http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=161012
by Erica Demarest
March 09, 2010
Lee Reinhart served in the Navy as an openly gay man from 1995 to
1999, at the height of "don't ask, don't tell," without a problem. In
2002, he joined the Coast Guard and was prematurely discharged under
the same policy
"The law is subjective," Reinhart said. "It's the personal agenda of
the commanding officers. If they don't like gay people, they have
this law they can use. And they can use it legally. If you have a
commanding officer that doesn't have a problem allowing gay people to
serve, he doesn't use it. That's a problem with the law."
Prior to the 1993 inception of "don't ask, don't tell," gays were
prohibited from serving, and recruiters routinely asked applicants
about their sexual orientation. The new rule was intended to allow
gays to serve, if they weren't open about it. But since its
inception, the policy has been responsible for the discharge of more
than 13,500 servicemembers, resulting in significant staff shortages
and lowered military enlistment standards.
"Don't ask" has long been criticized as flawed – expensive, difficult
to implement accurately and prone to subjectivity and abuse – said
Jean Albright, a former board member at the Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network.
Secrets and surprises
Under "don't ask, don't tell," gay citizens wishing to serve in the
military must hide their sexual orientation, which often requires
lying to co-workers. If discovered, servicemembers can be discharged
and could lose veterans' benefits, pensions and scholarship funds.
After living openly as a gay man for two years, Reinhart, now 36,
went back into the closet to enlist in the Navy in 1995. Hiding such
a significant part of his life soon took a toll.
"It's hard when you're on a six-month deployment," Reinhart said.
"You're with these guys 24/7, and you're not leaving the confines of
that ship. You talk. You get to know each other. And it's kind of
hard when you can't be honest about yourself. You're not going to
make any friends if you just go to work and don't say anything."
Two years into his service and dreading being closeted for a second
deployment, Reinhart came out to his commanding officer in 1997,
thinking it would end his career. To Reinhart's surprise, the officer
didn't care that he was gay. Nor did anyone else.
"Everyone on my ship of 450 people knew I was openly gay and it was
not an issue," Reinhart said. "Never once did I have any
repercussions, never once did anyone threaten me. I actually got promoted."
Generational shifts
Most of the opposition to allowing gays in the military comes from
older generations that don't actively serve, Reinhart said. As
younger soldiers enlist, tides are shifting.
According to a 2006 Zogby International poll, 73 percent of military
personnel are comfortable with lesbians and gays, and one in four
U.S. troops who served in Afghanistan or Iraq knows a member of their
unit who is gay.
"It's clear that most of the people on the ground, the younger
generation in the military, they know this law is pointless,"
Reinhart said. "They already know they serve next to gay men and
don't see a problem. As long as they know that person's got their
back when the time is needed, they don't care who they are."
Reinhart's straight peers were supportive and even started a Sunday
brunch tradition in Hillcrest, the gay area of San Diego, where the
men were stationed.
"We would have this group of straight guys sitting in a gay
restaurant every single Sunday," said Anthony Kawczynski, a straight
shipmate who served with Reinhart.
When going to a bar becomes illegal
After four years in the Navy, Reinhart left to attend college and
thought he was done with the military. But after September 11 and
some serious career assessment, he reconsidered.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and I found that in
the military," Reinhart said. "I really found a place. My love was
serving my country. You're never truly happy if you're not doing what
you believe you should be doing. I wanted to make a career out of it."
In 2002, Reinhart joined the Coast Guard, where he could have the
same rank he held in the Navy, while experiencing a new branch. Less
than three months in, however, Reinhart's career plans were cut
startlingly short when he was informed by a commanding officer that
he was being investigated for being gay.
About a week earlier, Reinhart had gone to a gay bar with several of
the women on the ship. An officer overheard them talking about the
great time they had. "It's not against the law to be in a gay bar,"
Reinhart said. "They didn't see or hear or witness anything."
Nonetheless, Reinhart's security clearance was pulled. Forced to work
alongside soldiers who had committed serious offenses, Reinhart spent
three months mowing yards and picking up trash before he was formally
discharged under "don't ask, don't tell."
"It's offensive, disrespectful," Reinhart said. "I truly did nothing
wrong. I never harassed anyone. I never disrespected anyone. I did my
job the best I could, and I was rewarded for it in one branch and
discharged for it in another one."
A way of life
For many gay veterans, being discharged is more than simply losing a job.
"In the military, it's a way of life," said Danny Ingram, who was
discharged under "don't ask" and is now the president of American
Veterans for Equal Rights. "It's very painful for people who believe
that the military is a family. Statements like 'Once a Marine, always
a Marine' and 'The Army takes care of its own' – they mean something.
The law actually damages the integrity of the military."
In most cases, veterans discharged under "don't ask" are fired for
who they are, not for anything they did.
"I couldn't even imagine being kicked out for something that simple,"
said Kawczynski, who described Reinhart as distraught after his
discharge. "It's not like they judged your character. They didn't
judge anything worthwhile. I couldn't imagine how horrible that would feel."
"There are some people who it just destroys emotionally," Albright
said. "It's another kind of post-traumatic stress disorder."
Finding financial and employment security after being discharged can
also be challenging. Reinhart worked in marketing for several years,
but is currently seeking full-time employment.
"It's a struggle," Reinhart said. "You struggle to find your identity
– where your place is, what you enjoy doing. If you don't enjoy doing
anything, you're never going to survive. You're never going to make it."
The case for repeal
To date, 13,500 servicemembers have been discharged under "don't ask,
don't tell." Of these, 800 were critical specialists such as
linguists, pilots and intelligence analysts. Facing a severe
personnel shortage, the military has lowered many of its enlistment
standards – in some cases allowing convicts and non-citizens to serve
– and upped its advertising and recruitment efforts, costing billions.
"I think that it's time for it to be done away with," said Morgan
McKay, who served with Reinhart in the Navy. "There's no other job in
the world where people can't say who they are, and I think it harms
the military in that they lose a lot of members that they could retain."
Those who aren't discharged under "don't ask" often opt for new
careers over re-enlistment, fearing eventual discharge. And many gay
citizens who want to serve never even enlist, put off by living in
the closet and apprehensive of possible "don't ask" consequences.
Repealing "don't ask" could increase military enrollment by
thousands, experts say.
If given the chance, Reinhart would re-enlist in a heartbeat, he said.
"I miss it," he said. "It sounds corny, but I miss wearing that
uniform and going to work, and that respect you get from people when
you're walking down the street."
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