MARCH/APRIL 2012
M A G A Z I N E
THE MEDICAL
IMPACT
OF DADT
Open service in new zealand
An Ally’s perspective
military chaplains on LGBT Service
MARCH/APRIL 2012
M A G A Z I N E
VOL. 1 NO. 6
OutServe Leadership Co-director Co-director DC Operations/Spokesperson Service Academies/Spokesperson Media Operations VP Global Development
Josh Seefried (J.D. Smith) Ty Walrod Jonathan Hopkins Katie Miller Sue Fulton Thomas Nibbio
OutServe Partners
OutServe Magazine Executive Editor Managing Editor Operations/Art Director Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Head of Distribution Social Media Director Contributor Contributor
Jonathan Mills Eddy Sweeney Angelina Leger David Small Neal Simpson Liza Swart William Britton Caleb Sutton Kody Parsons Luis Gutierrez
Editorial Board Jonathan Mills Eddy Sweeney Angelina Leger Dr. Nathaniel Frank M. S. David Small
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CONTENTS M A G A Z I N E
MARCH/APRIL 2012
VOL. 1 NO. 6
ASK SARGE......................................9 Need advice? Sarge is here to tackle those tough issues.
A MARINE STORY.........................10
how we won Lessons from the Push for Equality
A film of considerable beauty and truth about DADT and a recently discharged lesbian veteran.
26
GET FIT!......................................... 14 Break out that summer body with these tips.
CHAPLAINS + THEIR GAYS........18
18
Reparative therapy has left many LGBT people estranged from their religious roots. Let’s get back to the basics.
chaplains + Their gays
A CAPITAL ADVENTURE............. 21
The New Way Forward
21
A Capital Adventure
Matthew explores our nation’s history and Capital hot spots.
HOW WE WON.............................26 How temperance and understanding of the issues defeated decades of discrimination.
SILENT SERVICE...........................28
Museums, Monuments, Bear Happy Hour, Oh My!
Airman puts face to LGB service at State of the Union and discusses her relationship under DADT.
NEW ZEALAND PRIDE.................32 Open Service in New Zealand: An Ally’s Perspective
MEDICAL IMPACT........................35
35
the medical impact of dadt How DADT Harmed Yours
On the Cover: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric C. Tretter
An alarming study on the military’s preparedness in treating LGB personnel.
WAR JOURNAL.............................41 Stories from the battlefield.
ABSOLUT OUTRAGEOUS
Cocktails Perfected
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF GOING OUT AND COMING OUT
march/april 2012
OutServeMag.com 5
ENJOY WITH ABSOLUT RESPONSIBILITY®. ABSOLUT ®
VODKA. PRODUCT OF SWEDEN. 40% ALC./ VOL. DISTILLED FROM GRAIN. ©2011 IMPORTED BY ABSOLUT SPIRITS CO., NEW YORK, NY.
editors’ corner JONATHAN MILLS
released our first issue of the OutServe Magazine. We’ve expanded our Magazine family, content and sponsors, and each issue becomes
more relevant and feature-rich than the last. From one of the first-ever articles featuring accounts of trans service members still serving under a ban on transgender service, to a war journal that follows LGBT troops on the ground in our nation’s missions abroad, we continue to look for insightful content that pushes the national discussion forward. This, our one-year anniversary issue, features one such article, “The
Medical Impact of DADT.” David Small delves deep into a brand-new study by one of our own OutServe members, a medical student at the University of Tennessee, that brings to light a very frightening truth: LGBT service members are not getting the care they need. Even more sobering, the Department of Defense is not adequately prepared or trained to provide that care. The impact of this new study, and David’s analysis and interviews with the various Services, are sure to provoke a new dialogue between medical providers, the military, and the service members who desperately need this care. This is what it’s all about: supporting our members during this new age of open service, and supporting the military as they continue to grapple with the effects of a decades-old ban on open service. This will continue to be our goal, but we cannot do it without your support of OutServe and our initiatives. Please, tell your friends, family, and co-workers. Get involved in your local chapters, and give what you can at www.outserve.org. This is a team effort, and with everyone on board, there is no telling where we will be when I get to write this letter for our second-year anniversary! Cheers, Jonathan Mills Executive Editor
6
OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
PHOTO: Simon Howden
I
It has been exactly one year since we
Photo by J. Fusco for GPTMC
Dear Guys who like guys and gals who like gals, Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness began with me. P.S. get your history straight and your nightlife gay.
the chapters
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has more than 5,000 members in
50 chapters worldwide.
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askSarge Dear Reader, I have served in the Air Force as a Mental Health Technician for the past four years, and as a substance abuse counselor for the last two. Experience has shown me that most who come into the clinic simply need to be reminded about the basic fundamentals of life, like problems sleeping, communication issues, and adjusting to the military lifestyle. There are many other unique problems out there, and I would love the opportunity to help address them. Visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dearsergeant and post a question that you’d like to see answered here. Sincerely, Sergeant
Dear Sergeant, I recently met this guy online who happened to be in the U.S. Army, currently deployed to Afghanistan. Though I’ve only known him for a short period of time and we have never met face-to-face, I have very strong feelings toward him and feel compelled to support him on his deployment. Since we began communicating, I have come to learn that he is still very uncomfortable with his sexuality, and this has kept him from opening up to anyone else about his thoughts and feelings during this struggle. At one point, he even confessed that he feels lost and does not think that anyone understands how confused he is during this time in his life. Not long ago, he stopped responding to my emails and I have been unable to contact him. I am concerned because he seems so lost and confused, in the middle of Afghanistan, and unwilling or unable to contact the one person that he has been able to confide in. What should I do? – Army Lover Dear Army Lover, It is no secret that “coming out” and accepting one’s sexuality can be a very troubling time. It is an extremely personal experience that cannot be forced. The individual must move at their own pace and within their own level of comfort. OutServe has created a strong support network for those service members who feel alone or are unable to locate and/or communicate with others in our community. With various chapters all around the world, we are able to connect with thousands of fellow LGBT service members.
My recommendation is that you give him some space and allow him to come to terms with his sexuality at his own pace. Should he contact you again, try to connect him with OutServe, if he has not already done so. Additionally, it is important to take into consideration the environment in which he is living. It is entirely possible that he is deployed to a location that has very limited communication. This may be the reason he has not contacted you in a while. Ultimately, there is no real way to know why your guy has not been in touch, but the possibilities are endless. Be patient and allow him the time and space he needs to come to terms with his own reality. Sergeant
Dear Sergeant, I am an active-duty service member and my partner is currently pregnant. I have no idea where to begin in order to support my family. I am hoping I can claim the baby as a dependent in the state of California and that my name can go on the birth certificate if we are domestic partners. However, I’m not sure how to go about this process. If you have any suggestions or advice, I would really appreciate it. – Newborn Bliss Dear NB, I know that the post-repeal time can be confusing for many of us. It seems that, with every passing day, policies change and we are constantly looking for the most up-to-date information. According to both Military.com and the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network, you will be able to claim the baby as a dependent as long as you have completed a legal adoption process for the child. Once you have adopted the baby, you will need to enroll the child into DEERS.106. That way, Tricare will be notified of the additional dependent and the child will be eligible for all of the normal medical benefits. For more extensive information, you can log-on to: www.sldn.org/pages/family-benefits or www.military.com/benefits/content/tricare/ tricare-eligibility.html Congrats on your new addition and best of luck! Sergeant
Dear Sergeant, I have been in a relationship with my fiancé, Brad, for about a year now. Brad just got orders to Japan and will be leaving in a few months. This news came as a shock to us and I am conflicted about the situation. One part of me wants him to try to cancel his orders and stay with me so we can be together. I know that this is not a guaranteed possibility since he could easily get another set of orders and we would be right back where we are now, not to mention the damage something like that could have on his career. The other part of me wants him to go so that he can expand his horizons and do great things. I have thought about getting a government or contract position at the base there, which would allow me access to the base, as well as housing there so we could continue to stay together. I just don’t know what to do in this situation or where to start with any of these processes. Please help... – Star-Cossed Lover Dear Star-Crossed, It is sad that, even with all the progress that the LGBT community has made over the last few decades, we are still denied basic marital recognition on a federal level. That is not to say that we will ever stop fighting for equal rights... we just haven’t yet won the battle in time for your situation. I encourage you to look for a government or contract position at his location. That is the easiest way for you to get to be together for the duration of his tour in Japan. You can find all the current job listings at his location by logging on to www.usajobs.gov. Another option for you would be to go through a work visa process and hope that you can find offbase employment in the area. You can find all requirements and processes for obtaining a Japanese work visa by logging on to www.japan.usembassy.gov. Finally, you can remain in the United States and continue to love and support your loved one from afar, while saving as much as you can until you are able to fly in to visit him from time to time. You can also continue to look for an open government or contract position available at his location during this time. I hope this information helps you in your endeavor. Sergeant Kody Parsons is an advice columnist for OutServe Magazine. If you have a question you’d like to submit to him, e-mail Parsons at dearsgt@outserve.org This column serves as a way for members to seek advice from their peers, and in no way does the columnist's opinions replace professional medical advice. Anyone struggling with medical or personal issues is encouraged to seek professional help from a military chaplain, Family Support Center, or a medical health facility.
march/april 2012
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“A Marine Story” Movie Night with Faith and Liza B y L I z a s wa rt
W
hen the guys on the editorial staff and I were divvying up assignments
into cliché on more than one occasion. Watching as a
for this issue, it seemed inevitable
military member, small errors stuck out like sore thumbs:
that I—and my movie-loving plus-
a local cop calls Alex Everett (played by Weber) a soldier,
one, Faith—would be tackling this
and she doesn’t correct him. If the former Marine had in
particular project. “A Marine Story,” following the life of a
fact been a decorated officer, gunnery sergeant and drill
recently-discharged lesbian under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
instructor in her long military career, I couldn’t imagine she
(DADT), wasn’t the first thing my male cohorts thought of
would let that slide. Later, before a fight in the local bar,
on a Saturday night. After watching this film, however, I
we found ourselves groaning (and not in a good way) over
strongly believe they should.
dialogue between Alex and the hometown rednecks about
After the lights were dimmed in my Maryland barracks room, Faith and I noticed that the film starred Dreya Weber, an actress we had previously seen in “The Gymnast,” which was produced in 2006. Weber has the unusual
10
The film has considerable beauty and truth, but descends
gender roles. Again, with Alex’s first visit to a gay bar, she is told “Sailor, relax” by a friend. I had to pause and rewind to make sure I was hearing it right. No devil dog I’ve ever met would put up with being confused for a squid.
combination of power and grace in strong feminine roles,
What the movie misses in the minutia, it makes up for in
so I looked forward to her treatment of an ousted Marine
spades elsewhere. The film conveys much through silence
major.
and imagery, and the cinematography is stunning. Several
OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
nowPlaying
From a purely aesthetic level, watching P90X-veteran Weber perform in this role is a delight. Alex has to hose herself off after times, I had to remind myself it was an
through a training environment with a
a lingering look at Saffron following a run,
independent film, largely financed, I would
Marine gunny, I found Weber’s treatment
and it’s easy to see why: both women are in
later learn in an interview with Weber, from
of Alex’s drill instructor persona entirely
tremendous shape.
the producers themselves. Additionally,
believable. All of the drinking, fighting
Weber is an utterly convincing career
and personal problems Alex struggles
Marine, and the film fleshes out a largely
with through the rest of the film melt away
absent past in delightful nuance for military
as she prepares Saffron for Marine boot
or veteran viewers. She holds on to her
camp. Here, Alex finds her Zen.
