Harassment Of Homosexuals In The Military

[infinitelord1]

Since I have been in the Army I have been recieving harassment by my comrades for their suspicions of me being gay. It got really bad when i got to my first duty station here at (specific location edited) Korea. I finally launched an attack on the US Army by writing a distress letter to a United States Senator. The following are some letters that were exchanged between me and the US Army via Sen. S.... (this story is much bigger than what the letters reveal and I will cover that later in this thread)....

Dear Congressman/Congresswoman,



I am an American Soldier. About a year ago and a half ago, I received, what I believed to be, a message from God telling me to join the army. Now I am questioning whether or not it really was of God. I have been in the army for a year now. My training was long (for my job) and I finally made it to my first unit about 3 months ago. Things were OK for the most part until I reached my unit. I have been suffering from depression for a very long time now so I don’t really talk much. When I first got to my unit people gave me a chance. Now I am alienated from everybody. It all started shortly after I got to my unit. Certain people started to think that I was gay because I never talk about girls. How do I know this? Because I would hear them talking to other people about it when they thought I wasn’t around. Also people started making comments that were very indirect about the issue and they would look at each other trying not to laugh. I would ask them, “what is so funny” the average response would be “nothing” then they would just shake their head. I sensed that this idea spread like wildfire amongst them since they would all give me dirty looks and started to alienate me. Eventually it got to the point where quite a few of them would say the word fag as I would walk by or I would hear them say “I heard that guy was gay” or even “yeah that guy is gay“. The surprising thing is a colonel was even associated with this behavior. I was giving him a brief one day, and out of nowhere he made a comment. His comment was “I am assuming you are straight….some people aren’t though”. This man was (name edited). His comment was really out of the blue and he had no initial purpose for saying it. Other than he just wanted to say it. After my brief he attended a brief with all the higher ranking people in my company. I heard from a few people that they talked about me a lot in the brief but nobody knew what it was about. The point is, I get this kind of behavior a lot not just from colonels but from common soldiers as well. For example, I was around a group of guys at an award ceremony for a departing soldier. He had an plaque with a tomahawk in it. I made a comment that I liked his plaque because the tomahawk was cool looking. One of the sergeants that was present, looked at everybody with a smirk on his face and said “tomahawks are gay”. They all looked at each other with smiles on their faces. I want to reiterate, this behavior is portrayed consistently by many people. Now I would like to list a some people that I feel need to be called on this issue….(names removed) my roommate came to me in my room one day saying that somebody told him that I was gay. Ever since then he’s called me fag and makes comments like “that boy is gay” right in front of me when we are around other people. The fact that he said somebody told him I was gay is just more evidence of what is going on here.

This behavior is nothing but humiliating and destructive. It violates the don’t ask don’t tell policy. I never would have thought I would have to deal with this, but that is what I am forced to do. I really don’t know who I can trust. I do, however, trust that getting this to a member of congress will certainly make a difference. I am aware that you outrank any of the service members. I will be sending this to various different congress members in order to get a response as quickly as possible. My name is PV2 O. of the (edit) Battalion, Korea. I am looking for a congress member to back me up here. A quick response would greatly be appreciated.


Sincerely,

PV2 O.








