‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ ends: Magazine tells stories of gay troops

[struggle4progress]

Posted at 06:00 AM ET, 09/20/2011
By Ed O'Keefe

... Provocative and personal, Sweeney’s recollections are included in the latest edition of OutServe Magazine , a new publication by and for gay and lesbian members of the U.S. military. It will be available for free at about a dozen Army and Air Force bases starting Tuesday, when the Pentagon stops enforcing the almost 18-year ban on gays in uniform, its publisher said.

Taking advantage of what activists are calling, “Repeal Day,” Sweeney, the magazine’s managing editor and an Air Force intelligence officer, is one of hundreds of active-duty and reserve troops whose full names, ranks and photographs appear in the magazine as a way of informing collegaues, commanders, family and friends that they are gay, or lesbian, and serving in the military without fear of losing their jobs.

“We want people to pick up the magazine, see it and realize that ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ isn’t a big deal,” said Josh Seefried — known for several years by his pseudonym, “J.D. Smith,” and as the head of OutServe. The group’s members comprise a growing network of active-duty gay and lesbian troops, many of whom are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/dont-ask-dont-tell-ends-magazine-tells-stories-of-gay-troops/2011/09/17/gIQAEC3chK_blog.html

[frazzled]

1. I found this story, from way back in Vietnam, very compelling

On the op-ed page in today's New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/opinion/long-before-dont-ask-dont-tell-i-suffered-and-won.html?_r=1&hp

[chalky]

2. +1

Thanks for that link.