MPR’s Elizabeth Baier talks with to two gay veterans in St. Paul to see how the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military has affected their lives, both during -- and after -- their years in the military.
MPR’s Elizabeth Baier talks with to two gay veterans in St. Paul to see how the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military has affected their lives, both during -- and after -- their years in the military.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Wes Davey and Jesse Berglund both served in the military during the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. And it was that experience that has led them to speak out against the law in recent years. Davey is 59. He never talked about his sexuality while he served in the Army in the late '60s. Later, he kept silent about it in the Minnesota National Guard in the '80s and '90s. And he didn't say anything most recently when he served in the Army Reserves in 2003.
WES DAVEY: I just kept quiet. I had to keep quiet. I wasn't going to end up with a discharge for that reason. I just wasn't, not after that many years of honorable service.
ELIZABETH BAIER: 31-year-old Berglund, on the other hand, lived a fairly open life in South Korea, where he was stationed for three years. He went to nightclubs, dated local men, and told a few trusted Army colleagues he was gay. Berglund says unless gay troops act carelessly or fail to do their jobs, many commanding officers simply turn a blind eye. In all, he served in the Army for five years, ending in 2005.
JESSE BERGLUND: You just got to lay low, make friends outside the military. Or when you're in the military, find people to be friends with that are not going to betray you and not do dangerous things to get yourself in trouble.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Berglund and Davey had very different military experiences, but now the two men are standing up against the law that's led to the expulsion of more than 12,000 gay service members. California Democrat Ellen Tauscher is sponsoring legislation to repeal the law that was signed by President Clinton in 1993.
A growing number of Americans don't think the policy is working either. In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, 75% of Americans surveyed say they support allowing gay people to serve in the military. The poll also shows this support has doubled among Republicans in the last 15 years.
Adam Ebbin is the communications director at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national advocacy group that favors repealing the law. He says as the military searches for more soldiers to fight in Iraq, there's been a decline in the number of openly gay men and women who have been discharged.
ADAM EBBIN: Well, it clearly shows that even in combat, there can be unit cohesion, good morale when openly gay people are serving with their straight counterparts, and that there's no rational basis for a ban.
ELIZABETH BAIER: A smaller number of Americans support keeping the policy in place. Elaine Donnelly heads the nonprofit Center for Military Readiness. At the recent congressional hearing, she said forcing troops to cohabitate with openly gay men and women would devastate the military.
ELAINE DONNELLY: If we say that this is going to be the new paradigm, we're going to tolerate absolutely no dissent, that would put a tremendous, perhaps unacceptable, burden on people who do have religious convictions, or those who simply believe that the policy, the law as it is now is a good idea.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Department of Defense spokeswoman Cynthia Smith declined to be interviewed on tape, but in an email said the military will continue to follow congressional direction in enforcing the law. She said service members who have been discharged because of homosexual conduct can continue to serve the country by working as civilians with the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, or as government contractors. But Minnesota veteran Davey still thinks that's not enough.
WES DAVEY: Whether it was a gay or lesbian soldiers, they have lives, and they want to share them with other people, and they can't. And they know if they do, they're going to get thrown out of the military. And that's just absolutely not fair. I mean, they're doing the same thing as everybody else is.
ELIZABETH BAIER: Both he and Berglund say they will continue speaking out about the issue at events around the Twin Cities. And they're both looking forward to working with the new crop of elected officials next year. Elizabeth Baier. Minnesota Public Radio news, St. Paul.
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