July 16, 2007
Dear O.:
Senator S. received two letters over the weekend from the US Army regarding her inquiry on your behalf. I have transcribed the contents below and mailed copies to your Columbiaville address.
The first letter is dated July 9, 2007:
“Dear Senator S:
I am in receipt of your letter dated July 3, 2007 concerning PFC O. I have appointed an investigating officer to conduct an inquiry into the allegations made by PFC O. I anticipate that the investigation will be completed within five working days.
This command is committed to ensuring a safe and harassment-free working environment for every Soldier assigned to the (specifics removed) Battalion. I will investigate this matter thoroughly and forward a copy of the investigation to your office upon completion.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
(name edited)
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army
Commanding”
The second letter is dated July 14, 2007:
“Dear Senator S:
This responds to your letter of July 3, 2007, on behalf of Private First-Class O., (specifics edited) Battalion, concerning harassment from his peers and members of his chain of command.
Per my earlier correspondence, I initiated an investigation into the allegations set forth in Private First-Class O.’s email to you. The investigating officer interviewed ten Soldiers during the investigation including Private First-Class O., his company commander, the company executive officer, his platoon sergeant, and other Soldiers in (his Company). Sworn statements were provided by all interviewees except for Private First-Class O. who did not wish to provide a written statement.
The investigating officer found that the harassment alleged by Private First-Class O. is rooted in adolescent hostility between himself and his previous roommate. It appears that cultural differences and tension that arises in close living quarters led to the use of slang and derogatory language between the two roommates. There is, however, no evidence to support Private First-Class O.’s allegations that other members of his company or his chain of command engaged in similar harassing behavior. Indeed, Private First-Class O. stated to the investigating officer that he may have misinterpreted or misunderstood comments made by the personnel he detailed in his letter to your office.
In order to address the concerns set forth in Private First-Class O.’s email, I have taken the following steps. First, Private First-Class O. was given, and accepted, the opportunity to move to a different company of his choice July 11, 2007. He was also assigned separate living quarters to allay any concerns for his safety. Secondly, all Soldiers within the Battalion will receive additional training on the Army’s equal opportunity policy, prevention of sexual harassment, and homosexual conduct policy on July 24, 2007.
Thank you for your interest in this matter.
Sincerely,
(name edited)
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army
Commanding”
Please review your Commander’s correspondence. You may offer a rebuttal statement should you choose to disagree with the statements or conclusions as defined by the Lt. Col. A copy of your rebuttal would be returned to the Army by Senator S. requesting additional investigation if warranted. Otherwise, do not hesitate to contact the Senator or any of her staff on another federal issue in the future.
We wish you the best in your continued career serving our country.








Dear (senator's assistant),

There seems to have been a miscommunication between the investigating officer and the battalion commmander (name edited). When first asked by the investigating officer if I felt that they meant these things in this context I said "yes". The investigating officer, said that none of these people admitted to any allegations. I later asked her if any of them seemed suspicious. She said "yes" some did and some didnt. She also added that some were shocked at these allegations. She seemed like she wanted to persuade me into believing that CPT (name edited) didnt mean this in this context (although I felt he did). I am thinking that CPT (name edited), who used to be the commander of Charlie company, is on good terms with CPT (name edited). She did not reveal whether or not they were friends nor that she didnt want this to happen. I did hear her say though "go after the others". But I sensed that they are friends because she seemed to defend CPT (name edited). Never once did I admit that these allegations were rooted in a bad relationship with my old roommate. My old roommate is the arrogant type of person who thinks he can say and do whatever he wants and get away with it. Proof, in my mind, lies within the statements that he and a few others have made in regards to the context in which the words fag, qwerty, gay etc. have been used towards me or around me.

I did not fill out the statement because I did not wish that these people be seperated from the army nor lose rank as stated in my initial statement to the army. CPT (name edited) stated that I had no say in their punishment and these things could happen. She also mentioned that I had the option of seeking legal advice. I told her I wasn't going to fill it out and that I was going to contact you to withdraw my congressional. Well, I started to think about things, like possible retalliation, the army might see me as a liablity and continue to try to push me out (my opinion is that this is what this is all about anyways), safety (since this can never be completely guaranteed), and maybe they will find other ways to give me a hard time (people in general). So thats when I decided that I should probably seek legal assistance. The next morning, around 0900, I contacted CPT (name edited), and told her I needed to speak with her. She was in the Company motor pool getting equipment ready to be transfered. She told me that she would try getting back with me at a better time. Well, coincidentally, when I got with one of my platoon sergeants, and asked him what needed to be done, he told me to go help out with the detail at Bravo Company. So I went over there, and around 1100 me and CPT (name edited) had our conversation. I told her at that point that I was going to seek legal assistance. She asked me "why?" and I told her that I didnt want to really talk about it. Keep in mind that the day before she said I had that option. I will say that I did not express it then, and that I did tell her that I was going to withdraw my congressional (which I didnt do) I informed you that I was going to seek legal assistance instead. Like I said, I started to think about it more since I had more alone time to do that.

I, PFC O., give Senator S. permission to submit this statement upon my behalf.


Sincerely,

PFC O.

Edited August 29, 2007 by IcePrincessKRS
Names and specific locations removed

[infinitelord1]

My first statement was not the statement that was submitted to the Army via Sen. S. Senator S. replied to me via her staff assistant, asking for more specifics in regards to the harassment I was recieving. The statement that was submitted to the Army included quotes by those people mentioned in the initial statement.

