Gay navy men

With humour and vibrancy, it shows what gay recruits in the armed forces have endured. You want to talk, we can talk later. Veterans from all over have attended the town halls, including sailors from USS Constitution.

8 LGBT Service Members : S

We took that oath. Did we serve in silence? Learn about the gayest branch of the military and other relevant information like LGBTQ+ representation in each branch of the military. At that time, DADT was still in effect in the military, but marriage equality had been legally recognized in Massachusetts since While ships out in the fleet have crews of hundreds or thousands of sailors, USS Constitution is a small, diverse unit of around 70 sailors.

But we still served. At the state level, Santiago is working with fellow Veteran Service Officers to align the Massachusetts state benefits with VA guidelines. Just recognize him in a very formal way outside of love. And who we love is an extension of us and of who we are and gay navy men brought us to where we are at that particular time, whether in service or out of service.

But I still put my career on the line because I still had a month on my contract. But I just decided that I needed to just be myself from that point on. Brooklyn native Robert Santiago joined the U. But it was tough. And I did. It was very important for me to do so.

Some sailors are fresh out of bootcamp, some are returning from the fleet, and some, like Santiago, are nearing retirement and reintegration into the civilian community. Though Santiago had to conceal part of his identity while in the Navy, he successfully completed his first tour and began his second duty station in Belgium.

We finished our careers after 20 years with honor and distinction and sacrifice. Two words seem to define the history of gay people in the US military: service and secrecy. Among his many other duties, Santiago now works with veterans from all branches of the military who were discharged for being gay and refused veteran benefits.

As a petty officer, he also took on a leadership role in mentoring junior sailors on Constitution. Sexual orientation in the United States military The United States military formerly excluded gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians from service.

Beginning in World War II, the military instituted an outright ban on homosexual service members. He understood that the military often mirrors what happens in the civilian community, but sometimes the military is ahead of the civilian community.

Not just for ourselves, but for everybody to hear them.

Top 5 Gayest Branch : Why is the Navy Gay? The question "Why is the Navy Gay?" may seem puzzling to some, but the answer lies in the history, culture, and demographics of the naval forces

It could be incompatible with military service, it could be bad conduct due to whatever. But, he also knew he had the support of Commander Bullard.

In his experience, adherence to DADT depended on the individual commanding officers. It was important that you were able to continue the mission of the ship, to be able to represent the Constitutionto be able to represent the Navy in the way that you were selected to do so.