Marine ideals and honorable discharge, even though the Corps has dishonored her
Saffron, played by Paris Pickard, also
Ultimately, the question “A Marine Story” raises is one of self-worth beyond the rigid definitions of an authority structure. As Alex comes to terms with her need for self-acceptance and Saffron finds her own path, they learn to affirm themselves
finds her purpose in training. Outside of
beyond the bounds of the military, alcohol,
where these women are fulfilling their
drugs and relationships. They both revere
Marine roles, their lives are in shambles.
the Corps, and are made better by it.
the relationship between Alex and Saffron,
Their mirroring in ages and Marine
The real gift Alex is able to give Saffron,
a local young woman with a troubled past
careers—one already over, one just
however, is the gift of a future. In doing so,
and sullen, sidelong glances. Having gone
beginning—furthers this point.
she finds her own.
at a fundamental level. “A Marine Story” really finds its feet in
march/april 2012
OutServeMag.com 11
Dreya’s Story: An Interview with
Dreya Weber of “A Marine Story” By Liza Swart
A
fter viewing “A Marine Story,” starring Dreya Weber, I was given an opportunity to sit down for a lengthy phone interview with the actress. While I was impressed with the film, I was even more impressed with Weber, her passion for performance, and the gravity with which she took on the role of a Marine major named Alex, discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Witty, smart and well-versed in her subject matter, Weber brought new depth to her role in this timely and important film. Liza: What kind of training or experience did you take on for this role? Dreya: I met a wonderful man named Paul Iwamoto, who was Cher’s head of security. He used to train some of the dancers on the tour in martial arts. I knew that he was a well-known teacher and would teach Navy SEALs. He’s like 70 years old, Japanese, and has been a student of martial arts for 55 years. He’s incredible. He’s this deadly, lethal weapon. I asked him if he would train me, because there were several real-world scenarios of readiness at any moment that I thought Alex would have. The cool thing about her, because she was a Mustang, and because she comes from a military family, was that she understood she would be more respected particularly as a woman if she were enlisted first. We don’t really talk about it in the movie, but I wanted it to feel like it was there, like she’d be a super overachiever, that she probably would have studied a lot of martial arts. L: Have you had much interaction with the military prior to this film, and how as this changed your perception of those discharged under DADT? D: I don’t have any active-duty family. My father was in the Air Force. But it was something I had to learn about. I found it so incredibly moving that people were willing to be closeted and
12
only represent a partial experience as a human being to their workmates, to their colleagues, to their friends even, because of this call to service. It’s something that I didn’t expect to learn, and when I did kind of have my eyes and mind open to it, I thought it was really beautiful. I found it more moving that people who are gay and lesbian chose to stay in because of their loyalty to this idea, even with the incredible foundational conflict of ‘I’m supposed to be honorable and tell the truth, and I can’t tell the truth, I can’t be truthful, but I’m going to be a model and hold myself to this high standard.’ It was a very unexpected lesson. L: How did you envision Alex’s growth throughout the film, and what do you think was her biggest area of growth? D: I think that the biggest thing was her ability to bring herself to her life. That she actually was living with the gal she falls for in the film, that her expression of who she is, is the big change. The beautiful trade-off between Saffron and Alex has an effect on Alex that is very positive. Because Saffron is at such a turning point in her life, and because Alex asks her to step up, Alex realizes she can actually be in the world. It’s a great problem to think about for someone who has defined herself for so long in a particular world. L: To that end, do you see Alex’s discharge as almost a positive event in her life? D: No, I think “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is and was a tragedy. Unfortunately, tragedy happens in our lives. The opportunity that tragedy gives us is to try to turn it into a positive. How can we grow, how can we not be self destructive or destructive to others.
OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
L: You seemed to have several target audiences in the film: the military, small-town America, even queer people themselves. What were you trying to say to each of those audiences? D: It’s a movie, and neither the director nor I believe that polemics is a way to change anyone’s mind. So, to make a film that was entertaining, that would perhaps make people change their minds or at least reconsider the policy, was certainly the first thing. The second thing was to make an enjoyable film, in particular to me, to mix it up and have a female action character. Really, Alex is a role that would be a guy in any other movie. She’s like the cowboy who comes into town with the mystery. She’s got a chip on her shoulder, befriends the underdog, and is a little bit of a hothead. All of those ingredients are much more traditionally male than female. That part is certainly something that interested me, to see if we could successfully do that. L: Alex seemed to talk more as the film went on. In the beginning of the film, she had long stretches of silence. What was going on in her head during those times? D: I think it’s so disorienting to be spat out of your world. Anybody who loses their job after a long period of time probably goes through the same thing. Alex is in shock. She loves the military and considers it the best thing that ever happened to her. She was rejected from something that she loves, that she has dedicated her life to. She’s trying to suppress her rage, which is why she’s drinking so much. I think she’s furious, but she can’t be furious at the military because she loves it. She loves service, she loves the Corps, she loves what she’s able to do, what she’s done. She’s proud. But they don’t want her to do it if she loves a woman. So she has this fury that has no way to express itself, other than getting drunk and punching a guy. In her selfdestructive behavior, she is just trying to keep a lid on this confusion and anger. I think it’s somebody holding on really, really tight. L: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the LGBT military community? D: I would love to thank everyone for their service. I’m so grateful for people who have the call to serve and make that commitment and sacrifice for us. We’re very fortunate. In particular for the LGBT community, because it’s so incredibly moving to me that people are willing to sacrifice. Thank goodness DADT was overturned. It took too long. I’m sorry it didn’t happen sooner.
O
nowPlaying
Out of Step
Memoir of a Discharged Navy WAVE
O
By Katie Miller
“Out of Step” is the memoir of J. Lee Watton, a young woman from New Jersey enlisting in the Navy in 1965. Trained as a WAVE (an acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services) at a since-decommissioned base in Bainbridge, Mass., Watton was forced out of the military after a brief time because she was a “suspected homosexual.” Her story is a historical account of the military policies toward gays and lesbians decades before the inception of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), but also a narrative familiar to all service members — past and present — who have been discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. Like many young recruits, Watton entered the military unaware of her feelings toward the same sex. She was immediately thrust into the all-consuming rigors of basic training, where even the routine of drill, briefs and instruction could not keep her attention off Kate Har-
rison of sister Company C. These uncomfortably romantic feelings pervaded her thoughts, and it is both entertaining and relatedly painful to read the internal dialogue Watton has with herself regarding her sexuality. Watton also amuses with a rare insight into the culture of the allfemale boot camp in the 1960s Navy. The comical barracks banter, the issuance of (often crude) nicknames, and the women’s reactions to the silliness of military culture (i.e. folding one’s inspection underwear to standard) will elicit a laugh of recognition across generations. After Watton finally meets Kate and is introduced to the tight-knit community of lesbians at the Bainbridge Naval Base, her adventures will sound especially familiar to gays and lesbians who have served. The trips to gay bars on weekends, their use of the word “family” to describe one another, and the immense caution they take to avoid raising suspicion on post will resonate with OutServe members. “Out of Step” also reveals the disturbing history of military policy toward gays, which dates back much further than the 1993 implementation of DADT. After a mere six months in the Navy, Watton and her group of friends are suspected of homosexuality and consequently interrogated by their superiors. Despite the inability to produce evidence, they are coerced into leaving the military. The newly discharged women move to nearby Washington, D.C. to make a living and pursue their previously forbidden relationships. They quickly fracture, leaving the women to independently explore other career options. At this point, the memoir becomes rushed, as Watton relocates several times, marries and divorces a man, has a child, and later reconnects with Kate, though Watton’s time as a Navy WAVE continues to be relevant. “Out of Step” is a coming-of-age, coming-to-terms story that appeals to a wide-range of audiences. The story is not glamorous, but its unfiltered honesty and Watton’s reflections over the decades make “Out of Step” a unique read. The book’s release following the repealing of DADT, combined with the foreword by Col. Grethe Cammermeyer, render “Out of Step” as both a timely and timeless work. [“Out of Step” (2011) can be purchased in eBook form on Amazon.]
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march/april 2012
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OutServeMag.com 13
Getting that
Summer B ody By Luis Gutierrez
F
To get on track for the beach body you want, you must start with the core — the abs that everybody wants, but almost nobody has.
or most of us, spring break is over. We went to the tanning salon or to the beach and we enjoyed a week of fun in the sun. Many of us also realize we need to do a little bit more work to get our bodies ready for the summer. It feels like this is a never-ending cycle: spend the summer bronzed and beautiful, go back to work and gradually taper our fitness into the fall, then the temperature drops and our layers of clothes increase, we cuddle up in the winter and gain weight over the holidays, and then spring break hits and we start over… lather, rinse, repeat. But if we want to be sexy and fabulous for every season of life, how can we get there? Some of us are lucky enough to be stationed by the beach and thus have a year-round excuse to look great. For the rest of us, we are focused on that one time of the year when we can take some leave, party by the shore with some margaritas in our hands, and dance shirtless (or in bikinis) in the middle of the day. So why talk about summer bodies in March? Because now is the perfect time to start working on those abs so that you’re ready for the beach this summer.
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OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
As a community, we’re generally not shy. We like to show off our bodies at the clubs, at the pool, even at the gym. And while the stereotypes may not apply to everyone, it’s safe to assume that if you like to show off your goods (abs, arms, legs…don’t get ahead of me), you know that it’s a constant battle between happy hour and your date with the gym. As service members, we often feel like we have to work twice as hard so that we maintain the illusion that yes, our bodies were born this way. To get on track for the beach body you want, you must start with the core — the abs that everybody wants but almost nobody has. I see people every day at the gym working on abs exercises, often falling short of the results that they want. When it comes to those tricky muscles, there are two major things that play a role. The first one is genetics, and this is something that you cannot change. Everyone knows somebody who was born with a nice, even six-pack that shows up as soon as they are under around 15 percent body fat. For others, you can be at 6 percent body fat and, at best, have a flat stomach. The second factor is your body fat percentage. You can spend an hour every day working on your abs and not have anything
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt Michael Longoria/Released
GETFit
to show for all that work. This doesn’t mean that you are doing something wrong, as you are most certainly building muscle. Unfortunately, all that muscle is hidden under the subcutaneous adipose tissue, so the only thing that you are succeeding at is making your waist look bigger. There is no such thing as a spot-reducing exercise, so when you exercise your abs, the energy that you are consuming is coming from all over your body, not just your waist line. If you want your abs to show, you have to lower your body fat percentage. This only happens when you maintain a calorie deficit diet, meaning that you have to burn more calories than you consume. If your aim is to lose body fat, the best method for an adult is to eat about 12 calories per pound of body mass, so a 180-pound person should be eating around 2160 calories per day. This can vary by gender, but tends to vary more based on your amount of physical activity. Harvard Medical School has some useful health publications that can help you assess the right number of calories to lose weight, but with any program, consult your physician or nutritionist to make sure it’s right for you. Once you know how much you are supposed to be eating, the next step is to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which, essentially, is the number of calories that you are burning by being alive. There are many convertors online, but the results that they provide are not always 100-percent accurate, since most of them do not take in consideration muscle vs. fat mass. Since muscle burns more calories than fat, if you want an accurate reading, most bases/posts have
staff members in their gyms that can help you determine your BMR. Once you have your BMR, calculate how many calories you burn at rest each day and subtract that from the amount of calories you consume. That number (assuming it is positive) is the number of calories you must burn via exercise in order to maintain your current weight. You must burn more than that number in order to lose weight. The easiest way to burn those extra calories is by adding some type of cardio exercise to your routine. Here are some examples and the approximate number of calories burned by a 180lb male:
Walking: 268 per hour Playing Golf: 367 per hour Dancing: 442 per hour Bicycling: 489 per hour Basketball: 490 per hour Zumba: 643 per hour Running: 652 per hour Once you start operating in a calorie deficit, you’ll begin to see your much more progress from your ab workouts. This issue’s workout will help you make those abs pop and get you ready for a summer at the beach. With the OutServe Summit in Florida this year, you’ll be ready to show off your hard work to all of your OutServe friends.
march/april 2012
OutServeMag.com 15
GETFit Intermediate
Hanging Core workout
Most core workouts and exercises focus on the upper and midrange muscles, leaving the lower abs and the oblique muscles weaker and disproportionate. These exercises will help strengthen and give definition to your entire core. All the following exercises can be done inside a gym with a chin-up machine, or outside on a pull-up bar (high bar).