I would also like to add that the initial letter which was addressed "dear congressmen/congresswoman" was dispersed to at least 5 different Senators. I sent this letter to Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Senator S., and 2 republican Senators from the state of Texas. Both Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton replied to my letter, however they said that I was outside of their jurisdiction since I did not live in their state. The 2 republican senators never replied to my letter. I informed Senator S.'s assistant that I was suspicious that everyone knew what was going on before I even got in contact with her (it took a few weeks before we started communicating about my concerns). There is really no way of telling but I think that its very possible that one, if not both, of these republican senators may have informed the Army about my letter without me knowing. Between the time period of me sending the letter and me getting in contact with this staff assistant....some suspicious activity took place... I caught a comrade of mine, in my room without anybody else being in there...I yelled at him for it and he insisted that he was looking for his coat that he thought I might have had. I made him empty his pockets and he had a 1GB memory stick. Before this I was aware of his knowledge of computers and hacking skills. So I have suspicion that he may have been hacking into my computer.Also, I heard a captain say "that guy just commited suicide....fag" as a passed by him one day. This was the day that my letter was submitted to the Army via Sen. S. A few other comments were made....one of which was by my Section Cheif, he said "Fag trying to take out an NCO" as i passed by him one day. All of this happened before or near the day that my letter was submitted.

Edited August 29, 2007 by IcePrincessKRS
removing names

[infinitelord1]

A week and a half after my rebuttal statement was submitted to the Army, by this time I had moved to a different company within the battalion, another investigating officer was dispersed to investigate my current situation. Basically his mission was to address my concerns that were stated in my rebuttal statement. Also present during this meeting was my current platoon sergeant This investigating officer was a Major. I do not remember his name. He asked me how things were going in my new company. He also asked me if there was anything that could be done to make things better. I told him that I would like to be put in a position to where i can do my job. I further explained that I had never been put through drivers training (this is something that is done immediatley upon arrival to your duty station). I was concerened about this because without drivers training i can not do a lot of things that my job requires me to do...like driving (which we do frequently) and i can not do preventive maintanence checks and services (PMCS) legally without a drivers licence. This is something we do every monday to make sure the vehicles are functioning properly. I feel like people were trying to make me feel worthless so they would not put me through the training I needed to do my job (I did not express this during this meeting). They also would not teach me much about my primary job which is satellite communications. I felt like they were setting me up for failure.

Anyways, the following is the letter that the Army sent to my Senator in regards to some of the concerns that were mentioned in my rebuttal statement....


August 20, 2007



Dear PFC O.:



Senator received the U. S. Army response letter to her additional inquiry on your behalf. A copy has been forwarded to your Columbiaville address.



Their reply correspondence is dated August 13, 2007:



“Dear Senator:



This replies to your inquiry on behalf of Private First Class O., concerning potential harassment.



Army officials in Korea advise that the command appointed a new investigating officer to address Private O.’s concerns of sexual harassment. The Brigade chain of command is committed to the safety, security, and the equal treatment of all service members, family members and civilian personnel. Sexual harassment and prevention training, as well as Consideration of Others Training, is provided on a semi-annual basis for all personnel.



Upon completion of the investigation, the command has determined that Private O.’s concerns were valid and a mandatory Equal Opportunity Refresher Training was provided to the entire unit. Additionally, Private O. was given the choice to remain with a roommate, live in an individual barracks room or an opportunity to transfer within his battalion or within country. Private O. elected to transfer to another company with the Battalion. He is adjusting well to his new unit and new chain of command. He is actively participating in training activities.



I trust this information will be of assistance.



Sincerely,



Congressional Coordinator

Congressional Inquiry Division”



Senator appreciates the opportunity to help her constituents. Please do not hesitate to contact her or any of her staff on federal concerns in the future.



Sincerely,


Staff Assistant

US SENATOR

[N/A Gone]

wow, as a former soldier I am very sorry. This is more common than anyone would think and it is wrong. I had a similar situation in training because I did not want to go to strip clubs. They knew I had a girlfriend and I was christian yet it still happened. it is a strange situation where people move their own insecuritues by attacking someone else. It takes alot of courage to do what you did, but sad enough you might have just pissed them off more because very rarely does the army take action for words.

[infinitelord1]

I just want to add that I am greatful of the Senator's willingness to help. Regardless of anyones opinion about homosexuality, nobody should have to go through any forms of harassment. It is destructive and very humiliating. If I chose to take this further into the media stream...I do not wish my name, the Senator's, nor her staff assistant to be mentioned. More to follow on this story.

