GayPatriot

The Internet home for American gay conservatives.

Dispatch from West Point

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Following my posting on Tuesday about a new study released by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, I received a very nice ‘thank you’ email from Steve Ralls, SLDN Director of Communications.

Steve made me aware of a week-long series of blog articles on SLDN’s website by gay graduates of the service academies. Steve thought readers of GayPatriot would be especially interested in Tuesday’s “Dispatch from West Point” submission. I have printed it below in its entirety. You can read other reflections of gay and lesbian servicemembers at SLDN’s blog.

07/26/2005 @ 08:47AM
Steve Ralls

Dispatch from West Point
Feedback continues from our series on gay academy grads. Over the weekend, I received an email from a cadet currently enrolled at West Point. For obvious reasons, we cannot reveal his name, but his story is a poignant reminder of what it’s like to be gay and serving our country:

I just stumbled upon the military academy blog on your website and have not felt such strong emotions in (such a long time) . . . While I realize that, numerically speaking, I am not alone at West Point, it is difficult to remember that when, standing at attention in a mess hall full of thousands, there is not one to whom I am not forced to lie.

A Cadet will not Lie, Cheat, Steal or Tolerate those who do. I really believe that, yet, I am forced to break the Honor Code I swear to uphold every single day in what I do, in what I don’t do, and in what I say.

I am currently home for three weeks . . . When I return, I will have to make my Commitment Oath which will mean that I no longer have the option of leaving the Academy or military service for the next seven years. People here, at home, ask me often if I think I will make a career out of service. My initial reaction, my gut feeling, it so answer with a resounding “Yes.”, to tell them that is why I went to the Academy, that is why I first joined the Army five years ago. I cannot do that, however, when I know that, as of now, I cannot even begin to take the first steps toward fufillment in a monogamous relationship. When other Cadets are getting engaged, lining up dates for 500th night and ring weekend, or discussing plans for the future, all I can see ahead is lonliness and lies.

I have three weeks. Three weeks to weigh my options, to decide what is more important to me, who I am as a person, or what I want to do with my life. The oportunities and life presented by my successful graduation at USMA are immense. Being a part of the Long Grey Line has been a dream of mine since I knew the Academy existed, but at what cost? What use is a career and professional happiness at the cost of a life not lived?

My father died (recently) and is burried in a national cemetary. I sometimes go and sit with him and wish I could ask him what he would do. My father, more than any, knew my reasons for joining the military and supported my decision even if the military wasn’t the life he had wanted for me, he knew sacrifice was part of the job. I do not, however, know if sacrificing ‘who one is’ is too much to sacrifice to protect the freedom of others.

-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Comments

  1. What is the logic of “Don’t ask, don’t tell?”

    Its meaning clearly communicates that gays and bisexuals can serve in the military – that we are as fit to wear the uniform as anyone. We give our lives to a “grateful” nation who calls us heroes along with all of our other fallen comrades. Yet, through the course of our lives we are forced by discrimination and hatred into the shadows or worse – into misery.

    What is our crime? Examine the policies set forth using sound ethical theories instead of religious doctrine and you will find that our lifestyle, which doesn’t infringe upon YOUR fundamental rights or YOUR happiness, is completely moral. On the other hand, the status quo, which does infringe upon both OUR fundamental rights and OUR happiness, is immoral.

    At the academy, we hear/heard almost daily, “Do the harder right, not the easier wrong.” Now the burden is on you, our leaders. You, who taught us about Army Values and the honor code have the power to make a change. Will you do the right thing?

    I have faith in America. The system is set so that the majority must inevitably accept us as equals and not as second-class citizens/soldiers. If you have inculcated the values that you preach and that we accept, then it is your hard duty to take action now by painstakingly righting this evil wrong.

    The current policy, unbeknowst to you, encourages discrimination and violence, and it’s destroying the lives of noble heroes and patriots. Society is changing inevitably to the right path. As for the Army, right now we have the structure, the discipline, and the ability but not the moral character to lead the way.

    I wish I could sign my name to this, but my service to this country is an honor and privelege that I will not sacrifice needlessly. Americans have invested a great deal of money and resources into my education, and I intend to repay them in kind by making the tough moral leadership decisions that will be placed on my shoulders.