European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Homosexuals in the military still face discrimination and humiliation All you can be but do it our Way by Jane Gross new York times barred from military service by defens department regulations and threatened wit investigation interrogation and discharge Gaymen and lesbians in the us. Armed forces Lead desperate furtive lives reminiscent of those led by homosexuals throughout the United states a generation ago. The few who openly confronted the . Military ban on homosexuals have been severely disappointed by the recent supreme court decision not to hear their Challenge and some advocates said they would press in Congress to have the ban overturned. But for thousands of others who seek Only to get by undetected secrecy remains their Creed. This is not a life you d choose for your worst enemy said a 31 year old officer at the Mas Miramar in san die go calif., who has guarded the secret of his homosexuality since his enlistment eight years ago. But Gays Are very Good at camouflage he said. Society puts us in that role from the first moment we discover our  tension and fatigue Wear away at military people who have engaged in drawn out Legal Battles Over the Issue life is no less difficult for the Ordinary Gay Man or woman in the military this was Clear in interviews with More than three dozen homosexuals with experience in the  armed forces. Many of those interviewed Are on Active duty in Southern California. The Luckiest among them survive without suspicion disguising their homosexuality by laughing along with anti Gay jokes telling lies about How they spent the weekend or entering into contract marriages with people of the opposite sex. Many More arc less fortunate. Turned in by unsympathetic commanding officers disgruntled partners or friends who name names under the pressure of interrogation they Are subjected to the humiliation and stress of investigation. And some despite Sterling service records and without judicial proceedings Are discharged if the military has proof of their homosexuality or extracts a confession. Bridget Wilson a former army medic and a lesbian who gives Legal assistance to homosexuals facing discharge knows How hard it is to live with the knowledge no one is Safe. You Only survive by knowing you Are there at their whim she said. But you would go crazy with paranoia if you faced every moment of every Day the reality of How vulnerable you  opponents say the military Rule prohibiting homosexuals is one of the most painful remnants of official discrimination in society. The Pentagon says accepting homosexuals would hamper recruiting and make it harder to maintain discipline and morale. Debate Over the ban has raged lately in courtrooms and on television talk shows on College campuses and in Barracks. The Pentagon says about 1,400 men and women Are discharged each year for violating departmental directive no 1332.14, which says homosexuality is incompatible with military  in february the supreme court declined to hear two appeals one from James w. Woodward a former naval officer who now runs a Gay veterans group in san Diego and the other from Miriam Ben shalom a former army Reserve Drill sergeant and a teacher in Milwaukee. Another Case Likely to reach the supreme court is that of Joseph c. Steffan who was near the top of his class at the . Naval Academy at Annapolis and two months shy of graduation when he was expelled in 1987. Some homosexuals in the military such As Woodward Ben shalom and Steffan Burn with indignation at their outcast status fighting the Pentagon against great Odds. Ben shalom for instance waged a losing 16-year court Battle which Cost her her life savings and her Home. I did t lose America lost she said. But it hurts like bloody hell to think America does t love  but a vast majority of those interviewed were not defiant like Ben shalom Woodward and Steffan All of whom voluntarily informed commanding officers of their homosexuality. More common were those who described themselves As cowed by the military. These men and women said they had enlisted As teen agers confused about their sexuality knew no other world but the armed forces and were shamed by the closeted life that was forced upon them. Once the Finger is pointed at you you feel like a horrible terrible person like you Don t deserve to live said a Young woman recently discharged for homosexuality. She attempted suicide in the Middle of her investigation at Chanute fab in Illinois. Most discharges for homosexuality Are administrative you would go crazy with paranoia if you faced the reality of How vulnerable you Are. Bridget Wilson rather than criminal proceedings and Are honorable provided the person under investigation leaves without further contest. A very Small number of those expelled Are court Martiale under provisions of the uniform code of military Justice which like the Laws of Many states prohibits sodomy for both homosexuals and heterosexuals. A Pentagon spokesman Jim Turner said directive no. 1332.14 Speaks for  he would not elaborate. The directive says persons who engage in homosexual conduct or demonstrate a propensity to do so adversely affect the ability of the armed forces to maintain discipline Good order and  further the policy says homosexuals disrupt the system of rank and command discourage heterosexuals from enlisting and remaining in the military and endanger National Security because of the danger that secrets might be disclosed under threat of blackmail. Federal civil rights Laws do not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and the courts have upheld the military s right to ban homosexuals. Congress can Challenge the provisions of the uniform code of military Justice and the president can rewrite Pentagon policy As Harry s. Truman did with an executive order in 1948 that racially integrated the military. There is a question on military Entrance forms asking about sexual preference and virtually All applicants answer they Are not homosexual. A number of people have acknowledged their homosexuality on Entrance papers and have been accepted in spite of it. In some cases they have served for months or even years with promotions before finally being forced out just As the recruits Are who answer negatively on the forms and Are found to be homosexual later. For every Gay Soldier or Sailor who challenges the defense department there Are thousands who want Only to keep their sexual preference secret. Some shun Gay bars or organizations where they might be seen by investigators. Others keep telltale magazines or address books under lock and key. Some make a show of going to parties with heterosexual companions. Others display photos of imaginary mates or engage in sexual relationships with people of the opposite sex. I ended up letting Guys violate me use me to protect my secret said a Navy Reserve lieutenant who left Active duty because she could no longer stand pretending to be something i m  a generation ago such strategies were common throughout society among homosexuals who Felt compelled to hide whether