| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Naval grads seek gay alumni chapter |
| 2003-11-08 |
| Not very surprising news to us other former O-gangers. Associated Press While at the Naval Academy in the late ’80s, Jeff Petrie thought he was the only gay midshipman at the school. Homophobia was rife, and he took pains to hide his sexual orientation. "I kept my secret. I lived a double life in exchange for the opportunity to serve," he said. NOW, PETRIE is leading an effort to establish an official gay and lesbian chapter of the school’s alumni association, in what would be a first for any U.S. service academy. The chapter’s 29 members-to-be, none of whom still serve in the military, want to support gay midshipmen still bound by the Department of Defense’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, Petrie said. "Just by existing, I think we will be able to help current midshipmen by showing them we have been through it successfully, and if that’s what they want to do, they can do it too," said Petrie. Petrie, a 1989 graduate, said he plans to file an application with the academy’s alumni association next week. He said the academy has fostered a "disapproving and damaging environment for gay and lesbian midshipmen for decades." "We don’t have the power to change that," said Petrie, who now lives in Will the chapter have a secret salute for members? Skid Heyworth, vice president of communications for the military college’s alumni association, said Friday he had not received the group’s application but would pass it to the association’s board of directors for review. He said he didn’t know of any similar request in the academy’s history. "We’re not going to speculate on the ’what-ifs’ at this point until we see the request," Heyworth said. He added he is hoping for a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy plug though. Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara WTF? Taxpayer supported Center? , said it’s the first request for official recognition by gay and lesbian service academy graduates. There are several unofficial networks, often with anonymous members, around the country, he said. "I’m impressed with what they’re trying to do," Belkin said. "To a greater extent than ever, officers will say they’re not uncomfortable around gays and lesbians on a personal level. But there are still pockets of intense resistance to integration." It’s 2003! No one cares anymore. All we care about is if you can kill Al Qaeda! What you do on your own free time is your biz, Lieutenant. Petrie said he has been working since July to compile a roster of potential members, all of whom belong to the Service Academy Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association, a 150-member alumni association that is not officially sanctioned by any of the military academies. Many of its members are anonymous. Probably more in fear of their spouses finding out then the Academy. ’WHY NOT?’ An official gay and lesbian chapter of the Naval Academy’s alumni association would take a step forward, advertising its members and offering contact information, said John Sewell, a 1990 graduate who has signed onto the roster. "Being out would give the group a little more political say," said Sewell, who now lives in Seattle after serving three years as a nuclear submarine officer in Norfolk, Va. "We know who the members are, and we’re not some hidden organization." So that explains the glory hole in the crew’s head. I thought it was an authorized shipalt. Sewell said the academy’s alumni association would simply be following the lead of other colleges and universities by agreeing to a gay chapter. I mean, they already followed the lead in watering down the curriculum. "If I had graduated from Harvard or Yale or Stanford, I would have an official chapter, so for me it’s, ’Why not?"’ he said. Petrie said he learned he wasn’t the academy’s only gay midshipman during a weekend trip to Washington, D.C., when he met a fellow gay midshipman carrying a USNA duffel bag. "He started talking to me and said, ’Do I know you?’ I pointed to his For the record, I am not homophobic. I just think it is a non-story. |
| Posted by:The Butt Pirate |
| #5 All good posts. This hits home w/me as I have an uncle whose gay. (lucky my Irish-Catholic grandfather is dead, be turning in his grave) anywho, I still love the guy and don't give a shit about what he does behind close doors. Grown adult, his business. He knows my stance on gays in the mil. If they want to serve within the confines of "don't ask - don't tell", good enough for me. However, (SH knows) from experience in the mil, there's no room for the openly gay 'flamer'. My other uncle (whose not gay) was in the Navy - use to say how known or suspected gays on his ship disapeared (i.e. mysteriously ended up overboard) during their floats. I don't advocate that at all - but on the same token can't protect them or the people that don't want to serve w/them. This is clearly a case of bending the majority to the outta mainstream's politics for nothing more then pc. The big picture is that it breaks down cohesion and esprit de corps among the lads. "If the action taken does not help success on the battlefield in reality - do not take the action." That's my belief on letting gays serve openly. I've been lucky in my career to not have to really deal w/homos other than sending a few Marine recruits home who claimed to be practicing queers. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-8 11:28:08 PM |
| #4 The thing that gets me is why someone has to make a big deal pubically about their sexuality. Why is your approach to a bung the defining quality of one's life? Define who you are by your life's work and personal character. The rest is just narcissism. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-11-8 10:21:45 PM |
| #3 ya know JH? It's not that different from civ life: I work for a major public West coast institution. I work with several people who we know are gay. They, and we , are cognizant of the fact that we like them for who they are, what they can do, not what/who they did last nite...is that so hard? In the foxhole/military theory, I understand why don't ask/don't tell works...at the end of the day we (civs) all go home to our personal lives - in the military - this is your personal lives |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-8 9:39:02 PM |
| #2 My wife has always speculated that there are more than a few transvestites on ships for years. Should have never showed her the movie of our crossing the line ceremony. To graduate from USNA your highest priority, other than God, has to be service to the country. Those who wish to serve the agenda of a special interest group need not apply. Nobody cares if you're gay or if you're the Grand Druid of you local Chapter of Wiccan Hermaphrodites as long as you shut up and do your job dependebly. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-11-8 9:38:40 PM |
| #1 "To a greater extent than ever, officers will say they’re not uncomfortable around gays and lesbians on a personal level. But there are still pockets of intense resistance to integration." -Personal level - no. Openly serving in a professional military organization - hell no. Stay in the closet - harsh truth. I don't give a shit what they do on their off time in the privacy of their home. However, I (as an officer) cannot protect openly gay folks from the average warrior who does not or will not understand their lifestyle - nor should they be made to. The military is not a f*cking social engineering experiment no matter how many pc douche bags think so. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-8 7:10:17 PM |