Maybe legal?

[bigbadmax]

When I went to join the Royal Navy in 1995, the first question I was asked was " are you gay?" to which I answered "only if it means quicker prommotion". A few years later the rules changed at it became legal to be gay.

I left the RN a few years ago and then, as now the view was " it may be legal but not compulsary" , more to the point, it may be tollerated but not accepted or vis a vis.

With DADT being/been repealled, will attitudes change across the pond change or alter like the UK?

[LastGent]

Tough to say. It is borderline forbidden for fellow soldiers to have sex with each other while in active duty, so I think being gay will become inconsequential, but love affairs in the field will still need to be kept secret or one's career could get really messy.

[Realist]

I was in the military for 7 years and then worked in civil service for 23 more. From the late '50s until I retired, there were a lot of changes. But like in the civilian population, different units were better, or worse...depending on the prejudices of the members.

When I first joined up, having a same-gender relationship was a prison offense. It was not uncommon for several years in Leavenworth to be the sentence, if a service member was caught. Those who did have same-sex relationships, like me, were extremely cautious, discrete, and planned ahead, before doing anything.

By the time I retired, Clinton had been in and gone, but I didn't see a huge change in attitudes. There were witch hunts in some outfits and in others, as long as the job was done, few ever said anything about gay/bisexual service members.

I'd like to see them concentrate on proficiency and duty performance, rather than a person's private life.

[jbandersnatch]

Spent my 4 years in the Air Force in late 50's, early 60's. First year mostly zero sexual encounters, except my lower-bunk mate in Basic J.O.ed and as a result so did I, and we joked about it. The rest of that year of training we lived in big barracks, and never any privacy. Second year was near D.C. training in a huge office building with military and civilian, so the interpersonals were more free and easy and some guys had 'dates' that were subject to conjecture. But we still lived in huge barracks.
Last 2 years were in Germany, on a very small base of Air Force security service guys, and a small unit of Army data processing departments, with a few Navy security staff. Nearby in town were a small French Army base and across the valley a Canadian Air Force base. Lodging was in large buildings with 2, 4, and 6 man rooms....during WW2 it was a German officer training base. And every locker had a library of French adult novels, the prevalent porn of the day, that traded hands with lurid descriptions. Nothing could really be documented, but it was general knowledge that lots of guys were enjoying themselves, both on base and with other French and Canadian military personnel in town. A couple guys were quite obviously very feminine and made no attempt to hide it. Within our group there was never any threat of prosecution for anything sexual.

[bityme]

When I went to join the Royal Navy in 1995, the first question I was asked was " are you gay?" to which I answered "only if it means quicker prommotion". A few years later the rules changed at it became legal to be gay.

I left the RN a few years ago and then, as now the view was " it may be legal but not compulsary" , more to the point, it may be tollerated but not accepted or vis a vis.

With DADT being/been repealled, will attitudes change across the pond change or alter like the UK?

The repeal of DADT only means that there is no longer an automatic discharge for gays and lesbians. The Uniform Code of Military Justice still provides for criminal prosecution for military personnel engaging is sexual conduct with someone other than a spouse if they are caught. They seldom prosecute, but if a Private bangs the Colonel's wife, he's going to the stockade.

No doubt, there are still many homophobic military commanders that will look for opportunities to rid themselves of what they consider a problem regardless of what Congress has said.

Pappy

[hgf33]

I recently talked to someone who was in the Gulf War, and he said even back then, if you were gay, most people knew it, but didn't care. No one made a big deal about it. Even some drill sargents were gay, and everyone knew to just go about their business and keep their mouths shut. Maybe things should be that way everywhere.

People have argued that now there will be friendly fire. I don't buy it. There was a lot of shit going on years ago, when there didn't seem to be as many gays, that were far worse than just lusting after someone of the same sex. They are soldiers. They shut up and work together to do what they have to do. If you're out on the front lines, someone's personal life isn't important.(Obviously, not all can be spoken for in this manner, but I'm speaking generally.)

I wonder what happens if it gets reinstated. What about all the men and women who came out? This is why everything needs to be changed permanently.