European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 22, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Gays in the military 77i# two faces of Joseph Steffen at left he sings the National Anthem at the annual army Navy football game while a senior at the . Naval Academy. Now he s standing up for Gay rights in the armed services. Gay takes on establishment after his ouster from Annapolis by Timothy Cahill new York Bureau Joseph Steffan jokes that if he were applying for a passport today head have to put the word Quot Gay Quot in the space where they ask for occupation. That show serious his crusade against the military a ban on homosexuals has become. There was a time in Steffanus life when everything seemed to be in his favor. He was about to graduate As a successful senior midshipman at the . Naval Academy in Annapolis md., and was to begin training for an officers commission aboard a nuclear submarine. He was respected and Well liked by his Peers and his superiors. He was even a bit of a celebrity having twice Sung the National Anthem at the annual army Navy football game. Then faster than Steffan could have predicted All that collapsed. In april 1987, the Navy forced him to resign from the naval Academy just six weeks before graduation. People Steffan thought were his friends turned on him and celebrity soured into notoriety. What Steffan did to sink so fast was Tell the truth about his homosexuality. Now a Law student at the University of Connecticut Steffanus defining fact remains his discharge from the armed services. Since 1989, when he decided to sue the defense department the separation has taken much of his time. Two years ago Steffan began writing a Book about his experience compelling him to relive every event leading up to and surrounding the admission of his sexual orientation. Now that the Book Honor bound has been published Steffan has become something of a professional Gay activist. He joked about the passport application As he acknowledged the irony of the past four years a that his focus has been on an aspect of his life he claims should not be focused on at All. Quot its really nobody a business especially not the governments Quot Steffan insisted. Quot i can show that being Gay does no to affect my to do that Steffan has to fight a Legal Battle with the biggest City Hall in the country the . Government. Here More irony enters the picture. Because if the defense department thought it could push Steffan around it found out differently. The naval Academy trained Joe Steffan Well. It is easy to see Why before his homosexuality became an Issue his officers commended his Superior leadership skills. Even when he was a teen Ager in the Prairie town of Warren minn., Steffan was an overachiever. Track Star choir member salutatorian of his graduating class he was termed the Quot Ideal candidate Quot by the naval Academy. At the time he applied to Annapolis Steffan said he did not recognize his homosexuality. This is not unusual. A Pentagon report on homosexuals prepared by the personnel Security research and education Center noted that a the median age of coming out or fully realizing one s homosexuality. Is approximately 19 or 20.&Quot his freshman year at Annapolis gave Steffan More a a. A it s really nobody s business especially not the government s. I can show that being Gay does t affect my performance a Joseph Stefan than enough activity to redirect his mind. Quot the first year is so remarkably oppressive Quot Steffan explained Quot you go into a Mode of moment to moment he soon began to distinguish himself As the Ideal Cadet. His pure Tenor voice allowed him As a Sophomore to sing at the army Navy game. He Sang there again two years later. In his senior year his combination of academic and leadership strengths earned him the rank of battalion commander in direct command of 4,500 Junior midshipmen. He was one of the 10 highest ranking cadets in his class when the Academy Learned he was Gay. It took Steffan Well into his second year to admit his homosexuality to himself. Quot no one wanted to be Gay less than i did Quot he wrote in the Book. Quot everything in my life. Was opposed to accepting my sexuality his turmoil was increased by the aggressively Macho atmosphere at the Academy where he said Quot fag jokes Quot Are encouraged and by the sure knowledge that to would be expelled if he were discovered. He masqueraded himself jumped through Quot heterosexual hoops Quot As he put it to remain undetected slowly though he accepted who he was and during his senior year decided to confide in two straight friends perhaps to see if they would accept him. One evidently did not and betrayed Steffan s Trust by exposing him to Academy investigators. When confronted with the charge and asked if he were Gay Steffan obeyed the Annapolis Honor code and told the a week Steffan was out of the Academy. He is seeking to overrule the homosexual ban to be awarded his diploma and to be reinstated in the Navy. He is practice at responding to the question of Why. After All he a been through he wants Back in the military. Quot i went to the naval Academy for a reason Quot he stated his Blue eyes Calm and full of resolve. Quot i wanted to serve my country. My Basic desire to see a is still there Quot last december Steffan lost his suit in Federal court in Washington and immediately filed an Appeal. During the trial Steffan withstood repeated attempts by the government to compel him to testify about his sexual conduct White at Annapolis. Since any admission of homosexual activity could constitute a violation of the uniform code of military Justice Steffan s lawyers successfully fought off the strategy. To this Day Steffan will say nothing about life in the Annapolis Gay underground. Quot i want to show by example the irrelevance of someone a private life of their sox life not being a component of them being Able to do their As for the defense department s reason for the ban a that homosexuals undermine Quot discipline Good order and morale Quot Steffan insisted that the rationale serves Only to Quot acknowledge the Public s prejudice and do nothing about he said the world War ii segregation of Black service members struck a similar note. Quot the wording of the negro policy a that s what it was called a was that integration would Creato disruptive and undermining conditions a Quot Steffan said. Quot but the reality is that when the order came Down the integration was quite rapid. Quot if there a one thing that people in the military do and do Well its take orders a he said. Quot if the military is truly serious about changing the policy the changeover will be even More Steffan estimated that the Federal government has spent nearly $1.25 million Quot to keep me from fulfilling my service his Case has Beer stalled in Appeal for nearly a year though he believes Tho Promise by president elect Clinton to reverse the policy would effectively make Steffan s Appeal moot. Since Tho september publication of his Book Steffan has spent a lot of time on the Road doing Media interviews and lecturing he admitted that he now occasionally grows tired of answering the same questions about Quot Joe Steffan a Gay now in his second year of Law school the 28-year-old Steffan is Quot on track to a new path in life Quot Quot in my mind Clinton selection really does represent a kind of closure Quot Fie said Quot not Only for me but also for the nevertheless Steffan is careful not to declare Victory too soon not until the regulation is changed. Quot i say to myself we re close How much longer can i continue to do this a and the answer is ultimately a Little while longer Quot sunday november 22, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 11
