Navy gay men

It also has policies to support service members whose families are impacted by anti-LGBT laws.

In April 2021, the U.S. Air Force established the Barrier Analysis Working Group (BAWG) with a LGBTQ+ Initiative Team to examine and identify barriers that LGBTQ+ service members may face and develop strategies to remove those barriers.

4. “Either at the local level, at the command level, and as high as the senior level in the Pentagon, to ensure that those issues are taken care of at all levels.” USS Constitution’s commanding officer at the time, Commander William Bullard, was supportive of Santiago.

Regardless, Santiago’s difficulties persisted until the day he retired from the Navy on board USS Constitution in 2008, and those challenges continued post-retirement.

At the time, the question on 17-year-old Santiago’s mind was, “What’s going to happen while I’m in service, while I’m wearing the uniform?” Santiago, who is gay, resolved that he would do everything possible to finish at least one tour of duty. He would tell the younger sailors, “You need to understand you joined the Navy, you swore an oath…it’s something special that we all did at one point in our lives that is unique to us as America’s service members.” Despite DADT, some sailors would divulge to him that they were gay.

Limited access to resources and support networks specifically tailored to their unique needs can make it more challenging to navigate the military environment and address any issues they may face.

LGBTQ+ military members may encounter unequal treatment when it comes to policies, benefits, and opportunities. “We work with Veteran Legal Services to upgrade those bad paper discharges, especially for homosexuality.

Santiago remembers feeling a “sense of family,” where sailors helped each other out to “give the best tour we can.”

As a petty officer, he also took on a leadership role in mentoring junior sailors on Constitution. It was important that you were able to continue the mission of the ship, to be able to represent the Constitution, to be able to represent the Navy in the way that you were selected to do so.”

Two years later, the Senate voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and DADT officially ended on September 20, 2011.⁵ LGBTQIA+ military members now serve openly in the United States’ armed forces.

In 2016, the same year he got married, Santiago joined the City of Boston’s Office of Veteran Services.

“But the weeks following, once the smoke settled, there were still people who were getting discharged from the military…so that’s when we all started to realize that, hey, this is just a discriminatory policy.” Over the nearly 18 years that DADT was law, thousands of service members were discharged for engaging in “homosexual conduct,” which included being in a same-sex relationship.⁴

The remainder of Santiago’s 20-year naval career was spent under the shadow of DADT.

It was at a duty station in Puerto Rico, where his family is from, that Santiago felt he “really started to come out to myself.” Being among family and friends in a familiar culture provided Santiago the support he needed to venture out and live authentically as himself. The Navy continues to work towards creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all its members.

The U.S.

Navy has established the Navy Pride and Diversity Association (NPDA), an official resource group that supports LGBTQ+ service members. Something that the federal government didn’t take at the time.” As a mentor, he also understood that leadership was integral in setting the tone. Marine Corps

The U.S. Marine Corps has made efforts to foster an environment of acceptance and inclusion.

However, progress has been made in recent years to create a more inclusive environment.

The repeal of DADT in 2011 allowed gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals to serve openly, and in 2016, the ban on transgender individuals serving openly was lifted. The average across all branches of the military is slightly higher, at 6.18%.

The enduring imagery of same-sex intimacy in the military is nothing new to queer cultural lore.

But I still put my career on the line because I still had a month on my contract.” By publicly alluding to his partner, Santiago risked losing the military benefits he had worked toward over his 20-year career.

Historically, cities like San Francisco and San Diego attracted gay sailors during and after their service, contributing to their reputations as LGBTQ+ havens. Nonetheless, we can explore the progress made and the overall climate of inclusion and acceptance within these branches.

1. It was very important for me to do so.

“When I retired, I wanted to find a way to recognize my boyfriend, my fiancé…I wanted to recognize him in my retirement speech. It could be incompatible with military service, it could be bad conduct due to whatever. For example, transgender service members may face additional challenges regarding medical care, access to gender-affirming treatments, and policies related to their gender identity