COUNTDOWN TO REPEAL

The Five New Faces That Emerged At The Dawn Of The DADT Repeal


With today’s historic “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” repeal, many new military faces have come fresh out of the closet and back onto the battlefields. In fact OutServe has featured 101 faces of LGB servicemembers who can now serve openly without fear of discharge. But we’d like to celebrate some of the newer gay and lesbian faces that emerged over the last couple years in the media. They don’t represent all or even the most influential faces people who helped repeal DADT, but their stories about life in the military closet helped raise awareness about the anti-gay policy through frequent appearances on TV and in print—something worth well commending.

Victor Fehrenbach

A decorated Iraqi vet Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who served for 20 years, Fehrenbach got thrust into the national DADT spotlight when he outed himself to counter a baseless rape charge. His high-ranking, clean cut good looks, and well-publicized lawsuit against the military made him a perfect poster boy for how the gay ban hurts our military and dishonors our veterans. Plus—happy ending—he got to retire from service with his full rank and benefits.

 

 

Katherine Miller

Former West Point cadet Katherine Miller decided to quit the famous military academy just before the start of her junior year, a year during which she would have to agree to two more years at West Point and five years of military service. Signing on would have required she keep her lesbian identity a secret, something she felt violated West Point’s honor code and bothered her deeply amid her fellow cadet’s anti-gay slurs. Though she got accepted into Yale, she missed West Point’s camaraderie and re-applied to the school late last year. They rejected her because the DADT repeal had not yet occurred, but in the meantime her story ended up on The Rachel Maddow Show and in the minds of Americans everywhere.

Dan Choi

You didn’t think we could have a list of DADT warriors without including this firebrand, did you? Yes, Choi has a definite flair for the dramatic, but ever since he came out with 37 other West Point graduates in March 2009 and got subsequently discharged for it, Choi has provided a consistent, eloquent, and spirited attack against DADT’s hypocrisy to rival the Human Rights Campaign‘s best. The wear and tear from his activism caused him to suffer a brief mental breakdown, but the young civil rights hero continues battling the White House on matters of free speech and for gay rights worldwide.

JD Smith

You have probably never heard of Air Force First Lieutenant Josh Seefried before today. That’s because before today he was better known JD Smith, the unidentified co-founder of OutServe. Since its launch on July 26 2010, OutServe has provided a voice for LGBT servicemembers silenced by the military’s gay ban. JD Smith talked to Rachel Maddow as a silhouette on her show and he has written much about the indignities of serving in the military closet. But he could never reveal his true identity before today for fear of being discharged himself. With today’s DADT repeal he finally came out and can take great pride in the fact that his organization now has 42 regional chapters with over 4,300 members.

Randy Phillips

Using the pseudonym “AreYouSuprised, Randy Phillips discussed his experience being gay in the military on YouTube and Twitter, while hiding his face from the camera. After the repeal of DADT took effect, he revealed himself and came out to his dad (and the entire world) on YouTube.

Before breaking the news to his pop, the young soldier asks him, “Hey, can I tell you something? Will you love me? Serious. Like, you’ll always love me as long as I’m a…?” And the entire time his father answers “yes, yes.” Yet, despite his dad’s reassurances, the young soldier looks away from his father’s voice with his brow furled in worry. Just goes to show, that no matter how tough or brave our military members are, they still need the support of the people they love.

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