[infinitelord1]

[quote name='Revprodeji' post='1372275' date='Aug 28 2007, 08:15 AM']wow, as a former soldier I am very sorry. This is more common than anyone would think and it is wrong. I had a similar situation in training because I did not want to go to strip clubs. They knew I had a girlfriend and I was christian yet it still happened. it is a strange situation where people move their own insecuritues by attacking someone else. It takes alot of courage to do what you did, but sad enough you might have just pissed them off more because very rarely does the army take action for words.[/quote]


Yes I know. I am allready recieving retalliation in other forms because of this. It is evident that they do not take kindly to a complaint of any form. Right now i am in the process of contacting a legal attorney in an organization called "service member legal defense network". This organization is dedicated to helping those affected by the "dont ask dont tell" policy. I have been reading on their website, and even they have noted that the military does not take criticism (such as this) kindly. I probably made a mistake by even posting this. I am taking a big risk. If this creeps out into the media further, then i could be in danger.

[desertwoman]

God be with you and may he keep you. I know how it is as well cause I never talk about men. This is further proof as to why would anyone want to be gay and undergo such turmoil from peers. Keep us in touch my friend, and may Christ comfort you.

[infinitelord1]

[quote name='desertwoman' post='1372292' date='Aug 28 2007, 08:48 AM']God be with you and may he keep you. I know how it is as well cause I never talk about men. This is further proof as to why would anyone want to be gay and undergo such turmoil from peers. Keep us in touch my friend, and may Christ comfort you.[/quote]


Well I am not sure why they said these things about me...but whenever people ask me if I want to go out and get some girls or whatever and I would not show interest...they would reply by saying things like "what you want some [derogatory word for "Penis"] or something?". They were persistant in asking me about this stuff.

[desertwoman]

Cause they are stupid, that's why they say these things about you. People called me gay cause I never talked about guys. I didn't want to go and see Chip and DAles. I never went on dates. They didn't hear about me sleeping with such and such, so they automatically thought that I was gay.

They don't understand you and your convictions because they have never been around a true blue Christian before, hence is why Rev was taunted even though he had a girlfriend for not going to a strip bar. When people see that you stand up, they want to knock you down. Don't let them knock you down bro.

Much love to you again, and may the Prince of Peace comfort you. Read Psalms 21, and may your enemies be your footstool. May this trial strengthen you, and may you show your comrades how a Christian is in his walk and not just in his talk. It's a hard road, believe me cause I'm still on it, but you will know how God is molding you in this trial by fire for only through fire can God shape you into what he wants you to become.

We are the clay, and he is the potter. Allow our Lord to help you. Keep praying and ask Christ to cover you, and for whatever purpose that the Lord is making you go through this, thank him for he trusts you enough to put you through this. Make our Daddy proud of you and proove once again that the devil is a liar!!

[Budge]

Sorry for what you went through.

By the way many straight people are mocked for being gay, wether it be a hormonal disorder, where they are more conservative and are staying virgins til they meet their husband or wife, not dating and promiscous, like much of the straight world, whether they appear more effiminate or masculine...there are a dozens of reasons.

I know people who have almost gotten beaten up who were straight and called every name in the book because they appeared "different". This is one sad sympton of our poisonous society. Of course there are those who are involved in the gay lifestyle who are abused, beaten and more. I am not surprised at what happened to you in the army. I would surmise that even your average bookworm straight male with a more gentle nature would probably be called gay there for not being "macho" enough. They had no right to treat you that way.


The world is cruel to those who are involved in homosexuality, there is no doubt of that, but many are lied too and told you are born gay, you were MADE this way, and that is simply not true. Pray to God to help you lead you and show you His Will.


However, I hope and pray you do not buy the worlds lies about homosexuality. Homosexuality can be a temptation that one is led to, but one can be free from homosexuality and its temptations in Jesus Christ. I have read some of your posts, this seems to be something you are really struggling with. I will pray for you.

Edited August 28, 2007 by Budge

[infinitelord1]

Cool!! Thanks for putting my thread back up!!! I would rather have had some of those names in there but oh well. I am not finished putting all the details in this thread i will keep you all posted.

[Norseman82]

I'm sure you already know this, but the key to fighting any harassment - wherever it is, military or civilian life - is document, document, document- who, what, where, when, witnesses, etc.

Other than that, listen to revprodeji, as he is ex-military and if he was harassed even though everyone knew he had a girlfriend, I guess it proves anyone can be.

