An Army of 1 in 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE INTERNET — Feb. 15 2007 – An anonymous blogger known only as “Anonymous Soldier” today launched a new website, Serving in Unsilence. Serving in Unsilence™ is a free service aimed at the LGBT Service Member community in an effort to raise awareness of the many thousands of sexual minority Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines serving honorably and in silence in defense of their country.
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At 0100 CET, Project: Unsilence will officially launch with the posting of a press release on this site.

This new site has been under development for a month, with me devoting every spare minute I have to working on it. I’m quite pleased with how it’s turned out, and I expect that it’ll become quite significant. As I’ve already stated, this will be a community website for LGBT Service Members where they can voice their opinions on an infinite number of subjects. How exactly it will accomplish this will remain undisclosed until the press release is posted.

A few lucky people have already seen the site, so I ask them not to say anything about it yet. Once the site is launched, I ask that if you maintain a blog or a website, to please link to the press release and the new website. Spread the word! If you have access to AKO, NKO, or the Air Force Portal and you’re not subject to DADT, then please post the link the new site in the forums on those services so that LGBT Service Members will know about it.

Help me make this a major site and contribute to repealing 10 USC 654.

The other day, I received an email from Corrie Zielinski from the Military Channel (a Discovery Channel property) asking for video submissions from military personnel for a “new initiative” which will air in mid-February. If anyone is interested, I’m including the information below. Remember, if you’re subject to DADT, you might want to consider very carefully the possible ramifications of submitting a video. Also, if you do contribute, keep OPSEC in mind when you’re making your video.

The Military Channel is seeking personal videos from members of the U.S. Military to let soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines tell their story directly to viewers.
Real-life moments captured on film by service members will be broadcast on the Military Channel as part of a new on-air programming initiative. Servicemen and women anywhere in the world who brought a camcorder with them on a recent deployment, or those who currently have a camera with them on the frontlines, can submit their videos directly to the Military Channel.

Additional information is available from a recent DOD release: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2762

As well as a recent piece that aired on the Pentagon Channel: http://www.media-file.net/discovery/militarychannel/

We appreciate your support by passing along this message to fellow members of the military, friends and colleagues. With your help, the Military Channel can continue to be a voice for the troops

Personal videos can be submitted online at www.mywardiary.com, or mailed to the address below. Or email mywardiary@discovery.com for more information.

Mailing Address

MILITARY VIDEOS
Discovery Productions
8045 Kennett Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910

The Military Channel is owned and operated by Discovery Communications, Inc. More information about Discovery and its businesses can be found at www.discovery.com.

Several days ago, I announced that I have a new project in the works. I have been working many hours in my free time since then to get it ready.

It’s not ready yet, but I do have the back-end nearly complete and I’ve begun work on the front-end. I’ve also enlisted the assistance of a friend of mine for some custom design work. I’m still not going to say what the project is — other than it’s a new website, but it’s shaping up to have the potential to be big.

My planned launch date for it is 15 Feb 07. That’s when I will post the announcement and the link to the site. Additionally, a representative from a certain organization (will remain unnamed until the launch date) has accepted my request to help with announcing the launch … as well as offering additional help. An Army of 1 in 10 isn’t going anywhere, but it will become part of a larger force in the fight for equality in the U.S. Military.

Stay tuned for more details!

Someone left a comment the other day on one of my posts and left a link that I found very interesting. It’s the story of how the United States Navy sought straight sailors to volunteer for a mission that involved having gay sex, documenting it, then using that information to out their fellow sailors and ruin their lives and careers. I read that and couldn’t help noting how times have changed since then and today, when we’re on the verge of opening the military to openly gay service.

When Straight Guys Go Gay

I found this image somewhere, and though I’m sure it’s already been seen a million times, I found it amusing enough to share with you guys. Still, it does put the ridiculous arguments against lifting the ban into another perspective.

Every year at this time, the nation honors the brave men and women who have placed their lives on the line or given their lives to defend our great nation. This holiday began as Armistice Day, observed by several countries to remember the end of the Great War, but soon evolved into its present form here in the United States. While I absolutely do not wish to diminish the sacrifices my forebears made, today I would like to use the day to recognize a few vets who were caught up in the gears of the military’s anti-gay stance.

Jeff Howe¹
Specialist Jeff Howe joined the Army at the age of 29 after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and a lot of thought. Deciding that he could sacrifice being out of the closet in order to serve his country, he enlisted and went to basic training at Fort Sill. After his training was complete, he PCS’d to Fort Riley where he found out that his unit was deploying to Iraq in only three days. He served there until the spring of 2004, and then returned to Fort Riley. As he was preparing to ETS, he was stop-lossed and was redeployed to Iraq.