they lived in Small towns or big cities. That changed in certain Urban areas with the Gay liberation movement which encourages Gay men and women to carve out their own communities and live openly in them. The most extreme form of secrecy is the contract marriage in which a Gay service member trades the family medical and financial benefits that go along with military service for the Protection from suspicion a spouse of the opposite sex provides. While there Are no formal statistics half a dozen of those interviewed were now or had been married under these terms most of them living separately from their Legal partners. I had to have some kind of cover said a former Petty officer at the Nas North Island in san Diego who obtained a divorce after she left Active duty. When the investigators called me in i said talk to my husband about it " a 25-year-old Petty officer on the guided missile Cruiser Long Beach shares an apartment with a Gay Lover but is shopping for a wife. I plan on doing it As soon As i find a girl who s willing he said. But a contract marriage can be risky As it was for Michael d. Patton a former Petty officer on the destroyer Hewitt who was turned in by his wife during a divorce Patton agreed to a discharge without a hearing he said because the Navy also threatened him with a fraud prosecution for taking $500 a month in spousal benefits until he was called before naval investigators last fall Patton subscribed to the widely held belief among homosexuals they will remain immune from investigation and discharge if their service records Are Good and their behaviour circumspect. Patton s father a former air Force Man who works for the National Security Agency told him what might happen but the Young Man did not heed the warning. I thought i could survive anywhere he said. I thought i could take the Navy by the reins and be a top  a vast majority of those interviewed had been interrogated at least once and what they described was nearly the same. They said those under suspicion of homosexuality suffer Bright lights in their eyes and Handcuffs on their wrists warnings their parents will be informed or their Hometown newspapers called threats their stripes will be torn off and they will be pushed through the Gates of the base before a jeering crowd. Further those who have been interrogated said they were told someone else had already identified them and so they might As Well talk. They said they were promised an easier time if they would also Supply investigators with information about others first names maybe or a tip about a certain ship with a Large Gay contingent. Several people who had children said they had been threatened with loss of custody. A few reported verbal and physical abuse. Pentagon spokesmen said they could not discuss 3tails of interrogations because personnel matters were Otec Ted information. But one department of defense official who spoke on a edition of anonymity said i m not denying a Good App bad cop scenario. Investigative procedures Are Vestiga Tive procedures. I m sure in some cases people Here yelling.". Pentagon data show lesbians Are discharged at a Luch greater rate than Gay men. The women interviewed Aid the extra vigilance directed at them was a result of 3x discrimination on top of homophobia. They want women out and this is an easy Way to do " said Barbara Baum one of three women sent to the Rig after a purge of lesbians at the Parris Island Marine corps base in South Carolina. She now lives in Florida id works for a landscape company. By and Large for men and women alike the youngest id Meek est seem to fare the worst in the interrogation process particularly if they fear exposure to their parents. They browbeat them scare them out of their wits Aid Woodward. Several of those interviewed had survived half a dozen terror actions by refusing to speak or challenging the evidence. Others said they had been advised by sympathetic commanding officers to deny everything and hang Tough Ven if investigators said they had pictures since often by were making empty threats. You can t let these people intimidate you said Roxanne Stetser a retired army sergeant and a lesbian to now has a civilian Job at the Marine recruitment depot san Diego. As Long As you Don t admit to anything she said hey can t do much but make your life miserable at times it seems the Pentagon goes to great a goths to continue an investigation. Maj. Hope gentle i of under investigation at fort Sheridan in Illinois described the army s Effort to find out if she was the i is Ian who had been interviewed behind a curtain on television talk show. On the advice of her lawyer gentle who has been in the army for More than 16 ars will not say if she was on the show or if she was i lesbian. I gentle who said she has seen her file said army investigators had interviewed officials at the Federal aviation administration to see if she had flown to new Ork on the Day in question and had also queried two airlines a limousine service and the staff at a hotel Here she was alleged to have stayed. The investigation of her is unusual officers Are not pursued with the same vigor As enlisted men and t Omen contended Many of those interviewed. They attributed this to officers Superior knowledge of their Igal rights. Supply and demand is also a Factor in investigations Trtany people said doctors for instance Are relatively protected because they Are hard to retain. Barred from military service homosexuals in the armed declined to hear an Appeal from James w. Woodward \ to Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday i orces Lead furtive lives. The supreme court was discharged from the Navy. Not i could make two or three times As much Money in the civilian world the army physician said so i can say go ahead and mess with me " Many of those discharged struggle to regain their equilibrium even if they Are later vindicated Baum court Martiale and sent to the Brig in 1988 after an investigation of 70 lesbians at Parris Island had her discharge upgraded to honorable by the Navy Marine corps court of military review because of two prejudiced jurors. But Baum turned in by a Lover who was a fellow Marine recruit said she had Zero Trust in other people and had made no friends in the 15 months since she was freed from jail. All of those discharged seemed most troubled the system does not Reward or even protect their talents once they Are labelled homosexual. Over and Over they brandished thick file folders of character witness forms gathered for their hearings that attested to leadership performance and Courtesy. Over and Over As if it would forever be in doubt they insisted they had been Good soldiers even Ben shalom after All these years wept As she described putting away her uniforms after the supreme court defeat ill never be Able to serve my country again she said. Ill never be Able to Salute the Flag like i used to the military says be All you can be All i Ever wanted to be was a Good Soldier. Is there anybody out there who can Tell me what i did wrongs a  us an a Toms 29,1990 j the stars and stripes Page 15