Ask and Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out

8. Out Ranks

8 OUT RANKS In December 2003, for the first time in American history, three retired flag o≈cers publicly declared that they were gay. It is di≈cult to provide historical context for such an unprecedented event. Historians usually leave such topics to their colleagues in journalism or political science. Yet coming out for these men was a chance to reevaluate careers in the military that stretched back several decades and to focus these years of experience on an open and honest discussion of the ban and ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’’ ‘‘I wanted to come out to make a statement that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ after ten years is not working,’’ Brigadier General Keith Kerr (Retired) told the listeners of National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation.∞ A forty-year veteran of the army and army reserves, a former professor of business administration, and a card-carrying member of the Log Cabin Republicans, Keith saw the primary argument for repealing the law as the cost involved. The investigation , dismissal, and replacement of talented personnel that the military has already trained were a waste of taxpayer money, he believed. A study conducted by the Government Accountability O≈ce (gao) in 2005 supports Keith’s position. According to the gao, the discharges of gay and lesbian enlisted personnel alone cost the United States $200 million in the ten years after ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ was passed.≤ Though it was di≈cult for a private man like Keith Kerr to come out, he felt that he had no choice. Brigadier General Virgil Richard (Retired) felt the same way. When ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ was initially debated, this intense, soft-spoken Kansas native had only been retired for two years. After more than three decades in the army and two tours in Vietnam, Virgil had fought his battles. It was time for younger men to enter the fray. Retirement in Texas agreed with him, and he had found a out ranks 211 partner with whom he could openly share his life. But after ten years of soul searching and discussion of a political compromise that he felt was unfair and unjust, he could no longer remain silent. Rear Admiral Alan Steinman (Retired) had joined the Public Health Service in 1972 because he wanted to work with the coast guard. His story epitomizes the sacrifices that gay men have made to rise up through the ranks in service to the country that they love. Relationships with men were out of the question for him, and promotion to flag o≈cer required Alan to find a female companion to accompany him to formal Washington functions. Though he opposed ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ at the time of its passage, he was unable to explain to his coast guard colleagues the range of reasons why. Admiral Steinman, General Richard, and General Kerr enumerated three reasons why they believe that the ban should be lifted (in addition to the cost of enforcement). First, as they themselves are living proof, gays (and lesbians) have had long, distinguished careers. Second, all of our military allies except for Greece and Turkey have lifted the ban on open gay service since the 1970s and report that there have been few problems integrating gay soldiers into the ranks. Finally, we have fought alongside openly gay troops in these allied forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. These men are not alone among retired flag o≈cers in opposing ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’’ As an African American veteran of the Korean War, Major General Vance Coleman (Retired) believes that the military should take people on their individual merits, not their race, ethnicity, or sexuality. ‘‘Americans long ago desegregated our military,’’ he has said. ‘‘The time has come to end another vestige of inequality in our country.’’≥ Unlike General Coleman, Rear Admiral John Hutson has not always opposed ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’’ In fact, he was one of its architects. ‘‘It’s almost embarrassing,’’ he said in 2003, remembering the debates that occurred ten years earlier. ‘‘We worried about, gee, if we open the ranks to gays, are the gays going to come flooding in and drive the heterosexuals out?’’ More important, he worried that lifting the ban would hurt unit cohesion and undermine the fighting e√ectiveness of the u.s. military. But ten years of observing ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ in action had changed his mind. ‘‘American fighting...