Notes: Changing your grip will change the stabilizing muscles that you use. A close grip will work the triceps and biceps, while a wide grip
Hanging Leg Raises
Hang from a bar with a close or wide grip and your body straight. Raise your legs until they are fully flexed and point your toes to the ceiling. Hold for one count, return to the original position, and repeat. Primary muscle: Abs Secondary: Obliques, Quads and Hamstrings
will use your back muscles as the primary stabilizer. Also, the elevation of the knees has to be more than 90 degrees for your abs to work. If you do less than 90 degrees, you’ll be using your hip-flexors instead.
Beginner Hanging Knee Raises
Hang from a bar with a close or wide grip and your body straight. Raise your knees past the 90-degree point. Hold for one count, return to the original position, and repeat. Primary muscle: Abs Secondary: Obliques and Quads 4 – 5 Sets of 10 – 15 Reps
All of these exercises can be done together or by themselves, but the most important thing is to do them progressively. If you are a beginner, make sure that you are comfortable doing the beginning and intermediate exercises before jumping into the advanced ones, as they require not only a great amount of abdominal
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4 – 5 Sets of 10 – 12 Reps
strength, but also an overall elevated strength-to-weight ratio. If you have never worked on a high bar before, you can start by doing these exercises on the floor. You can use a floor bar or the buddy system, grabbing somebody’s ankles, like in a leg toss exercise.
Advanced
Expert
Hanging Windshield Wipers
Half Giant
Primary muscles: Abs and Obliques Secondary: Deltoids and Traps
Primary muscles: Abs and Lower Back Secondary: Obliques, Quads and Hamstrings
Hang from a bar and bring your legs straight and over your body. Then rotate your trunk so that you move into a 90 degree angle to one side. Return to the original position, rotate to the opposite side, return to the original position, and repeat all steps.
Hang from a bar and bring your legs up and over your body so that your body is in a straight line. Your legs should be pointing to the ceiling and you should be facing the floor. Lower your legs until you are in a 90 degree position, and slowly return your legs to the top to point towards the ceiling.
3 Sets of 6 – 8 Reps
4 – 6 Sets of 6 – 8 Reps
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U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha H. Arrington/Released
Military Chaplaincy
and LGBT Service Members The New Way Forward By Paul W. Dodd, Chaplain (Colonel), U.S. Army (Ret) and Tom Carpenter, Esq. (Captain, USMC 1970-1982)
O
n the day that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was repealed, Airman Randy Phillips, an OutServe member, posted a video of himself on YouTube “coming out” to his father. At home in Alabama, Phillips’ father responded with unconditional love. The same day, he posted a second video “coming out” to his mother. She did not take the news as well. She talked about how God created Adam and Eve, male and female, and voiced concern about her son’s “spiritual well-being.” Airman Phillips’ story is familiar for those struggling to reconcile personal integrity and religious upbringing. “Coming out” is seldom easy and is far more complex for many who have grown up in conservative households and churches. America has a
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strong and enduring religious heritage which can be traced back to pilgrim founders and puritan values. LGBT service members and civilians alike, who have been raised in traditional communities of faith, have long experienced the sting of rejection by members of the clergy and by those who should love them most – their families and friends. Religion is often cited to justify hate crimes, bullying and bigotry. It forms the rationale for reparative therapy or transformational ministries (the pseudo-science of changing one’s sexual orientation). Though the practice is now debunked by every major medical and mental health association in America, groups such as the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), many socially conservative churches, and some Christian therapists
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continue to promote interventions to “repair” homosexuals. This animus has left many LGBT people estranged from their religious roots. The armed services have traditionally reflected the society they are sworn to defend. However, with the elimination of the draft, the military has moved to the political and cultural right, and so has the military chaplaincy. Today, partially as a result of a determined effort by some evangelical groups, chaplains endorsed by socially conservative denominations are in the majority within the military. Consequently, they exerted a significant and negative influence in the long and laborious journey to repeal DADT. In 1993, when President Clinton tried to lift the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly, military chaplains led the opposition within the Pentagon working group. The same was true last year when the Comprehensive Review Working Group was conducting its investigation on the repeal of DADT. The chiefs of chaplains from the Army, Navy and Air Force, all from conservative denominations, were unani-
mous in their opposition to repeal. Their civilian allies from the Center for Military Readiness, Family Research Council, Alliance Defense Fund, Focus on the Family, Chaplains Alliance for Religious Liberty, and many denominational endorsers lobbied Congress to keep DADT and filed numerous documents opposing repeal with the Pentagon. During the mandatory training before repeal was fully implemented, many members of OutServe reported open resistance from some of their fellow service members, including military chaplains. Often, offensive remarks were couched in religious terms, such as “my deeply held religious beliefs,” “the Bible says,” and “this is an issue of Christian morality.” Against this backdrop, many LGBT service members have turned their backs on religion altogether. They have experienced faith used as a weapon by those who shame and shun LGBT people, who promote an agenda regarding gays as second-class citizens. Why would a gay service member even consider going to a military chaplain for support and guidance?
What about the right to religious liberty and access to welcoming and affirming military chaplains? And how can one find a safe and trusting environment on an installation where religious needs can be met? A brief history of the military chaplaincy might help answer those questions. The concept of a military chaplaincy strains the delicate balance between religious liberty and the separation of church and state, values enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Citizens of the United States hold religious liberty to be a fundamental human right. At the same time, the establishment clause prohibits the recognition or preference of any official religion. Chaplains serving as endorsed clergy and commissioned military officers must walk
The establishment clause prohibits the recognition or preference of any official religion.” that narrow and often precarious line between free exercise and religious establishment. Other nations throughout history have long enlisted the support and services of clergy. The biblical record extols the exploits of Aaron, High Priest and brother of Moses, who served as spiritual counselor and military advisor. In the past, clergy have been called on to bless the troops, seek God’s favor, pray for the weather, mediate in times of war and
peace, and even serve as sort of a rabbit’s foot for military leaders and service members. But that would hardly justify the mingling of church and state as seen in today’s military chaplaincy. In the case of America’s military, chaplains marked their official entry into General Washington’s Continental Army on July 29, 1775. By August of that year, Washington had enlisted 15 chaplains, each earning $20 per month, the same amount earned
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by Judge Advocates. Since then, chaplains have continued to serve as commissioned officers in the U.S. military. The federal law entitled “Appointment of Chaplains for the Military Services” provides the legal basis for their service, a ministry grounded in their sworn duty to secure the free exercise of religion for all service members, without regard to their distinctive religious beliefs (U.S. Code Title 10, DoD 1304.19). Thus, pluralism and tolerance are built into the very fabric of a chaplain’s ministry. The Forum on the Military Chaplaincy (the Forum), a national coalition of military chaplains, lay leaders, and advocates, has long insisted that chaplains exercise a ministry of presence for all of their troops, either performing or providing ministries in keeping with the
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would be compromised, and the rate of HIV/AIDS would spiral out of control. According to the best information currently available from DOD, none of that has occurred. Military leadership and patriotic service members, including chaplains, have outperformed even the most optimistic forecasts for the smooth and orderly implementation of the repeal of DADT. The negative voices were either out of touch with the high standards and values of today’s
Some have objected to the demands of tolerance and pluralism, suggesting that the religious liberties and prerogatives of chaplains trump the duty to care for all service members, particularly service members who identify as LGBT. In a Feb. 17, 2010, letter to Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Alliance Defense Fund wrote: “Ominously, supporters of the policy change are already arguing that normalizing homosexual behavior would require chaplains to provide pastoral counsel to individuals engaged in such behavior, and that refusal to do so based on religious objections would be a ‘breach of duty,’” concluding that such would be a violation of chaplains’ religious liberty. Groups who opposed the repeal of DADT argued that recruiting and retention would be harmed, significant numbers of chaplains would resign their posts, morale and readiness
military, or they misrepresented the boots on the ground to bolster their arguments. Writing recently in the Army Times, January 12, 2012, Major General Dennis Laich, U.S. Army (Ret), asserted that repeal has been a “nonevent,” and that opponents of repeal were wrong in their dire predictions. General Laich suspects their misleading statements were “due to their personal biases, pandering to a conservative/evangelical base, or (because they were) simply out of touch with the service members they are privileged to serve.” In any case, America’s military has withstood the test, and performed with the professionalism, dignity and class we would have expected of them. Chaplains who continue to oppose the repeal of DADT, fearful of their role in offering counseling to LGBT service members and providing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples, often invoke the “free
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ronald Gutridge/Released
needs of all service members. The Forum advocates for a military chaplaincy committed to free and diverse religious expression, and to the sacred traditions of personal integrity, selfless compassion, respect for others, and excellence in leadership. The Forum’s mission is in keeping with the highest traditions of military service, and assures an environment of tolerance and trust, a safe and affirming space for America’s heroes.
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exercise clause” to advance their religious beliefs. In April 2011, RADM Mark L. Tidd, chief of chaplains of the Navy, sent guidance to members of the Navy Chaplain Corps regarding the use of military chapels for same-sex weddings. In his letter, Chaplain Tidd shared Navy legal opinions on two key issues: the use of military chapels for same-sex weddings and the right of chaplains to choose whether or not to officiate at same-sex ceremonies. According to Navy lawyers, under the new law, military chapels must be “sexual orientation-neutral.” After significant political and denominational pressure, the Department of Defense reversed Admiral Tidd’s guidance as premature. Then, following the repeal of DADT, the Pentagon reversed itself again and announced that military chaplains would be allowed to perform same-sex ceremonies in military facilities where such marriages are recognized by state law. In January, thirty conservative House Republicans co-sponsored HR 3828, the so-called “Military Religious Freedom Protection Act.” In addition to prohibiting the use of military facilities for same-sex weddings, according to Attorney Jeffrey Hersh, legal director for the Forum, the “bill would effectively authorize chaplains to refuse any duty or function which could conflict with their personal beliefs.” Hersh further believes “if this bill passes, it could result in service members being denied free expression of their faith, and obstruct them from religious ministries and spiritual counseling – rights which the chaplain corps is sworn to secure.” In their Covenant and Code of Ethics, the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF), the largest agency charged with endorsing chaplain candidates for military service, affirms a pluralistic ministry for all endorsed chaplains.
