The first time I heard David Mixner raise the issue of gays in the military in 1991 as he was pitching why LGBTs should elect Bill Clinton president, I thought – what the hell? Why in the world would an anti-war activist care about THE MILITARY? And then I learned about Leonard Matlovich – and then I met some of the patriotic heroes whose lives were directly impacted by the ban on gay servicemembers being open – extraordinary people such as Rev. Dusty Pruitt, Joe Steffan, Tracy Thorne, Margarethe Cammermeyer, Zoe Dunning, Perry Watkins, and Tom Swann.
I should note that my father was a “lifer” in the Air Force. He was one of the first Americans to join the RAF before the US joined World War II, after which he transferred to the Army Air Corps. After the war, he went to the Air War College and then rose through the ranks until retiring as a colonel and joining the military industrial complex. In short, I am a military brat. After Mixner opened my eyes to the plight of gay people serving in silence, I thought of my father and how proud he was of serving his country – our country – and the automatic assumption of integrity that afforded him. I suddenly understood the issue in a whole new way.
Later, covering Clinton’s “compromise” of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, I spoke with numerous soldiers under condition of anonymity who told me they lied to get into the military to escape the trap of near-poverty or violence at home or to get an education and learn a skill to get a job when they got out. Then I realized the military is America’s largest employer and it is closed to those LGBTs who need to tell the truth about who they are. This is just fundamentally unfair.
I am a journalist and do not usually join in campaigns sponsored by organizations I cover. But this is personal. It is not fair that members of my family of choice should be denied something so profoundly important and available to my biological family. So I will be posting the open letters that Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is sending to President Obama in the campaign they are launching today. SLDN is hoping to convince Obama to take leadership by adding DADT repeal language in the upcoming Defense Authorization Bill and to call the 15 critical votes on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The timing is urgent – before the window of opportunity closes with the November election.
Says SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis:
“This is a critical hour as we’re very close to reaching the 15 votes needed to include repeal to the Defense Authorization bill. We are just two or three votes away and we urge the President to engage now and help us line up key votes still needed to get DADT repealed this year. By people sharing their personal stories on how this terrible law has impacted them, we can send a powerful message to the President and our own community as we build momentum going into this crucial vote.”
Herewith the LETTER FOR MONDAY from Maj. Mike Almy:
April 26, 2010
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
If you end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), I’d re-enlist the day you sign repeal into law.
For thirteen years, I served in the United States Air Force where I attained the rank of major before I was discharged under DADT.
As the Senate Armed Services Committee considers including repeal in the Defense Authorization bill, we’re very close — just two or three votes — to passing repeal in committee. I ask for you to voice your support to put us over the top.
I come from a family with a rich legacy of military service. My father is a West Point graduate who taught chemistry at the Air Force Academy, flew helicopters in Vietnam, and ultimately retired as a senior officer from the Air Force. One of my uncles retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant from the Marine Corps, with service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Another uncle served in the Army in Korea.
Growing up, I didn’t really know what civilians did, I just knew I would follow in my father’s footsteps and become a military officer.
I joined Air Force ROTC in 1988 and was awarded a scholarship. I earned my jump wings in 1991. In 1992, I graduated from ROTC in the top 10% of all graduates nationwide. In 1993, I went on active duty, just as DADT was becoming a law.
Stationed in Oklahoma, I was named officer of the year for my unit of nearly 1,000 people. Later, I was one of six officers selected from the entire Air force to attend Professional Military Education at Quantico, Virginia.
During my career, I deployed to the Middle East four times. In my last deployment, I led a team of nearly 200 men and women to operate and maintain the systems used to control the air space over Iraq. We came under daily mortar attacks, one of which struck one of my Airmen and also caused significant damage to our equipment. Towards the end of this deployment to Iraq, I was named one of the top officers in my career field for the entire Air Force.
In the stress of a war zone, the Air Force authorized us to use our work email accounts for “personal or morale purposes” because private email accounts were blocked for security.
Shortly after I left Iraq — during a routine search of my computer files — someone found that my “morale” was supported by the person I loved — a man.
The email — our modern day letter home — was forwarded to my commander.
I was relieved of my duties, my security clearance was suspended and part of my pay was terminated.
In my discharge proceeding, several of my former troops wrote character reference letters for me, including one of my squadron commanders. Their letters expressed their respect for me as an officer, their hope to have me back on the job and their shock at how the Air Force was treating me.
Approximately a year after I was relieved of my duties, my Wing Commander recommended I be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, even though the Air Force was actively pursuing my discharge.
But instead, after 16 months, I was given a police escort off the base as if I were a common criminal or a threat to national security. The severance pay I received was half of what it would have been had I been separated for any other reason.
Despite this treatment, my greatest desire is still to return to active duty as an officer and leader in the United States Air Force, protecting the freedoms of a nation that I love; freedoms that I myself was not allowed to enjoy while serving in the military.
Mr. President, I want to serve. Please fulfill your promise to repeal DADT and give me that chance.
Thank you,
Major Mike Almy
United States Air Force
Please visit www.sldn.org/letters, read the daily letter and take action. Specific steps visitors can take include: sending a letter to their respective Members of Congress; sharing their own personal story of how DADT has impacted them; posting the daily letter on their Facebook and Twitter; and spreading the word that we’re at a critical point in repeal.
Participating blogs (list in formation):
www.Michael-in-Norfolk.blogspot.com
Campaign microsite: www.sldn.org/letters
SLDN Twitter: www.twitter.com/FreedomToServe
Campaign hashtag: #DADTstories
Campaign shortlink: http://bit.ly/cLUsmp
SLDN Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Servicemembers-Legal-Defense-Network/19199821791?ref=ts
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
If they are aware that 2 to 3 votes are needed why are they going after the President instead of the Congress members who can provide those 2 or 3 votes?
This makes absolutely no sense and is purposely designed for failure so that the President can be blamed. It’s a set up. Two votes from Congress members needed and they’re writing the President?
I see right through it.