After arriving back in Iraq, he began blogging about his experiences in that country with the approval and encouragement from his company commander. The fateful day came that July when a convoy was attacked by enemy RPG’s and his commander instructed him to post photos of the attack on his blog. However, the brigade commander ordered the photos and blog removed when he found out about them. He even went further and ordered a 15-6 investigation to find out whether or not SPC Howe had any ties to terrorists. It was during the course of this investigation that it was discovered that he had a profile on a gay site (I’m assuming Gay.com). SPC Howe was then immediately processed for separation from the U.S. Army.

Austin Rook¹
Captain Austin Rooke is another Iraq vet who is no longer in the military because of DADT. The difference between him and SPC Howe, is that he chose to leave the Army after his service obligation ended. CPT Rooke was an intelligence officer who didn’t experience as much homophobia as many other Soldiers until he deployed to Qatar. When he arrived, he was in for a bit of some culture shock: as an intelligence officer, he was able to enjoy a lack of ignorance in his branch and even engage in conversations on gays in the military; in Qatar, things were vastly different. His brigade commander was a homophobe, he didn’t have a support structure that he could turn to, and was far from home in a war zone.

“Homophobia is part of the culture—and it’s part of the culture because it’s the law,” he says. It was due to this rampant homophobia in the unit he was assigned to that he really had to keep his orientation a secret in order to ensure his safety.

Barry Winchell²
Private First Class Barry Winchell is more well-known than SPC Howe and CPT Rooke. That’s because he was brutally slain by two members of his platoon at Fort Campbell in the early morning of 5 Jul 99. While he wasn’t necessarily gay, he was perceived to be due to his relationship with Calpernia Addams, a MtF showgirl he met at a club. Interestingly enough, it was his roommate, Specialist Justin Fisher who took him to the club in the first place.

Several months after PFC Winchell and Calpernia began dating, SPC Fisher and another buddy, Private Calvin Glover attacked Winchell as he slept in his bed with baseball bats. PFC Winchell died of blunt force trauma and massive internal injuries the next day. PVT Glover is currently serving a life sentence, but Fisher has recently been released from prison.

Allen Schindler³
Radioman Third Class Allen Schindler was a sailor assigned to the USS Belleau Wood in 1992. Like PFC Winchell after him, ET3 Schindler was brutally murdered by two fellow sailors. Terry Helvey and Charles Vins attacked him in a public restroom in Sasebo, Japan and beat and stomped him to death. The attack was so brutal that they destroyed every internal organ in Schindler’s body, and the only way he could be identified was through tattoos on his arms. The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy stated that the injuries were similar to those caused by an airplane crash or a high-speed car accident. ET3 Schindler’s penis bore cut marks, all but two of his ribs were broken, and his liver even had holes large enough to see through.

During the interrogation, Helvey stated that he hated homosexuals and that he was disgusted by them. A part of that statement also included the following words: I don’t regret it. I’d do it again. … He deserved it.

Sources:
¹ Jeff Howe and Austin Rooke

² Wikipedia SLDN

³ Allen Schindler Memorial

A few moments ago, I received this email from a student asking for some help with her debate topic:

Hello,
My name is Caitlin and I a high school debater. This year the national topic is “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should establish a policy to substantially incresase the number of persons serving in one or more of the following areas: Americorps, Citizen Corps, Peace Corp, Senior Corp, Learn and Serve America, and the Armed Forces.” My debate partner and I have decided to make a plan that would pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, and therefore get rid of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Policy and increase the number of persons serving in the Military (a sect of the Armed Forces). During my research process I ran across your web site, and was wondering if you could give us a personal quote or opinion about DADT, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, or personally how it has affected you having to remain silent about being a homosexual. This would be considered as a primary source, and give us convincing appeal to pathos argument. Anything you sen d would be greatly be appreciated.

Thank you for serving our country-
Caitlin

I’ve already sent her a reply, but if anyone has anything else to add, please post it here so that she can get more information to help her and her partner succeed in the debate.

With the recent report that the military is stepping up its monitoring of service members’ blogs in order to protect itself against OPSEC violations, SLDN would like to direct LGBT service members to its online safety guidelines on Gay.com.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. Navy seaman missing in action from the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified and will soon be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Read more… (Defense Link)