The Code states, “I understand as a chaplain in the United States Armed Forces that I will function in a pluralistic environment with chaplains of other religious bodies to provide for ministry to all military personnel and their families entrusted to my care.” It is a code, which most service members can support, and NCMAF should hold their member organizations accountable for honoring it as they care for America’s troops. Army chaplains perform their ministries under the motto, “Pro Deo et Patria,” for God and country. They, like all military chaplains, have a dual allegiance. They are endorsed as clergy by their respective faith groups, and commissioned as officers in the U.S. military. They must honor their oaths of office while remaining faithful to their distinctive religious faith – no easy task! Now that DADT has been repealed and gay and lesbian troops can serve openly, a higher level of professionalism and trust will be required of all military chaplains. Will chaplains help bring an end to bigotry and bullying, or will they object on religious grounds and foster discrimination? Will there be a collision between chaplains most concerned about their own religious freedom, and service members who demand respect and equality from their chaplains and other military leaders? Will service members, like Airman Phillips, receive support from their chaplain when difficult family issues arise, such as a mother’s concern for her son’s “spiritual well-being?” Fortunately, there have always been chaplains who have listened, cared and offered acceptance, without bias or discrimination, to all their troops. It is our hope that such a welcoming and affirming spirit will characterize the chaplain corps as we move forward to open and equal service for America’s military.
LET’SGO
A Capital Adventure
LET’S GO!
By Matthew James
photos by david small
Row houses in Georgetown
Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival
IW
f you have not been to Washington, D.C. since your eighth
grade field trip, you might want to take another look. DC is a popular business and tourist destination, hosting millions of visitors a year, and for good reason. Hundreds of attractions, including the iconic National Mall, White House,
Smithsonian Institution, and many others, means there is something for everyone in our Nation’s capital. With all its history and tradition, it is hard to remember that DC is one View of Watergate and Georgetown
of the most modern and vibrant cities in the United States with a very active lesbian and gay community. It is also an easy city to navigate and get around by foot or public transportation. Originally planned by Pierre L’Enfant in 1791, the city’s four quadrants (NW, NE, SW, SE) are laid out in a grid pattern with the U.S. Capitol at the center. Broad boulevards, reminiscent of the great European capitals, bisect the city’s lettered and numbered streets and are named for each state. The Metro is one of the newest and cleanest subway systems in the country, making the city extremely accessible to visitors and residents alike. And while DC’s largest employer is the federal government, it is also home to 176 embassies, thousands of nonprofit organizations, trade and professional associations, businesses, and, of
Fountain in Dupont Circle
course, law firms.
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U.S. Capitol
The White House
But do not let the stuffy, suit-clad bureaucrats and K Street lobbyists mislead you; DC caters to the full spectrum of the gay community. DC has a large and lively gay and lesbian population, and visitors will find gay-friendly establishments in almost all of the city’s many neighborhoods. From the colonial row houses of Georgetown to the hip urban lofts of a revitalized Chinatown, make sure your trip leaves enough time to see as much as you can and enjoy everything the capital city has to offer. The heart of the city’s gay community is Dupont Circle, a small park and memorial fountain that becomes a gathering place for many, especially on warm and sunny days. To the west of the Circle is Embassy Row, a section of Massachusetts Ave. NW that is home to many embassies and consulates. Close by is the Phillips Collection, an intimate museum focusing on modern works of art in frequently changing exhibition. North of the Circle are a number of shops and restaurants, including one of DC’s most renowned bookstores Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe, where you can catch dinner, meet friends for drinks (or find some good reads, of course). Also within walking distance of the Circle is 17th Street, where you will find a number of
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Miss Pixie’s Furnishings and Whatnot
gay friendly restaurants, bars and shops. Annie’s Paramount Steak House is a popular meeting place with a lively social scene. If you prefer more surf than turf, try Hank’s Oyster Bar around the corner. Looking for something different for dessert? Look no further than the whimsical Mr. Yogato, a frozen yogurt shop with 18 creatively cool flavors such as white choco-keem (white chocolate) and coco-loco shandy (coconut). Favorite gayborhood hotels include the sophisticated, stylish and art-filled Palomar or Madera, a tranquil Dupont hideaway that also houses Firefly restaurant. If you’re in the mood to shop, there are plenty of options. Head south on Connecticut Ave. NW for shopping in DC’s central business district, which can feel more like Manhattan than you think. If you prefer higher-end shopping, the Georgetown neighborhood will have what you’re looking for. But perhaps after a day in Dupont, you’ve acquired a new significant other and are ready to furnish that new loft together. Head on over to the 14th Street NW corridor and visit these LGBT-owned home goods and furniture shops: Miss Pixie’s Furnishings and Whatnot, Reincarnations Furnishings, and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. Afterwards,
OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
grab a drink at the posh Helix lounge and head up to your room upstairs in what’s known as Washington’s pop culture hotel. Just south of McPherson Square is the White House. White House tours are arranged through your Member of Congress by appointment only and are hard to come by, so plan that part of your trip well in advance. A short walk or Metro ride from the White House through more of DC’s busy downtown will take you to the Gallery Place/Chinatown neighborhood. If you are a sports fan, do not miss the Verizon Center, conveniently located atop of the Chinatown Metro station. Here, you can catch the Washington Capitals chase the Stanley Cup or watch the Washington Wizards work their magic. If you are more of an art aficionado than sports fan, have no fear: The National Portrait Gallery and The American Art Museum are literally across the street from the Verizon Center. The stately former Patent and Trademark Office Building is actually two museums in one. In one part of the building, you can see portraits of your favorite presidents and other notable Americans. In the other part, you can intimately peruse the Smithsonian’s collection of American art. Neighboring The National Portrait Gallery is the Hotel Monaco,
Studio Theatre
Kramerbooks & Afterwards Cafe
which occupies the historic General Post Office Building. The hotel’s restaurant, Poste, pays homage to the building’s original intent, complete with napkins folded into the shape of envelopes at every table. What Chinatown experience would be complete without stopping for a taste of little steamed parcels of deliciousness, or Dim Sum? Ping Pong offers a staggering array of sharable small dishes of contemporary and traditional interpretations of Chinese classic. Authentic Chinese eateries mix with other cuisines to create an amazing collection of restaurants. In addition to restaurants, movie theaters and DC’s sports venue, Gallery Place/Chinatown is also home to the International Spy Museum, the Museum of Crime and Punishment, and the historic Ford’s Theater, where President Lincoln was shot. A few blocks from Gallery Place, you will find DC’s Union Station. Union Station is not just a major transit hub for bus, train and Metro services, but it is also one of the city’s few shopping centers, also housing several fine dining establishments and a food court
Annie’s Paramount Steak House
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
popular with government workers and school tour groups alike. With all the hubbub of activity in this busy train station, be sure you do not whisk past the station’s magnificent Main Hall. The 36 plaster statues of Roman legionnaires that look down over the Main Hall were originally planned to stand guard nude, but officials did not want to risk offending the travelling public and added shields to the design. Outside the Main Hall, you will get a glimpse of one of Washington’s most iconic scenes–the U.S. Capitol. The new Capitol Visitors Center is situated on the east side of the Capitol building and contains exhibits and displays, and is the starting place for all public tours of the Capitol itself (to access areas past the Capitol Visitor Center, you must request a tour pass from your Member of Congress, preferably in advance of your visit). On either side of the Capitol are Congressional offices buildings that are open to the public, including the DC office of every member of Congress. Just past the Capitol, you will find the imposing façade of the Supreme Court and majestic Library of Congress, which are also worth a visit.
In the shadow of the Capitol sits Eastern Market, the oldest public market in the metropolitan area. On weekends, you will find residents and visitors alike shopping for local grown delicacies, as well as crafts and antiques in the adjacent open air market. Venturing further south on Eighth Street SE will lead you to Barracks’ Row. The Banana Café and Piano Bar is a popular local Cuban restaurant whose signature cocktail is the banana margarita. If you are not in the mood for Cuban, try the newly opened Lavagna. This Italian ristorante’s menu changes daily and is written on small chalk boards reflecting its changing, fresh cuisine. Heading further south on H Street SE, you will pass Marine Barracks Washington, also known as “Eighth and I.” Eighth and I is the oldest active Marine post and is home to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. It also houses the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon and Ceremonial Guard. At the end of Eighth Street SE, you will find the U.S. Navy’s oldest shore facility, The Washington Navy Yard. Proclaiming to be the “Quarterdeck of the Navy,” the Navy Yard lodges the Chief of
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LET’SGO!
Commisary
DC Pride
DC Pride
Naval Operations, The Navy Band, the National Museum of the United States Navy and a 1956 destroyer Display Ship Barry (DD-933). Baseball fans will want to be sure to visit the Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium just two short blocks from The Washington Navy Yard. If staying near Capitol Hill is your goal, rest your head at a chic outpost there, Hotel George, with its modern stylings. As if there is not enough to do in DC itself, you might want to venture across the mighty Potomac River (referred to as “the Moat” by many DC denizens) where you can shop until your heart’s content at the Fashion Center at Pentagon City in Northern Virginia. This large retail mall contains over 170 stores and restaurants. If you do make a jaunt to Pentagon City, be sure you make a stop at the Pentagon for a guided tour and visit the Air Force Memorial. Adjacent to the Pentagon is Arlington National Cemetery. This expansive and majestic grave site is the final resting place for over 400,000 veterans dating back to the Civil War. Upon entry to the Cemetery, visit the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. Continue up the hill and visit Presi-
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30° Cobalt and Level One
dent Kennedy’s Grave site. After you have surmounted the hill, you will be rewarded with a postcard view of DC and Robert E. Lee’s house. Officially named Arlington House, it is the official memorial to Robert E. Lee. Upon completion of your hike, head down to the Tomb of the Unknown and watch the changing of the guard. Be sure to respect the signs that demand your silence, or risk being publicly chastised by the sentinels. A short distance from Arlington Cemetery is the Marine Corps War Memorial, or “Iwo Jima,” dedicated to all the Devil Dogs that have died defending the United States since 1775. Need to catch a quick drink after all this sight seeing? Visit Freddie’s Beach Bar in Crystal City, one of the few gay bars in northern Virginia. DC by day is about as stuffy and up tight as Clark Kent, but Superman breaks out the glitter, fairy wings and tight booty shorts at night. If you like to start off your Friday night a little early, head to U Street NW where the Bear Crüe invades Town Danceboutique for the nation’s largest Bear Happy Hour. Later in the evening, Town transforms back to a more mainstream gay club with two floors of dance music
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and bars on both levels. Not into the dance club scene? Grab a beer at Nellie’s Sports Bar, right up the street. Nellie’s is a casual, fun sports bar serving food and drink in a relaxed, friendly environment. If you are staying in the Dupont area, you are within stone’s throw of several of DC’s gay and lesbian hotspots. Cobalt caters to a mixed crowd and offers a retro dance party on Tuesday evenings. With ambience reminiscent of a neighborhood pub, JR’s offers no dance floor or fog machines, but very popular happy hours and drink specials. On the other side of the Circle, you will find DC Omega, a video bar inconspicuously located behind a block of restaurants on P Street NW. Phase 1, the country’s oldest lesbian bar, recently opened a Dupont location, providing another option for ladies’ night out. If you are looking to two-step, venture over to Remington’s, a countrywestern bar in Capitol Hill, where cowboys clad in boots and five gallon hats mix with DC’s suit-clad urban cowboys. If you prefer a lounge atmosphere, check out Number Nine on P Street NW and capitalize on their two-for-one drinks. To make sure you can handle your liquor, fill up with comfort food
The Kennedy Center
at Logan Tavern or Commissary next door. Or head a bit north on 18th Street NW and do your eating and drinking in the same place at the recently reopened Duplex Diner in Adams Morgan. Their lemon squeeze cocktail and meatloaf can’t be beat. If dancing the night away is not your cup of tea, or you want to catch a show before you head out to the clubs, you will be delighted to hear that DC has a vibrant theater scene. Boasting more than 2,000 performances a
year, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is by far the most popular theatre in DC, and is home to opera, ballet and symphonic performances. Is your partner tired of being dragged to see Madame Butterfly for the eighth time? Arena Stage is dedicated to producing and presenting new plays from around the country. Another theater option is the Studio Theater. With only 225 seats, the Studio Theater provides an intimate performance experience.