Also, is there a chaplain you can talk to? Is there a base chapel where you can network with fellow Catholics? Are there any sports you can get involved in? Maybe take up boxing at the base gym (if there is one)? Perhaps if you can hold your own in a few sparring sessions they might back off and realize they misjudged you. (And for anyone who might gasp at the idea, please realize that he more than likely is surrounded by testosterone-filled hotheads, and survival is the first order of business).

Edited September 6, 2007 by Norseman82

[HollyDolly]

Sorry to hear you are going through all this.I recall my dad saying that there were gays during the war(WW2).Daddy said that the gays tended to stick to their own ,and as long as they didn't go around making passes at everyone(you know how some people are big flirts gay or straight),that the straight guys mainly left them alone.I'm sure there may have been some times when things like what you experienced occured,but my dad didn't mention seeing any personally.

Maybe people were in someways different then,I don't know. I guess in combat guys like my dad didn't care what your sexual prefernce was,just that everyone helped each other out and covered each others backs.

I hope that it all works out for you and remember not everyone in the military is a [mod]language - Lil Red[/mod]

[thessalonian]

People are not homosexual and heterosexual. They are people with the dignity they deserve as given by God, being made in his image and likeness. That they have homosexual struggles does not make them any less deserving of the dignity given them by God than if they have homosexual struggles. If you were a homosexual I would be just as against this. Pray for them first and foremost if you can.

[ironmonk]

Bro,
Sorry to hear about your troubles, I understand have have went through similar things in the past... I think you may have made the situation worse by writing a senator. Everyone did know what was coming before it happened and people above you and some of your peers will be quite mad at you and look for ways to payback.

Now, of course I don't know the whole story, just the small view you have here, so bear with me....

You will experience an elementary school mentality from many people who do not go to college and even some who do go to college. How you handle their insults is the best way to deal with something like this.

Do they see you praying? Before you eat, sleep, etc...? If not, if they did then that could explain to them why you don't talk about girls.

My guess is that the guy(s) who would say something directly to you are the typical bullies. The others are guppies hoping that these jerks don't pick them out of the crowd. Bullies will see your quietness as different and different is a weakness... in most cases, the best way to deal with this type is to teach them a lesson in some way shape or form... For example, if someone called me a fag, my response would be to laugh and say "Sorry man, I like chicks so you're going to have to keep looking."

or

"God Bless you brother, I'm not a fag... What church did you go to growing up?" - turn it into a theological debate and lay down some serious scripture reference and you'll show people that you don't have same sex attraction.... and you can always find a local girl to start dating.

By going to a senator, if ever you are in a situation, some of these guys are not going to have your back and might even try to cause you greater damage.

It'll take some time to turn things around... but you are going to have to have small talk with people, look at things you might have in common with them, talk about God stuff, a hobby, etc...

You do have to be careful when dealing with this kind of situation... you could be framed for something or worse.

If bully types see that you will not stand up for yourself then you will be a target. We only have two cheeks... don't return evil for evil, but don't just sit there when you get insulted.

The thing about being in the military is that military need to be able to handle things themselves... how can someone go to war if they cannot handle social situations. Think of it like a bunch of six year old boys on a playground... the kid that goes to the teacher to tell on the others will not be liked and will be teased. the kid that stands up against the bully will be respected. When I was a kid, there were two brothers that always beat me up... my parents really couldn't do anything about it... eventually, I hit back, they never bothered me again.

Again, bear with me and try to understand this...

Maybe God was telling you to join the military... you have to learn to handle these type of situations. You joined the military, I might be missing some major aspects of what is going on, but if you joined the military and need to toughen up and handle your own situations.

A "no harrassment" policy would be nice, but in the military some people will need to kill in war... some people will see their friends killed... and they are going to need to be able to deal with some horrors of war and still function. In battle someone cannot go running to a teacher to tell, they are going to have to deal with whatever comes their way... some people in battle with them may lose it or have break downs... others are going to have to be able to deal with that.

The best thing you can do is confront the problem directly yourself... what this actually means is something that you will have to decide because we don't know the whole story. Going above the heads of your superiors and to a senator has shot yourself in the foot. But you can still recover from this by handling it from here out yourself (but you will have to be careful)... talk to people, talk about things you like to do - hobbies, buy an xbox and get something like Call of Duty 3 and play it... that could be a tool to connect to others in your group... but talk to everyone you can... they need to get to know you.

God Bless and you're in my prayers,
ironmonk