagon forcing gays to serve in combat when unit cohesion matters most, only to turn around and claim that gays undermine military effectiveness during peacetime.

The activists – few of whom have actually served in uniform – think that the past is repeating itself today. But they fail to consider another possibility for the recent decline in gay discharges, one that focuses on the bravery and loyalty of gay troops rather than Pentagon hypocrisy.

Perhaps the reason fewer gays are being discharged during this war may be that gay troops – like the gay infantryman in Afghanistan – are choosing to remain in uniform to serve in combat and do their patriotic duty, not because the Pentagon is forcing them to remain in the military.

Before Don’t Tell, large numbers of gays were kicked out against their will after being ensnared by gay-hunting military investigators. Today, however, the military no longer seeks to systemically purge gays from its ranks. According to the new SLDN report, gay and lesbian troops are no longer targeted for criminal investigation, witch hunts or “inappropriate command-directed asking and pursuits” – a positive development.

As an attorney who worked for SLDN for several years and represented hundreds of gay and lesbian soldiers, I can confirm that most current gay discharges result from troops making coming-out statements, not from witch hunts. (Indeed, some would argue that the best reason for lifting the gay ban is to eliminate this “get-out-of-jail-free” option for gay troops, as well as for those heterosexual frauds feigning homosexuality).

In their zeal to keep the heat on the military, however, activists have done a disservice to gay troops by assuming that the recent drop in gay discharges reflects a cynical Pentagon attempt to retain them during Operation Enduring Freedom. Activists have overlooked the possibility that more gays are serving because, now that the bullets are flying, more are choosing to remain in uniform to do their duty.

Consider, for example, the case discussed in the SLDN report of Army Captain Austin Rooke. Capt. Rooke worked for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force before the recent fighting in Iraq. When the Army called Capt. Rooke back to active duty to ship him overseas, he could have easily avoided additional military service by revealing his sexual orientation (because he was an intelligence officer, the Army knew Rooke worked for a gay organization). But he did not, and the activists – in yet another ironic twist – are criticizing the Army for allowing Rooke to serve.

Capt. Rooke, like many thousands of gay and lesbian Americans who are answering the call to duty during this time of national crisis, served because he wanted to. He is quoted in the press as saying “In my mind, I had a duty I was going to carry out.” Another gay Army reservist activated for Iraq echoed Capt. Rooke’s commitment saying, “I knew I was gay when I went in. I can’t use that as an excuse to get out.” There are many others.

“Just a soldier.” This is how most gay troops view themselves. Their service and sacrifice for our country is proving the fallacy of the gay ban and will, on one fine day, be the reason why the ban is lifted.

The writer, a former Army officer, directs the Military Education Initiative, www.military-education.org. He may be reached at jeffcleghorn@comcast.net.