Wounded Gay Soldier Discharged From Army

[dogday]

CINCINNATI May 31, 2005 — An Army sergeant from Ohio who was wounded in Iraq and wanted to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier was officially discharged Tuesday, according to an advocacy group.

Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, was awarded the Purple Heart after a grenade sent shrapnel into his arm, face and legs while he was using a machine gun on a Humvee in May 2004.

Stout, of Utica in central Ohio, told The Associated Press in April that he wanted to remain in the military and be openly gay, but that would conflict with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said Sgt. Robert Stout told him he was due back in the United States on Tuesday, the day of his discharge.

"I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open," Stout said in April.

Stout said he was openly gay among most of his 26-member platoon, part of the 9th Engineer Battalion based in Germany.

Army officials at the Pentagon could not immediately confirm the discharge. The Army declined to comment earlier on the case other than to say that soldiers discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" typically receive honorable discharges.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=807773

[FreedomAngel82]

1. What I think

is it's sad how they can't be themselves. *sigh*

[Oreo]

2. They'd sooner have a draft

than accept homosexuals in the military.

On that note... what will happen when the draft starts? People won't need to flee abroad, they'll just have to say they're gay.

[CottonBear]

3. Hell, they've already got lots of gays in the military.

What is the % of gays in the general population? 10%?
What if 10% of the armed forces upped and outed themselves.
What would * & Rummy do then?

[im10ashus]

8. I am gay and served four years in the Army!

I think the percentages are WAY higher than 10% in the Army. Just from my experience.

[ihaveaquestion]

4. When there's a draft, they ignore the gay thing.

They chalk it up to "malingering" and let them in anyway. After the service goes back to all-volunteer, they openly boot the gays out, medals and all. This happened after Vietnam and probably every other conflict, too.

I served with a couple of openly gay soldiers and a couple of closeted lesbians in Germany. The unit I was in had no problem with them. One of them, Perry Watkins, was even a very good female-impersonator and put on a show for us in the NCO club. I heard afterwards that Perry who could hardly hide his orientation, was booted out after transferring under a less tolerent commander. He subsequently sued the Army for back pay (he was a staff sargent) and won. Google him for his story. It has a sad ending, though - he died of Aids.

[BOSSHOG]

5. Conservatives are free to be themselves in this country

They are chickenshit cowards causing a great deal of hardship for Army recruiters by staying away in droves. How ironic, conservatives who hate in the name of Jesus Christ being protected by people they would just as soon put in a gas chamber. Homosexuals allowing conservatives the right to be cowards.

[flordehinojos]

6. i hope that the army has had the COMPASSIONATE HUMANE DECENCY OF TREATING

AND TAKING CARE OF THE SOLDIER'S WOUNDS AND OF THOSE PSYCHOLOGICAL WOUNDS WHICH MAY LINGER EVEN LONGER AFTER THE UNGRATEFUL FRETARDS HAVE DISCHARGED HIM FROM THE ARMY.

[Moderator]

7. dogday

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.



Thank you.


DU Moderator

[dogday]

9. I stand admonished

It was such a short piece that I felt it would not take long to read..