For a fresh perspective on your nowforgotten high school civics lessons, give DC a visit. There is no better time than this May 14 and 15, when OutServe will host the Capital Summit 2012: Our Families Matter. The first day of this historic gathering will be dedicated to workshops and presentations dedicated to strengthening military families. The second day is dedicated to congressional education in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Courage Campaign. For more information, visit outserve.org/ capital-summit. As our nation’s capital, we can all call it home. In DC’s many neighborhoods, you’ll find world-class attractions, international cuisine, and gay and lesbian friendly businesses and accommodations. With all that DC has to offer, you’ll be sure to find something to fit your interests and tastes–and maybe even find new ones!
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KRAMERS.COM 1517 CONN AVE NW DUPONT METRO/Q ST
OutServeMag.com 25
ALLCALL Aaron Belkin
What Was
DADT Really
About?
I
By Aaron Belkin
worked on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) repeal for more than a decade, and as can be expected, some days were better than others. When times were tough, I sometimes consoled myself with imaginations about what I’d say when we finally won. I imagined a large auditorium filled with cheering people, a celebration (with balloons!) sponsored by all the pro-repeal groups. I would deliver a speech honoring all the people who fought for equality, but also featuring candid rhetoric about folks like Colin Powell who stood in the way of equality. Maybe that fantasy was silly. But while I always knew that victory was inevitable, there was no way to predict when it would happen. And I had promised my donors and colleagues that I would remain in the fight until the end, even if it took twenty years. So, on those days when there was not much light at the end of the tunnel, I needed some way to remain hopeful. And my pretend speech was a kind of crutch to lean on. Now that DADT repeal has become a reality, I’m seeing that there aren’t many opportunities to give speeches to cheering throngs. But I still want to take a moment to reflect on what DADT was really about. In too many cases in American history, a civil rights victory is finally achieved after a long struggle, and then people move on without learning the right lessons.
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The true significance of DADT wasn’t only the shamefulness of allowing government policy to be driven by homophobia. Even more broadly, DADT was the latest example of the politics of paranoia, a toxic and divisive tradition that has reared its ugly head time and again throughout American history. The politics of paranoia is all about exaggerating the threat posed by some harmless minority that is depicted as a danger to the American way of life. Examples include red baiting in the 1950’s and anti-immigrant xenophobia now. If we’re going to stand any chance of avoiding or softening the paranoid strain in our politics, we have to acknowledge that aspect of our culture honestly and engage in a national conversation about it. That’s why it’s so important to understand DADT in the broader context of paranoia, rather than the phony debate about unit cohesion and military readiness. Although I never did get to deliver my grand speech about all of this, I did have the gratifying experience of confronting Elaine Donnelly with my ideas about paranoia during a debate that we held in front of 500 Air Force officers at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. For those readers who don’t know who Donnelly is, she is the head of the so-called Center for Military Readiness, the leading voice against equality for gay and lesbian service members. Prior to our recent debate, Donnelly and I last debated on Catholic Family Radio more than a decade ago, in 1999, and the encounter was jarring because she interrupted me on numerous occasions and made outrageous claims that if DADT were repealed, straight troops would shoot gay officers in the back of the head. (No, I’m not exaggerating). After that radio broadcast, Donnelly refused to debate or even talk to me or, as far as I can tell, anyone else in the repeal community, for more than ten years. But she finally agreed to the Maxwell session in the summer of 2010, just as the Senate Armed Services Committee was voting whether or not to affix repeal language to the 2011 Defense Authorization bill.
In more than 30 previous lectures at military universities, I had always tried to be dispassionate and to focus on the research about unit cohesion and military readiness. But at the time of my debate with Donnelly, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen, had already testified that DADT undermines the military’s integrity. I thought there was a pretty good chance that we were going to win at some point soon. I felt it was time to go beyond unit cohesion and address the deeper, paranoid basis of opposition to DADT repeal. So, in my prepared remarks, rather than walking through the social science research, I expanded on my argument about paranoia and DADT. The audience was predisposed to support Donnelly’s point of view and to discount mine. This was, after all, Alabama. And in fact, while audience members questioned me in polite and respectful ways, some of them tried to trip me
up (Our society places a moral taboo on many sexual practices. Why should the taboo against homosexuality be lifted, and not the taboo against bigamy or bestiality?). No one pitched me a softball or asked Donnelly a hard question. But Donnelly made several mistakes that alienated audience members, and by the end of the session, they were chatting among themselves whenever she spoke, yet you could hear a pin drop whenever I spoke. Perhaps her biggest error was cutting me off in the middle of a sentence to make a point. I let her finish her interruption, and then I said that although I had not put any preconditions on the event, I would favor a ground rule that we shouldn’t interrupt one another. As a high-strung Jew, I couldn’t care less about interruptions. But I knew that officers value good manners, and when I asked for the ground rule, the audience erupted in applause. Near the end of the session,
Aaron Belkin and Elaine Donnelly debate DADT repeal at the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., 2010.
the moderator unexpectedly asked me if I had any concluding remarks. I knew that there were foreign officers in the audience, so I asked if representatives from Canada, Australia and Britain would take the microphone and say whether any of Donnelly’s dire predictions about the disastrous consequences that would follow from repeal had come to pass in their militaries. One by one, they stood up and said that nothing bad had happened in their countries post-repeal. The British officer added that there were probably 20 gay and lesbian officers in the audience that day who didn’t have a voice of their own, and that once the rest of the audience got to know who they are, they would realize that they have a lot in common. The Australian officer suggested that he was offended by some of the terminology that had been used during the debate including the phrases “gay agenda,” “special class” and “new forms of sexual misconduct.” Interestingly enough, the Air Force filmed our session and was planning to give Donnelly and me a copy of the DVD. We even filled out release forms beforehand. But the commandant of the Air Command and Staff College was very upset about my appeal to the foreign officers. I’m not sure why that upset him so much. Maybe he thought I had put them on the spot. Maybe he thought that they had embarrassed Donnelly by showing that her concerns about repeal were without basis. From my point of view, the foreign officers were adults who, presumably, had the competence to make lifeand-death decisions. And if they didn’t want to answer my questions publicly, they could have simply declined.
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While I cannot say with certainty why he was upset, the commandant refused to release the DVD to me. I wanted that DVD badly because Donnelly had shielded herself from scrutiny for so long by avoiding debate, and this was a unique opportunity to illustrate my point about the politics of paranoia. So, I tried every avenue to obtain the DVD, including a FOIA request as well as asking a member of Congress to request that someone in the Defense Secretary’s office call Maxwell on my behalf to get it. I had almost given up hope of obtaining the DVD, but just this month, I finally received a copy, which I posted at www.HowWeWon.com. (As a courtesy to audience members who may not have wanted to reveal their identities, I blurred their voices and uniforms.) So, if you’re interested in the lessons of DADT, take a look at the video. You can judge for yourself whether you think there’s a paranoid basis to opposition to DADT repeal, and whether you think that’s an important lesson for the future of American politics. And, for a broader discussion of DADT repeal and the debate with Donnelly, see chapter six of my new eBook, “How We Won: Progressive Lessons from the Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’” If you’re so inclined, feel free to e-mail me at belkin@palmcenter.org to let me know what you think. In the meantime, enjoy the video, and happy DADT-repeal to all of you. Aaron Belkin is author of “How We Won: Progressive Lessons from the Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’” and director of the Palm Center.
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Airman Puts Face to LGB Service at
State of the Union,
Recounts Career Spanning DADT Era B y D a v i d Sma l l
n her service dress garnished with ribbons from multiple deployments to the Middle East, Air Force Col Ginger L. Wallace sat in the First Lady’s box with Michelle Obama for the President’s State of the Union address on Jan. 24, 2012. The White House invited her to represent the LGB community’s ability to now serve openly in the armed forces. “I was extremely honored and humbled to represent gays and lesbians serving today, all those who have served, and all those who will serve in the future,” said Colonel Wallace. “Sitting there, I was very much aware that my partner and I were just a symbol. We also represented all the organizations that fought so hard to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), as well as families and partners of those serving.” Wallace and her partner of ten years, Kathy Knopf, were personal guests of the First Lady. “What do you say to a man whose leadership led to this drastic improvement of the quality of life for so many? I was a little awe-struck,” she said, telling President Obama after his speech, “Mr. President, on behalf of all the men and women who serve, thank you for your leadership in ending ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’” Then, in a receiving line, thanking the First Lady, Mrs. Obama said to her, “We’re not finished yet! There’s more to do.” “It’s been so exciting to see everything that’s happening post-repeal,” Colonel Wallace said. “I hope people are standing a little taller now.”
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“I was extremely honored and humbled
to represent gays and lesbians serving today,
all those who have served, and all those
who will serve in the future.”
