European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 22, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Gays in the military continued from Page 8 dancing singing and humor. Quot a lot of the Guys just think in a this International stud because All the girls just flock to me. Because i m me. I m very outgoing a he said. Its not an act Gregory genuinely likes people. He just prefers men sexually. As he puts it the Only difference Between him and heterosexuals is that when he is with a Lover Quot your door May be open but my door is Gregory 23, is married. His wife a lesbian lives with her Lover in their House in Central California. He and his wife plan to have children some Day but until then sex is out of the question. He said they love each other As Best friends. Quot we be never consummated the marriage Quot he said. Quot she s never been with a greg6ry said he in t that concerned about being investigated. He does not keep photographs or Gay paraphernalia in his Barracks room. And just in Case he has an Ace up his Blue sleeve. Quot i have a girl who la swear she slept with me every night this week Quot Gregory said smiling. Chuck the former airman said a wedding ring goes a Long Way in deflecting suspicion in the military. He came close to marrying a woman who also was homosexual. Quot All around it seemed like a Good Deal until it came around to actually doing it Quot he said. Quot but lots of people in the military get married just to cover not All Gays in uniform go to such lengths. Steve a 21-year-old texan who joined the army last year said he would admit his bisexuality if asked. Quot i m proud of what i am. There s nothing to hide Quot Steve said. That attitude is not Likely to keep him in uniform for Long. His candid approach poses risks for him and his friends. His two closest buddies de and Marty said they Are trying to teach Steve a few things. Quot we have to educate him about the military about How to act Quot said Marty a 22-year-old air Force clerk who is Gay. Quot he can to let it show the Way he wants to hell get busted for de 23, said he Learned about that the hard Way i i be been Gay All my life. I m not sick i m not diseased. I m Gay.1 a Steve a Soldier troubled about living a lie he once talked about his homosexuality with a heterosexual Friend whom he thought he could Trust. Later however he was confronted by his first sergeant. De denied the accusation and the matter was dropped. Quot sometimes you think you can Tell someone who can keep a secret. Its like a problem and you want to share it with someone Quot said de an army Supply specialist. Being in the military does have its advantages for Gay relationships de said. Mandatory testing makes aids much less of a concern he said. Quot you know that everyone in uniform is tested for it and it they come up positive be out. So i done to worry about it As much As i might if i was a civilian quoted said. Marty is More cautious. Quot Safe sex is the Botto the Marina com to no embraced this aids prevention and from Tho san Francisco aids foundation. The Marina Emblem i tattooed on Ona of tha Man s arms. Line Quot he said Quot i Don t care when or with whom Safe sex a an army administrative specialist who declined to give her name because she said she is a lesbian spoke to the stars and stripes at a Gay club where dozens of american service members were hanging out. She said that because the military has historically been so male oriented women Are immediately categorized once they of a unit. Quot those Are the things they assume of a girl in the army Quot she said. Quot you either sleep around with the Guys or you re a Dyke. And if you Don t fit into either they la put you in that a True even in the officer ranks where single men Are Quot bachelors Quot and single women Are Quot suspect Quot said Meg the former army company commander who is a civilian administrative supervisor and Active Reserve officer in Central Germany. Quot women Are scrutinized a lot More in the military than men Are. Everyone is interested in their personal lives Quot she said. Meg said she was considered by Peers to be one of the top captains in her unit and was encouraged to seek command of a unit. But in an interview with her battalion commander she said she met resistance. Quot he talked about my work and How Good it was Quot she said of that interview. Quot then he said there s something about you i just Don t know about Quot although Meg pressed him to be More specific she said he would not Budge. Quot there s no doubt in my mind that he thought i was Gay Quot she said. Quot he was a very religious Man and to would not want someone who was Gay As one of his that commander did arrange for another interview at a different brigade where she was Given her command but the perceived discrimination always bothered her. Quot i was really disappointed Quot she said. Quot i knew out of the captains he had i was Way above them in terms of performance and during her two years As a company commander Meg said the Issue of homosexuality never came up although she suspected several of her soldiers. It s the stupidest reason to kick someone out of the military. You be got people in the military beating children getting drunk and driving and doing drugs. Those Are crimes. Is it a crime being Gay a Gregory an air Force clerk Quot i was very Happy that they were very discreet and nobody raised any issues. I would t have wanted to have dealt with it a she said. Had one of the soldiers been reported however Meg said she would have followed army policy and initiated an investigation. Quot those Are Tho rules Quot she said. Despite espousing that company line Meg was breaking the rules herself by being a lesbian. But she feels strongly that her sexual orientation is not by Choice but something she was bom with. Meg remembers the agony of lying every four years when she took a physical examination and had to face that question of whether she had engaged in homosexual activities. She always filled in Quot you justify it to yourself that its not fair that you re asked that Meg said. Homosexuals said they join the military for the same reasons As All recruits. For the College tuition benefits. For the travel for a Job. For an escape from Home. De said that for him it also was a misdirected attempt to escape his homosexuality. He thought that continued on Page 10 sunday november 22, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 9
