Author Archives: OutServeMag

Editor’s Corner

Dear Readers:

Jonathan Mills, Executive Editor

Well, the day we have all been waiting for is finally upon us.When we started this magazine back in March of this year, our main goal was to be a source of outreach and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender troops in the military — a group that often feels like there is no one to turn to in times of need. We both knew when we started this magazine that we were just the latest two people among a long line of fellow patriots who have blazed a path before us. Throughout the tumultuous year of 2010, when it seemed like DADT would never come up for a full vote in the United States Senate, we would often console one another with the hope that one day, we would be able to tell our stories without shame, fear, and most importantly, discharge.

Inspired by Courage, the Fight for Full Equality Marches Forward

Written by Aubrey Sarvis,
Army Veteran & SLDN Executive Director

From the earliest days of America’s founding, LGBT Americans have – with pride, distinction and bravery – served the country they love in defense of freedom. It is this legacy of service and sacrifice that has moved countless individuals to work to end the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that resulted in the firing of more than 14,000 service members since 1993.

New OutServe Survey Shows Service Members Anticipate Acceptance

Over 500 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Service Members Surveyed

WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2011 – OutServe, the association of actively-serving gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) military members, today released the results of its latest survey of LGBT military personnel. With final repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” imminent, more than twice as many responded to this survey than responded in the spring.

The OutHeroes Project: Captain Phil Adams

In Honor and Loving Memory of Captain Phil Adams, USMC

By Tom Carpenter, Esq. and Sue Fulton

Former Marine Captain Phil Adams, USNA ’83, was a founding member of SAGALA and an early volunteer for SLDN. In his own words, from an article written for HRC:

I grew up in San Francisco and lived in the Castro before it became known as a gay neighborhood. I entered the U.S. Naval Academy in the summer of 1979 and excelled there. My grades were excellent, and I was busy as captain of my battalion’s crew team. I embraced Christianity as my excuse for why I wasn’t dating girls — further delaying issues regarding my sexuality. I was conflicted about my sexual orientation, my religion, and the military’s and society’s homophobic norms.


The OutHeroes Project: Specialist Jose Zuniga

In Honor of Specialist Jose Zuniga

by Sue Fulton

Joe Zuniga, the only son in his conservative Mexican-American family, enlisted in the Army in 1989 after graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in journalism. He had turned down an appointment to West Point to stay close to his mother, who was ill with stomach cancer, but coming from a long line of soldiers, he felt drawn to military service. His mother’s experience drew him away from journalism and toward medicine, thus his selection of a medic specialty.

The OutHeroes Project: Corporal Kevin Blaesing

In Honor of Corporal Kevin Blaesing

by Michelle Benecke, Esq.

Marine Corporal Kevin Blaesing was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina with the Marine Security Force in the early 1990s, and served under the mis-named “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. In the course of private counseling sessions with a Navy psychologist, he asked some general questions about sexuality and sexual orientation. Because the psychologist was a Naval officer, he was not bound to keep this information confidential, and he voluntarily reported Blaesing as gay. Fortunately, Blaesing’s commander did not act on this information and Blaesing continued to serve – until there was a change in command. The new commander, Lieutenant Colonel Martinson, reacted differently.

The OutHeroes Project: Major Margaret Witt

In Honor of Major Margaret Witt

by Michelle Benecke, Esq.

“I always wanted to be a nurse so I could help people. I joined the Air Force so I could help my country. I always thought that was the mission, until 2004 when I was discharged under DADT. After it happened, my friend and role model, Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, told me I had a new mission – to help lead the way toward the day when all people could serve their country – and their military families – openly. And so, here we are, seven years later, and we’ve won: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is ending. It’s been a long battle, made so much easier by the love and support of my partner, Laurie, my family, my military friends, and the phenomenal legal support of my attorney, Jim Lobsenz, and the ACLU in Seattle. I will always wish I could have finished my career the way I started it.

The OutHeroes Project: Senior Chief Petty Officer (Ret.) Timothy McVeigh

In Honor of Senior Chief Petty Officer (Ret.) Timothy McVeigh

by Michelle Benecke, Esq.

Timothy McVeigh was a senior enlisted leader onboard the nuclear submarine USS Chicago when the Navy tried to discharge him in 1997 based on information the Navy fraudulently obtained from America Online (AOL).

McVeigh challenged his discharge in federal court and, on January 29, 1998, Judge Stanley Sporkin granted a permanent injunction to prevent the Navy from discharging McVeigh. In a strongly worded opinion, Judge Sporkin ruled that the Navy violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) by failing to obtain the required warrant or court order before seeking information about McVeigh from AOL. He termed the Navy’s actions a “search and destroy mission” and wrote that the Navy “went too far” in pursuing McVeigh.

The OutHeroes Project: Nicole Galvin

In Honor of Nicole Galvin

by Michelle Benecke, Esq.

After three years at West Point, Nicole Galvan was looking forward to graduating from the academy the following year and being commissioned as an Army officer. Instead of joining the long grey line, however, she joined the long line of women who were lesbian baited and forced to leave under DADT.

The OutHeroes Project: CPT Michelle Benecke

In Honor of Captain Michelle Benecke

by Sue Fulton

Former Army Captain Michelle Benecke is a co-founder and former CEO of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). She and colleague Dixon Osburn formed SLDN the day after President Clinton announced DADT in 1993 to assist military members and implement a long term strategy to overturn DADT. Establishing an advocacy organization for military members had long been a goal of Benecke’s based on her experience as an Army officer.