Colonel Wallace and Kathy Knopf Wallace, a 1990 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, is an intelligence officer currently training in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands program in Washington, D.C. She is preparing for another deployment this summer, just as President Obama announced his intentions to wind down operations in the region by the end of 2013. The Hands program grows experts on the region, teaches them to speak Dari, expands their knowledge with counter-insurgency operations, and then rotates people in and out of the theater to build a deeper cadre of experience in the region. Wallace’s 22 years of service, spanning the entire DADT era, have been a far cry from her Southern Baptist beginnings in Cadiz, Ky., a town with a population of less than three thousand. “It’s really hard to get past the environment you were raised in and what you were told being gay or lesbian meant,” she said. “I heard the term ‘burn in hell’ from the pulpit more than once and fought my sexuality until I was about 25 years old.” At about the same time Colonel Wallace was coming to terms with her own sexuality, she watched Congress implement DADT from her post at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. “I remember being disappointed after DADT but thinking, ‘It’s a little better. As long as I don’t tell anybody, I should be ok,’”
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she said. “My integrity is everything to me, but I’m sure I’ve lied. It’s hard for me to say that, but I don’t know how I could answer any other way. Over time, though, I just quit answering questions.” While out to her parents from age 26, being lesbian was not something Wallace talked about at home. However, things are easier at home now that she is with her partner. “She’s good for me and my family sees that,” said Colonel Wallace, who met Knopf, a government contractor, at Kramerbooks in D.C., just after 9/11. Like other military couples, the two have endured long separations. Knopf has retained her job in D.C. while Wallace has been stationed in Florida, Texas, England, and deployments to Iraq and Qatar. Reflecting on Knopf’s sacrifices as a military spouse, Wallace said, “She’s unpacked a lot of boxes by herself; we’ve cancelled trips. But she keeps plugging along, rarely complaining. All the times I was deployed, she took care of everything without the support in place that other spouses had. She turned every house we’ve had into a home.” Colonel Wallace continued, “I think Kathy and I work because our relationship is based on love, trust and mutual respect. We have a partnership in every sense of the word. While we have to work at it and face
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challenges like any other couple, it doesn’t seem like a chore. We make each other laugh. While neither of us is perfect, together, we’re a little bit closer. Her strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. Bottom line, we have fun and make each other better... anyone (gay or straight) who finds that should hang on to it and never let it go.” During her two deployments, Wallace had concerns about being separated, yet living under DADT with a spouse unrecognized by the military. Should something have happened to Knopf or her elderly parents, the emergency procedures through the Red Cross that work in a heartbeat for heterosexual couples may not have been an option for them. “I don’t know if I’d have made it home or not,” said Colonel Wallace. “I’ve never had peace of mind that should something happen to me, she would be taken care of.” To help combat that concern, she wrote a sealed letter with specific instructions upon her death. One example was for the flag to be presented to Knopf at a military funeral. “I wanted to make sure the Air Force treated her like my spouse even though she
isn’t. That really bothered me – really.” Their most difficult separation hardship was when Wallace commanded the 488th Intelligence Squadron for two years at RAF Mildenhall, U.K. “We considered it, but it was too difficult to bring Kathy there,” said Colonel Wallace. “She would have had to get multiple shortterm tourist visas or find work on the economy there. We wouldn’t have been able to live together in the commander’s house on base. If she was on a tourist visa, she would have had to leave multiple times a year.” She also spoke about the frustration that Knopf wouldn’t receive Wallace’s retirement or survivor benefits, as well as maintaining two households on the single-rate housing allowance. “None of that is in place for her,” said Colonel Wallace. The separation and secrecy of their relationship took a toll on Wallace as she threw all of her energy into commanding her squadron. “When you’re in a position of leadership, you strive for transparency. You want to make sure people know exactly where you’re coming from, and that you’re communicating well,” she said. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I look back and think DADT affected my abilities. I was an okay squadron commander, but I should’ve been better. I allowed the restraints on my personal life to affect my
ability to communicate effectively. Nobody knew what I was experiencing. I dealt with many issues and problems that took so much energy. It was physically and emotionally draining to live under DADT, especially as a commander.” One trying incident for Wallace was when a young Airman initiated separation under DADT, admitting her homosexuality. Wallace’s first impression was to dismiss it, but the Airman wanted to leave, so she made the process as expeditious as possible. Upon soliciting the Judge Advocate General’s office, the JAG attempted to stall the process stating, “she could be lying.” “That made me really angry! They weren’t going to turn my squadron into a three-ring circus. I told them this better be the fastest separation they had ever processed,” Colonel Wallace said, thinking she probably outed herself with such anger. “That was a bad day. But I was able to have a good conversation with the Airman and felt fortunate I could identify with what she was going through.” All the time Wallace struggled with her duality, Knopf also worried about her partner’s career. “She was worried that she would be the reason my career would end. It put so much stress on her. Toward the end of DADT, I became braver at times, but she prevented me from making any mistakes. She didn’t want to be the reason my career ended,” Colonel Wallace said.
Now that DADT has ended, Wallace feels like a weight has been lifted, “For the first time, I can focus all my energy on my work. The black cloud that was always over my head is gone.” Shortly after repeal, Wallace’s promotion ceremony to the rank of colonel was held in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. It was the first ceremony post-repeal covered by the Washington Blade featuring the spouse of a serving lesbian. The Blade had received a tip from Wallace’s brother. “It was so awesome to recognize Kathy at the ceremony after 10 years of being together and never being able to acknowledge her sacrifices,” Colonel Wallace said. “I was so proud to be able to do that in front of family and friends.” Even though the military bureaucracy doesn’t officially recognize their relationship, the military family now does. People have volunteered to help Knopf while Wallace deploys or to get her on base. “I don’t have to worry about all that now,” she said. “It’s amazing how much better I feel about going this time and leaving her, knowing that there is such a larger support group available to her. As Wallace readies herself for a year in Afghanistan, she reflects on the best piece of advice ever given to her. Her father once told her, “Always work hard, keep your heart right, and good things will happen.”
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Open Service in New Zealand: An Ally’s Perspective By Hemi Fries
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I
t was the 2011 OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit in Las Vegas that really opened my eyes to how lucky I am to be a service member in New Zealand. While I was aware of the American “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) and previous policies banning homosexual service, it had clearly never impacted me directly, and I had no idea just how difficult it could be to serve under such a policy. The Summit changed that. I’ve never known a New Zealand without openly gay military service. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1984, and in 1993, the New Zealand Human Rights Act was passed, which outlawed discrimination on the grounds of gender, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief, color, race, ethnic or national origins, disability, age, political opinion, employment status, family status and sexual orientation. The New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) took up the
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guidance of the Act and ceased discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation within the service. At the time, I was three years old. So what does the Human Rights Act mean? First of all, it means that service members can serve openly, without fear of organizational discrimination. It also means that all the support provisions available to mixed-gender couples are now afforded to same-sex couples, including service housing, deployment support and next-of-kin designation, among others. Essentially, the NZDF declared that from the policy point of view, sexual orientation was a non-issue. The NZDF also has a robust mechanism for dealing with harassment, discrimination and bullying. It identifies the harmful behaviors and declares them unacceptable, regardless of the circumstances. Any identified harassment or bullying is dealt with fairly and swiftly. Service members’
careers are unaffected by their sexual orientation, and any partnership, gay or straight, is afforded the same welfare support. Unfortunately, there are some challenges that still remain. While official policy declares sexual orientation to be a nonissue, individual service members have not always agreed. While LGBT service members have the protections afforded by the Human Rights Act and the support of the NZDF policy, they still must navigate around individual prejudices. For instance, a series of highlevel discussions occurred after an openly gay soldier was selected to attend Officer Training School overseas in a country where the law regarding homosexuality is somewhat more restrictive than in New Zealand. It was suggested at the time that the NZDF could not send an openly gay soldier, which was at odds with the NZDF non-discrimination policy. While the discussions ultimately resulted in the soldier being able to attend the school after being fully briefed on the legal constraints in that country, the incident highlights the challenges of individuals’ perceptions and the lack of international acceptance of LGBT service. Also, service life is more than just professional employment. It includes an element of personal life as well. While open service is allowed, there are still challenges to some service members’ personal prejudices. For example, a junior officer approached his commanding officer, out of courtesy, to indi-
cate that he would be bringing a same-sex date to his service birthday celebrations. Initially, misguided and offensive instructions were given to the junior officer, outlining high expectations of conduct not normally preached to straight service members. However, the commanding officer later apologized for the comments. He stated it was the first time he had knowingly dealt with an openly gay service member and he was flustered. In another instance, a close friend of mine chose to confide in a workmate. This workmate then outed him to his colleagues and friends. Fortunately, none of the other people involved had any concerns with the gay service member, but rather were disappointed in the confidant’s conduct. Another case involved a young airman who came out and had a vocally homophobic senior noncommissioned officer in his chain of command, indirectly making
his workplace unpleasant. Fortunately, these incidents seem to be relatively uncommon. The experiences also reflect on individuals within the service, not the NZDF as a whole. What is the biggest challenge that our LGBT service members have to face? I believe it is internalized and perceived homophobia. For me, and for many I have spoken with, the biggest struggle in the Service to-date has been coming out and serving openly, whether due to fear of rejection from friends and colleagues, marginalization from the Service, or simply the fear of the unknown. In most cases, the fear has been unfounded, and the experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. A lack of visibility of LGBT personnel in the service may contribute to these fears. The total NZDF organization (the three services plus civil staff) numbers less than 14,000. Only a small number identify
as LGBT, and an even smaller number are out. Those who are out tend to be less visible, because there is more to the service member than his or her sexual orientation. When I was preparing to come out, I knew of very few LGBT service members, and had nobody with whom to discuss my experiences. When a colleague told me he was gay, I finally had someone to talk to, and the discussions we had gave me the confidence to come out, after which, I learned of a gay couple who were living on my base. If there is a negative side to the Human Rights Act changes that occurred so long ago, I believe it’s the perception that sufficient action had been taken, and that open service is sufficient. The challenges faced by LGBT service members are largely ignored, and until recently, no specific support was established for LGBT service members in the NZDF.
2011 OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit, "How our Military Allies Did It" Panel, moderated by Nathaniel Frank with guests from the Canadian Forces, Israeli, Australian and New Zealand military.
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While the organization has stopped discrimination and afforded protection under its policies, LGBT service members were, until recently, left to address any other challenges individually. The NZDF established OverWatch on Jan. 20, 2012, as an equity and diversity network focusing on LGBT service. The group began as an unofficial network for peer support, but is now officially sanctioned by the Welfare Branch of the NZDF. Not only does this give the group credibility, but it also allows members to attend meetings during work time and make use of Defense resources where appropriate. Welfare branch also provides infrastructure support such as website access, email accounts and the use of base facilities. OverWatch provides networking opportunities for LGBT service members, while providing subject matter support to commanders, welfare and support staff, and all other service members. Finally, OverWatch feeds back into the greater welfare and equity branch, providing information on the effectiveness of policy, welfare support and other challenges faced by LGBT service members. OverWatch was founded under the stewardship of Squadron Leader (equivalent to an O-4) Stu Pearce and had an initial management committee consisting of three Air Force personnel, an Army officer and former Navy officer who is now a defense civilian. I currently serve as the enlisted representative for the committee. Although still in its infancy, OverWatch is a positive step in ensuring visibility of and support for the LGBT community within the NZDF. While the NZDF actively supports equity and diversity, and effectively deals with serious problems, it struggles to address the less serious issues. If a new service member is outed and bullied, the Service can act effectively to stop that. If, however, the service member is in the closet and feels isolated from others, the Service has difficulty initiating support. OverWatch also exists to support heterosexual service members dealing with LGBT matters, such as an SNCO whose son comes out, or a service member whose friend is gay and wants to support that friend effectively. OverWatch provides a safe channel for dialog and support in any situation arising from a sexuality or gender diversity perspective, and is a positive step towards addressing the broader issues associated with LGBT service members and their families. My sexuality and private life aren’t relevant in defining my service until they impact it–and the same goes for every other service member out there. I go to work, do my job, participate in social activities and talk about my private life in the same way that my colleagues do. When I brought my boyfriend to a unit dinner one evening, there was no reaction whatsoever from my colleagues; the response was actually underwhelming. They accepted and included him in the evening and we all had a good time. That’s the way it should be. I firmly believe that the New Zealand Defense Force is handling open LGBT service well. There is still work to be done, but the establishment of OverWatch demonstrates progress. New Zealand and the NZDF have made many positive changes– changes that let this airman wear his uniform with pride.
