Update: Letter from Baghdad: "I am good enough to serve in war, but not at peace?"
by Clarknt67
Fri May 14, 2010 at 09:56:27 AM PDT
Today's letter to the President about what life is like under the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy comes from active duty solider returning to Baghdad after his mid-depolyment break. He cannot be identified.He was outed by a third party and it was brought to his attention he was the target of a DADT investigation.
We’re working around the clock in Baghdad. My commander informed me that the Army cannot afford to lose me. I was told that they would prepare my discharge paperwork, “stick it in a Manila envelope, and keep it in a desk—for now.”So, now he's serving honestly, but not with ease of mind. I really can't imagine how it feels for this solider, shipping off to a war zone. Knowing he's risking his life for his country and also knowing, should he be lucky enough to survive, he will return, not to the hero's welcome his straight colleagues enjoy, but to a unceremonious—and thankless—discharge.
Today's Letter: "I’m left knowing just how little the Pentagon and the United States government think of me."
May 14, 2010Another heartbreaking story. This is actually not an anomaly but part of an observable pattern supported by mountains of empirical data, and reporting: discharges over the 17 years of DADT have waxed and waned according to staffing needs of our military entanglements. [See The Washington Post, 60 Minutes, Columbia University School of Journalism, Metro Source, The Advocate, The Palm Center, Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) Press Release.] The policy is clear: when times are tough, gays are good enough to serve. When we need to trim the payroll, gays are the first to find the door, and discharged without the courtesy of receiving a hero's thanks from the very country they served and sacrificed for. They are escorted out like criminals. From Major Mike Almy's letter to the President, April 26:
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to you from a kitchen in the state of Washington. The love of my life is in the other room. It has been eight months since I saw him last and I cherish every moment we spend together. Next week, my mid-tour leave will be over and I will return to Iraq and finish my second deployment. I don’t know when I’ll see my partner again.
When serving in a war zone, you learn quite a bit about yourself and what’s important to you. I’ve had the chance to work on a close and personal level with the people of Iraq, and in doing so, I have realized more than ever that the freedoms we enjoy as Americans should not be taken for granted – we must protect them at all costs. These freedoms are essential to the very foundation of our society. Yet so many men and women who fight for these freedoms aren’t allotted their own. Our freedom to love and be loved by whomever we choose. The freedom to live of a life of truth and dignity.
Recently I was informed that the military was investigating me for violating the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. Another service member had apparently “outed” me. At first I felt free: I didn’t have to lie anymore. But after that initial sense of relief, I’m left knowing just how little the Pentagon and the United States government think of me.
Mr. President, my unit is extremely undermanned. We’re working around the clock in Baghdad. My commander informed me that the Army cannot afford to lose me. I was told that they would prepare my discharge paperwork, “stick it in a Manila envelope, and keep it in a desk -- for now.”
One moment they wanted to throw me out and the next they are hiding evidence to keep me in.
My comrades now know that I am gay, and they do not treat me any differently. Work runs as smoothly as ever, and frankly the only difference I see -- besides my pending job loss -- is that I am free of the burden of having to constantly watch my words and ensure my lies are believable.
Having this out in the open makes things a bit less stressful. But it’s also clear the Army is only keeping me around until they are done with me. After I have served my two deployments -- and only a year shy of separating from the military honorably -- I suspect they will kick me to the street.
It’s bad enough that there is a law that denies tens of thousands of service members from serving with integrity, but it’s even worse when such a law is carried out with such inconsistency, without any warning of when it might come down.
If my suspicions are true, my discharge will move forward after my deployment. I am good enough to serve in war, but not at peace? I will never be at peace until this law is repealed – and neither will my partner. In fact, he won’t even be informed if I am killed in action. That might be the hardest part for us both.
Mr. President, when you took office I remember watching your inauguration knowing that history was being made. I remember feeling like this weight was being lifted off of my shoulders. I truly believed in you, and I still do.
But, Mr. President, please keep your promise to me.
Please do everything in your power to help Congress repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year. Our government called upon us to fight for our country. So many of us answered the call; we did not delay. We were sent world’s away to defend your freedoms. Mr. President, won’t you fight for mine?
With deep respect,
A soldier returning to Baghdad
(The writer is currently serving and unable to identify himself publicly.)
But instead, after 16 months, I was given a police escort off the base as if I were a common criminal or a threat to national security. The severance pay I received was half of what it would have been had I been separated for any other reason.It is a discriminatory application of a discriminatory law.
The part that really hurts me, is the thought that our government treats people this way. I used to feel so proud to be an American. I remember standing in grade school and citing the Pledge of Allegiance. I remember watching "Schoolhouse Rock" on Saturday mornings as a child, and getting so wrapped up in the patriotic messages of the American ideals they presented our country as having been built upon.
It's a fraud, though. There is no equality under the law, there is no equal justice. There are men and women who are welcomed home from war as heros.
And there are the men and women whose thanks are delivered by a boot to the ass, the minute they are needed no more. There are soldiers who are heros, and there are soldiers who are just cannon fodder, just filler, not worthy of real appreciation or reward. Why are we allowing this to continue for another day, let alone, year after year after year?
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To raise awareness to the need for Presidential leadership, DADT repeal activists have launched “Stories from the Frontlines:Letters to President Barack Obama.”The new media campaign launched in partnership with Servicemember's Legal Defense Network,is intended to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).
Every weekday morning as we approach the markup of the Defense Authorization bill in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, SLDN and a coalition of voices supporting repeal, will share an open letter to the President from a person impacted by this discriminatory law. We are urging the President to include repeal in the Administration’s defense budget recommendations, but also to voice his support as we work to muster the 15 critical votes needed on the Senate Armed Services Committee to include repeal. The Defense Authorization bill represents the best legislative vehicle to bring repeal to the president’s desk. It also was the same vehicle used to pass DADT in 1993. By working together, we can help build momentum to get the votes! We ask that you forward and post these personal stories.
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