Openly gay former Army Sergeant Darren Manzella was in New York
recently for a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network benefit. He was
discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell after appearing on ‘60 Minutes.’
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By Chris Johnson & Joelle L. Quartini
Friday, July 11, 2008
An upcoming congressional hearing on the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, coupled with recent calls from former military leaders to repeal the law, is raising questions about whether the gay ban is nearing its end.
The congressional hearing on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, scheduled for Wednesday, is slated to feature witnesses on both sides of the issue. Witnesses will make their cases before the personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.
Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), chair of the subcommittee, said she decided to hold the hearing because Congress has not looked at military policy toward gays in 15 years.
“Being in the middle of the two wars, as we have been, I think the issue has come up repeatedly, and it’s important to start that conversation,” she said.
The hearing marks the first time that Congress has held a discussion devoted to gays in the military since lawmakers passed the law barring open service in 1993.
Witnesses that Democrats have selected to speak at the hearing include Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, who is gay and the first U.S. service member wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Alva lost his right leg as a result of his injury.
Alva said he intends to tell lawmakers about his experience in the Marine Corps, how he was injured on the first day of the Iraq war and how current military policy shows that there is “prejudice” in the U.S. government.
“We’re allowing our prejudice to be put into action by allowing this discriminatory policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to still exist, even in this day and age,” he said.
Alva, who left the military in a medical retirement, said “it just doesn’t make sense” to discharge people who are playing important roles in the military because of their sexual orientation.
Other witnesses chosen by Democrats include retired Capt. Joan Darrah, a former Navy intelligence officer and lesbian, and retired Army Maj. Gen. Vance Coleman, who is straight and a decorated division commander.
Republicans have selected Elaine Donnelly, president for the Center for Military Readiness and opponent of gays serving openly in the military, and retired Army Sgt. Maj. Brian Jones, who formerly served in special operations.
No one who has been discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is slated to testify before Congress.
A number of gay advocacy groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG), are planning to submit written testimony to the committee.
Davis said organizers had to “really bend over backwards” to create what she called “a balanced hearing” with witnesses on both sides of the issue.
The subcommittee asked the Defense Department (DOD) to send a representative to the hearing, but the department declined to send a witness.
“I would have frankly liked to have witnesses from the Department of Defense, but at this particular time we’re not doing that and they’re really not quite willing to come forward,” Davis said.
DOD did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Davis said the upcoming hearing should “break the ice” for involving DOD in future hearings on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“This will be the beginning of building the record that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tel isn’t working,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national legal service and watchdog dedicated to military personnel affected by Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Two Personal Stories
As the executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national legal service and watchdog group dedicated to military personnel affected by Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Aubrey Sarvis believe the upcoming congressional hearings will “be the beginning of building the record that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell isn’t working.”
Sarvis, along with Darren Manzella, a former army sergeant who was discharged for being gay, spoke with The New York Blade while they were in New York City last week for a special performance of “Bash’d,” a gay rap opera at the Zipper Factory Theater to raise awareness for SLDN
Manzella hadn’t come out even to himself about his sexuality when he enlisted in 2002. But his first tour in Iraq changed his life, leading him to came out to his friends and family, including his Army roommate who responded: “I don’t care. You’re like my brother.”
Manzella was never particularly worried about the military’s policy about gay servicemembers because he kept his personal and professional lives isolated.
“I always knew Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was in place, but I never thought it would impact my career,” he said.
When he began receiving threatening e-mails warning him to “turn down the flame,” he told his supervisor, who in turn said he would have to report Manzella to the legal department.
He answered a questionnaire about his sexuality honestly and submitted video of him and his then boyfriend kissing, and the Army came back to him with a verdict: “No proof of homosexuality.”
Any time the country goes to war, discharge rates drop. They have gone from 1,200 per year in 2001 to barley 600 per year. Sarvis called it a “historic pattern” because commanders just need soldiers to do their jobs.
“They don’t want to know, and even if they do know, some ignore it,” Sarvis said, mimicking a common response: “You’re not gay. You’re doing a great job. Now go back to work.”
CBS contacted SLDN, which Manzella had worked with during the investigation, and wanted to feature him on “60 Minutes.”
The reporters flew to Kuwait, where Manzella was serving as a medical liaison officer, and the show aired Dec. 16, 2007.
“I was able to be open about who I was, and the military retained me,” Manzella said. “They saw I was an asset to the military and very proficient at my job, and I thought, ‘If I’m able to be retained because of this ridiculous law, why couldn’t other people?’ I saw it as an opportunity to speak out for those people—the thousands and thousands of men and women who are silenced by [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] and can’t serve openly regardless of how proficient they are.”
He knew discharge was a possibility going into the interview, but he figured it was a low risk.
“I thought, ‘The military is changing. They’re seeing that we don’t want to lose someone that has such a positive impact on the military, does a good job, gets along with coworkers.’ That was my mindset,” Manzella said.
Three months after the show aired, though, he was recommended for discharge. Attached was a copy of the “60 Minutes” transcript.
On June 10, Manzella was discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell after six years of service.
Bitter Irony
Since 2006, in order to meet recruiting standards, the government has allowed convicted felons and persons of lower mental and physical standards to enlist, and the number of waivers continues to increase.
“We’re talking about waivers for serious convicted felons, not for minor infractions,” Sarvis said. “So, the paradox—the irony here—is that how can we have a government that permits serious felons to come in the military and serve and at the same time discharge patrons like Darren Manzella who love the Army, love their country and want to serve.”
An estimated 4,000 gay and lesbian soldiers do not re-enlist each year because of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’
Will To Change
The Michael D. Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California Santa Barbara that sponsors research of current controversial topics, specifically Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ released a study July 7 by a team of retired senior flag and general officers from the United States Military, which illustrates the negative effects of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the need to end the ban.
Key findings included that the policy deters some gay troops from doing their duties, that gays already serve openly, that tolerance has increased significantly and that lifting the ban is “unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion.”
Fifty-two retired U.S. generals and admirals and a former secretary of the army signed a statement calling for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
“Congress historically gives great weight to what the military recommends…so, they’re going to look at that study very carefully,” Sarvis said.
Sarvis speculates that the July 23 hearing will be the only one during this Congress, but that the House Council expects to have more hearings next year to include active servicemembers and the Defense Department.
“I think in the next Congress and with a new president, particularly if it’s President Obama, we will have a real opportunity to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Sarvis said.
Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama has affirmed his support for HR-1246. Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republic candidate, is against repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
For now, Manzella works as a policy advocate for SLDN, educating society about the organization’s services, while he transitions back into civilian life.
There are currently 65,000 gay Americans serving active duty and in the National Guard and Reserves, according to the Urban Institute, which investigates social and economic problems in the United States.
There are one million gay veterans in the United States today.
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