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LGBT
Health Care: How DADT Harmed Yours — and What You and Your Doctors Need to Know By David Small
T
en years ago, Today Show anchor, Katie Couric, had a colonoscopy on live television to promote preventive screenings after her husband died from colon cancer in 1998. It was uncomfortable to watch, but created a national conversation leading to an increase in the number of colonoscopies. Today, gay service members would benefit from another live viewing of a different sort to help promote preventive health care among their community — an anal pap smear. It sounds uncomfortable, especially when it’s described as
The questions assessed LGBT members’ knowledge, attitudes, health beliefs, behaviors and actions during and after DADT. a bottlebrush inserted into the rectum. But it isn’t bad. Most women receive a cervical pap smear to check for genital human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the Center for Disease Control, it is the most common sexually transmitted infection with more than 40 types, which the body can sometimes clear naturally. But on occasion, HPV will lead to cancer. Like other sexually transmitted infections, HPV can also affect the mouth, throat or
anus. Most people who have HPV do not know they have it. The CDC reports 10 percent of heterosexuals have HPV in the rectal region. Most recently, former Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett died of anal cancer. “People using these areas as sexual organs should routinely get checked, even if they are not the receiving partners,” said Dr. Timothy Price, a civilian primary care physician at Price Medical in Washington, D.C. While medical care for gays
and lesbians is primarily the same as heterosexuals, there are some differences, such as the need to check for HPV more regularly. Just as doctors would treat a woman of childbearing age differently than one who is older, there are risks for certain things when treating LGBT members that ought to be factored into a clinician’s decision-making process. But in today’s military, medical providers are not widely seeking the right information to assess an LGBT person’s health, and gay patients are not keen to volunteer the right kind of information to their military health care provid-
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theIssue
Take an Active Role in Your Own Health Care. Tell Your Doc: • Your Relationship Status and if You’re Monogamous • If You Have Sex with Women, Men or Both • About Your Sexual Practices and Frequency • Your Fear of Exposure to STDs or HIV • You Want an Anal Pap Smear • You Want a Hep B Vaccination • The Truth About Your Mental or Emotional Stability See more at http://www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil/Healthy_ Living/Sexual_Health/msm.aspx
ers. These claims are according to an innovative, new study that assesses the public health impact of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), “How Military Health Care Just ‘Got Better’: Evaluating the Public Health Impact of DADT,” by OutServe member ENS Jonathan R. Barry.
DADT Caused Lost Health Care Opportunities Ensign Barry, a third-year medical student on a Navy health professions scholarship at the University of Tennessee, seeks a military career in preventive medicine. More than a thousand LGBT service members responded to his survey. The questions assessed LGBT members’ knowledge, attitudes, health beliefs, behaviors and actions during and after DADT.
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Respondents were equally spread among the services and were primarily active duty. Nearly 70 percent were enlisted, and 80 percent of respondents were male. One of its most telling data points regards service members who wanted care for a particular LGBT issue through a military health care provider, but didn’t seek it because of DADT fears. Nearly half of the respondents wanted help for a mental health issue related to their LGBT status. Furthermore, 30 percent desired help for a same-sex domestic issue, 26 percent wanted an STD test, 27 percent needed psychiatric care, and 31 percent sought other LGBT-related health care. Unfortunately, none of these respondents sought help from a military pro-
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vider. Small percentages of each did seek care external to the military medical community; however, most sought no help at all. “The difference between the percentage of LGBT members who wanted health care and the percentage who actually received health care ranged between 15 and 30 percent, depending on the particular issue, and this can best be thought of as lost health care opportunities,” said ENS Barry. “DADT was largely viewed as a patient barrier, and this barrier was especially pronounced regarding mental health issues. Given today’s emphasis on mental health and well-being, I think it’s interesting there was so much undelivered care because of the sheer fear of DADT.” The study also looked at patient behavior after DADT’s repeal, concluding that a residual effect from the defunct policy is still preventing patients from adequately disclosing information about their sexual practices. “For most of the lifetime of DADT, there was a lot of ambiguity as to whether doctor-patient information was protected until it was explicitly outlined in a March 2010 DoD directive,” Ensign Barry said. “But even then, only one in five respondents knew about this highly significant policy change regarding DADT.” It should be noted that there is no data comparing the rate at which heterosexuals sought similar health care. These numbers do not construe any conclusions about the rate at which gays and lesbians needed treatment for various issues compared to heterosexuals.
No Judgment To combat these disconcerting claims, OutServe Magazine sought the advice of Dr. Price, an expert with 20 years of experience treating the gay community. He started Price Medical, a 2,500-patient, primarily gay medical practice in 1997 with the goal of being a comfortable
U. S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Chad Chisholm/Released
place for gay people to seek medical care, knowing they won’t be judged. “People need to be honest with their medical providers,” he said, noting his patients don’t have to explain how they end up in compromising situations. “From a medical provider’s point of view, the way you serve the population is by being open and non-judgmental about the person you’re seeing. That begins by accepting all types of people and behaviors as equal or valid options. We can’t have preconceived ideas about answers to questions.” Ensign Barry agrees, “You don’t have to go to your doctor waving a rainbow flag. You don’t even have to necessarily tell your provider your sexual orientation. But it is important to clearly talk about who you have sex with — be them men, women or both — and how.” To help foster disclosure, Dr. Price suggests providers give options and dig deeper to get a better picture of a patient’s sexual history. “It’s a skill that has to be learned,” he said. “In medical training, people are not trained well to take sexual histories. Providers have to have practice, just like any other skill in medicine.” According to the study, most gays and lesbians were unsure about whether doctor-patient privilege applied to disclosing their sexual orientation during DADT. Therefore the vast majority of military doctors have not had much experience culling sexual histories specifically from serving gays and lesbians. Without regular practice, as Dr. Price said, these doctors are wholly unprepared at this point to adequately treat this population. One simple example Dr. Price gave is the standard form question, married or single? With respect to gays and lesbians, this question reveals nothing. A man could be married to a woman, but have had sex with men. Conversely, if a lesbian answers “single,” but is in a committed relationship with a woman, she probably doesn’t need birth control, said Dr. Price.
Tips for the Military Doc Treating Gays and Lesbians • Practice Getting Correct Sexual Histories • Ask Open Ended Questions • Don’t Settle for “Single v. Married” • Give Options: “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Straight but Has Sex with Men” • Foster a Comfortable, Non-Judgmental Environment • Ask Patients Their Level of Concern for STDs, HIV See more at http://www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil/Healthy_Living/ Sexual_Health/msm.aspx
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theIssue What Else?
“[Not getting a correct sexual history] can lead people down the wrong path regarding health recommendations,” he said. Just asking if a person is gay or straight won’t work because some men who selfidentify as straight may still have sex with men, hence the clinical term, “men who have sex with men.” However, some areas of the military only rely on a computer questionnaire to delve into a person’s history. Without a computer “red-flagging” a medical issue, a service member may not even have the opportunity to see a doctor for an annual checkup to discuss these points. This puts the complete onus on the individual to be forthright to computer-generated questions. “The most you are required to do is show up for an appointment with an Airman who reviews your documents and asks if you have any questions,” said Air Force Capt Eddy Sweeney. “It’s ridiculous. This is something that absolutely needs to be addressed.”
ing been exposed, otherwise non-specific symptoms may not get properly evaluated,” said Dr. Price. A significant majority of patients having been infected with HIV will experience some kind of symptoms 4-6 weeks after exposure, he said. The symptoms present in a nonspecific manner like the flu: fever, malaise, sweats, rash; and these could be mild to significant. If a person engages in unprotected sex, then these symptoms could be a viral syndrome related to newly-acquired HIV. Doctors not routinely involved in identifying HIV patients may not recognize these symptoms, and patients not forthright disclosing their sexual history may be at risk for missing such a diagnosis, he said.
Getting Tested
...prevented military health care provider from giving appropriate medical care & advice to LGBT service members*3
85% (893)
36% (378)
...impeded communication between military health care providers and LGBT service members**
8%5 (893)
15% (161)
...prohibited LGBT service members from receiving personalized medical care based on their sexual orientation/risk factors**
76% (802)
24% (252)
...barred LGBT services members from asking military health care providers medical concerns involving their sexual orientation/partners**
89% (938)
11% (116)
...stopped LGBT service members from receiving preventive services that would have been offered to non-military LGBT patients**
79% (834)
21% (219)
...inhibited military health care providers from adequately performing their specialized jobs as they were medically trained to do*3
68% (712)
32% (342)
...decreased the overall quality of military-provided health care of LGBT service members**
79% (839)
20% (216)
“Often I hear, ‘we’ve been together for 15 years,’ but that might not mean monogamously,” said Dr. Price. “The next question you have to ask is if a relationship is monogamous. And it isn’t so much the number of sex partners you have, but what you’re doing with them.” While he said each person is different, if a person is engages in routine safer sex using condoms, he suggests STD and HIV testing every 6 – 12 months. Those engaged in riskier behavior should test at least every six months. “If a person is monogamous, then most clinicians would say the patient is at lowto-no risk for STDs, and screening doesn’t need to be as extensive as those who are not monogamous,” said Dr. Price. While the military regularly tests for HIV, typically, the calendar prompts the test and feeds a person’s deployment readiness vice routinely reacting to a person’s risk factors. “Depending on the sophistication of the caregiver, service members might need to volunteer that they are fearful of hav-
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Dr. Price recommended other preventive health measures for the LGBT community as well. While not conclusive, some studies suggest that because of a hormonal change that occurs with birth control and pregnancy, lesbians not on birth control or prone to pregnancy tend to be at a higher rate of risk for breast cancer. Dr. Price suggests “screening and self-examination monthly needs to be more regular for lesbians.” Lesbians, like anybody else, can also transmit other infections through skin-toskin touching and fluid exchange. For men who have sex with men, they should be properly vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B. “A records review of
Attitude Statements Regarding DADT The DADT policy ... % AGREE1
% NEUTRAL/ DISAGREE2
Table Notes: [1] This is the percentage (and number) of respondents who noted that they either “strongly agree” or “agree” with the statement. [2] This is the percentage (and number) of respondents who noted that they either “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with, or were “neutral,” regarding the statement. [3] The difference in the number of respondents who SA/A and N/D/SD with this statement is significantly different than those marked with a ** (p < 0.0001 ) but is not significantly different than the other statement marked by a * (p = 0.108).
OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
What is it about this person’s sex life that either
predesposes them or protects them from certain illnesses?” most military people shows that the military generally vaccinates against Hep A, but not Hep B,” said Dr. Price. Regarding mental health, there can be a higher level of anxiety and depression disorders for LGBT people who are at the point of coming to terms with their sexuality, and who have repressed it within the military construct. “There is a stigma attached to people in the military if they admit any kind of emotional weakness,” he said. Dr. Price recommends assessing a person’s mental health by using an open ended question such as “Tell me about your mood,” which puts the onus on the person to speak, versus going down a checklist of yes/no questions prompted by a computer screen, to which some military providers have resorted. If military members have concerns about losing their security clearance, they should research the appropriate regulations. Going to mental health does not necessitate the suspension or revocation of a security clearance, and is generally situation-dependent.
The Military’s Response As the era of DADT fades into history, it is expected that lost health care will diminish. However, the ability of providing specialized health care for LGBT people in the military is currently sparse.
After the Comprehensive Review Working Group issued its implementation plan for the repeal of DADT, no DoD medical policy changed. According to a memo to the services from Clifford Stanley, the Undersecretary of Defense, “There will be no changes to existing medical policies. The Surgeons General of the military departments have determined that repeal of DADT does not affect the military readiness of the force and that changes to medical policies are not necessary.” Spokeswoman for DoD, Cynthia Smith, said, “Medical personnel are educated and trained in dealing with the psychological and physiological aspects of gay and lesbian medical concerns, and that includes members of the military medical department.” According to the Air Force Surgeon General, instruction on obtaining a comprehensive sexual history, and the professional and sensitive approach to doing so, exists within the core curriculum of national medical and nursing schools, to include the military medical school. However, among all the services, only the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center has any established resource for practitioners that specifically address the sexual health of LGBT troops. “The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center maintains guidance for clinicians and healthcare providers on how to
best address the medical concerns of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community,” said Navy Medicine spokesman CAPT Cappy Surette. The Navy’s information is publicly available on their sexual health and responsibilities resources webpage found at: http://www.nmcphc.med. navy.mil/Healthy_Living/Sexual_Health/ msm.aspx. The Army Surgeon General’s spokeswoman responded that the Army uses a broad-brush approach to comprehensive, holistic care for all aspects of any soldiers’ health, not specifically providing resources to treat LGBT members. The Air Force Surgeon General believes that as their caregivers become more attuned to treating LGBT troops, that the specialized skills necessary to do so will increase. Having said that, there is no program, policy or effort to jump start increasing these skills for clinicians who likely haven’t had to deal with LGBT patients since school. “Subsequent to medical training, the proficiency with which military providers and nurses elicit an LGBT person’s sexual history and deal with LGBT clinical issues is a function of both previous education and the nature and frequency of LGBT patient encounters. As openly practicing LGBT personnel in the military increase, our healthcare providers’ art in extracting historical
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theIssue detail, and LGBT patients’ comfort in revealing those details, will only improve,” said a spokesman for the Air Force Surgeon General. These statements drive home the importance of LGBT patients being open and honest with their caregivers regarding their sexual history, putting the onus on the service member to be an active participant in their own health care. “Patient privacy is a top priority for our providers,” said Captain Surette. “As such, self-disclosure by patients of any medical conditions or personal factors they feel could impact their medical care is imperative to ensure the provider is able to address their specific needs.” Despite the services’ responses and lack of change to policy, there has been no department-wide effort made to enhance skills necessary to treat LGBT issues by military medical practitioners since repeal.
With his data showing service members are not likely to disclose pertinent issues, Ensign Barry suggests additional resources be produced to inform and educate LGBT service members on how to be an active partner in their health care. “Resources could include what type of health information an LGBT service member should share with a military health care provider, why it should be shared, and how a provider will deliver personalized care based on that information,” states his study. Lastly, Ensign Barry recommends further research in this area to examine, from both a patient and provider perspective, why such low percentages of providers ask medically relevant questions. This research should seek to enhance medical training and practice guidelines for
Recommendations “By and large, most of the health care that gays and lesbians need is no different than the general population,” said Dr. Price. “Where it differs the most is when it comes to sex. What is it about this person’s sex life that either predisposes them or protects them from certain illnesses?” Dr. Price encourages service members to realize that clinicians can’t read their minds; without disclosure, providers may base their judgment on possibly false assumptions. “They can’t make the proper recommendations if they don’t know the facts.” Ensign Barry’s study concludes with specific directions to better foster an environment where doctors know the right questions to ask and patients are comfortable enough to answer those questions, thereby disclosing appropriate facts. First, “efforts should be taken to not only collect data on the types and costs of lost health care, but also to educate LGBT members so that additional future health care can be delivered, helping to correct the discrepancies identified in this research,” he wrote.
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military health care providers concerning LGBT health issues. “In any patient pool, specific populations like LGBT members need not be disenfranchised from the system. This current data illustrates that there is a lot more work to do to get patients to be more open with their health care providers and health care providers to retool how they’ve been trained to better assist LGBT health issues,” Ensign Barry said. “This is going to be a big change for the military,” said Dr. Price. Ensign Barry’s research, “How Military Health Care Just ‘Got Better’: Evaluating the Public Health Impact of DADT,” was recently submitted to the journal of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, for an essay competition, and is not yet publicly available.
Lost Health Care Opportunities for... “Service members who wanted care for a particular issue through a military health care provider but didn’t seek it because of DADT and fears related to separation…”
Care for...
YES
NO
STD
26 %
74 %
Mental health issue related to LGBT status
45 %
55 %
Domestic/relationship (same-sex) issue
29 %
71 %
Psychiatric care for depression/suicidal thoughts
27 %
73 %
Other health issue related to LGBT status
31 %
69 %
Of those who desired such health care… “Service members who received care for a particular issue through a NON-military health care provider…”
Care for...
YES
STD
23 %
77 %
Mental health issue related to LGBT status
16 %
84 %
Domestic/relationship (same-sex) issue
10 %
90 %
9 %
91 %
17 %
83 %
Psychiatric care for depression/suicidal thoughts Other health issue related to LGBT status
OutServeMag.com march/april 2012
NO
Photo: defenseimagery.mil
WAR JOURNAL By SSG Nathan Welles, U.S. Army
SSG Nathan Welles is a squad leader assigned to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade from Ft. Hood, Texas. He is currently deployed to Asadabad, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This is his third combat deployment. Here is his story:
I
SSG Nathan Welles n November of 2006, my unit conducted a mission in a few villages approximately two hours from our Forward Operating Base, FOB Warrior, in Kirkuk, Iraq. Around 2:30 p.m., after setting a cordon around one of these villages, my squad and I entered to meet with the local leaders and assess the needs of the community. While we were speaking to one of the men from the town, our Iraqi Army counterparts radioed that they were under attack in a nearby neighborhood. We quickly returned to our Humvees and raced to the aid of the Iraqi Army unit. Upon arrival, we established a base of fire and began
suppressing the enemy position. Our medic leapt from his truck and aided an Iraqi Soldier who had been shot in the bicep. As the medic treated the wounded Iraqi Soldier, our truck’s gunner laid down suppressive fire and I ran to secure my sector, stopping close to a soldier from another unit. This soldier knew I was gay and had made it clear to me that he didn’t like it. As I thought about that awkward conversation, a sniper round pierced his right elbow and lodged in his hip. There was a lot of blood. Without a moment’s hesitation, I dragged him to cover and rendered first aid in an attempt to at least slow the bleeding. My Kevlar kept sliding down the front of my face as I tried to determine how close the nearest soldier was. His blood covered my hands, my eye protection was fogged up, and sweat dripped from the tip of my nose. I tried desperately to keep pressure on his hip to stop the bleeding. He was screaming in pain, and he was begging me not to let him die. I knew how badly he disliked me. I knew the hatred
and homophobia in his heart. I also knew that it didn’t matter one bit. I had a duty to keep that soldier alive and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that. As the MEDEVAC helicopter disappeared over the horizon and I looked around at the other soldiers who were still on the battlefield with me, I knew that they had changed their minds about my capabilities as a soldier. For the few who knew I was gay, they knew that regardless of my sexuality, I knew how to fight and I was still willing to risk my life for my fellow soldiers. I grew up like most kids in small, middle-class America. My family didn’t have much money, and neither did my friends’ families. Gossip ruled the social circles, so every family pried and every family kept secrets. I learned early in life to bottle up my feelings or risk sharing them with the whole town, thus exposing myself to criticism and teasing. My mother was diagnosed with liver cancer when I was ten and was fortunate enough to undergo a successful transplant and re-
march/april 2012
covery. She divorced my adoptive father two years later, and at age 12, we left our quiet town for a fast-paced city where people no longer had time to pay attention to everyone else’s problems. The anonymity was wonderful and changed my whole outlook on life. As good as life was, my secret still weighed on my heart, just below the surface of whatever emotion I was feeling at the time. Like many gay teens, I wrestled with what God thought of marriage and sex. I decided at some point that God most likely didn’t care about skin color, gender or sexual orientation. Despite that conclusion, I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was gay, because admitting it meant validating it. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be gay as much as I wanted to be normal. I saw the two as mutually exclusive. I joined the Army in 2004 after graduating from high school. I wanted to be the model soldier, and with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) in place, this naturally meant being heterosexual. Throughout my training, I fought
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warJournal rumors about my sexuality. I met my first gay soldier at intelligence school in Ft. Huachuca, Ariz. We bonded over our shared adversity and quickly became friends. It felt good to be honest and open with someone. Our friendship naturally led to more rumors and awkward looks from the other soldiers. Twenty-two weeks of rumors and gossip later, I graduated and was sent to Ft. Hood, Texas. Finally at my first permanent duty station, I tried to recreate myself as the model heterosexual soldier. I wanted to be like everyone else… I just wanted to serve my country. What I actually created was the soldier everyone else wanted me to be, not the soldier I was. Rumors began to spread again, and I became scared. I began to suspect I was being followed when I went to the gay bars. I lived in constant fear of being outed. I remember sitting through an equal opportunity brief one day when the topic of same-sex marriage came up. I sat and listened to some of the homophobic comments made by my fellow soldiers and thought to myself, “What happened to the Band of Brothers/Sisters?” I was grateful for a chance to deploy and leave some of that behind in Ft. Hood. That day near Kirkuk, with the MEDEVAC chopper taking off while the blood and sweat pooled at my feet, was a pivotal moment in my life as a closeted gay soldier. It became just a little bit easier to be open and honest with others and myself, despite DADT. It was still a rough 15-month deployment. Although I had earned the trust of some in my unit, the fear of being outed was everpresent. I returned home and
changed units, where I went on to deploy a second time to Iraq, and later, Afghanistan, where I still serve today as a squad leader. While I don’t flaunt my sexuality, I don’t hide it either. My soldiers and my leaders all know I’m gay. In a positive sign of change, one of my soldiers approached me prior to this deployment, looked me in the eye and said, “It doesn’t matter that you’re gay, just be the leader we all strive to be.” That’s progress. In 2005, Steve Jobs gave the commencement address at Stanford University. His words then are my mantra now: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma–which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want
to become. Everything else is secondary.” I redeployed after my tour was complete and returned to Ft. Hood. During the re-deployment ceremony, the wounded soldier I had helped approached me in his wheelchair and asked if he could talk to me for a second. I agreed and we moved away from the group. He thanked me for saving his life so he could come back to his family. As he was talking, I could hear him starting to choke up and his eyes glistened. I told him that he didn’t have to say anything—I already knew what he was going to say. I told him not to worry about it and as I started to turn and walk away, he grabbed my wrist and told me to stop. I turned and saw him crying. Then he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug that only two warriors can share. As he sobbed into my shoulder, I assured him that everything would be alright and that this
wasn’t the end of the road for him. I promised to be there to help him through the things that he didn’t want his family to see. He thanked me for everything that I’d done for him. I’ll never forget the words he said to me that day. “I should’ve never doubted you because of who you are. I let my prejudices get in the way and should’ve known better.” As I then turned and walked away, I looked back to see him hugging his little girl and kissing his wife. We still check up on each other today. This experience taught me to be proud of myself. I learned that people will surprise you with their willingness to accept you if you give them the chance. More importantly, I learned that each of us could change the life of another person with a single action. Sometimes that single action can be as simple as having the courage to be the real you.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Nadine Y. Barclay/Released
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