Undercover Troops
By Zamná Ávila
Julianne Sohn always had an inclination for public service. Growing up in “the land of opportunity” inspired her in 1999 to join the U.S. Marine Corps.
“It was my way of being able to serve and give thanks to this country,” said Sohn, 32. “I have more opportunities here in the United States than being a woman in Korea, where my parents are from.”
But she hid a secret that would haunt her for several years.
“When I first went into the Marine Corps, I thought all that mattered was being a good Marine and doing my duty,” Sohn said. “I was having a lot of problems dealing with my bisexual orientation, and I was aware of “Don’t Ask, don’t Tell.”
Since 1994, U.S. Code: Title 10, Section 654, known as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” — which was enacted a year earlier — has required that the Department of Defense discharge military personnel from the Armed Forces if they disclose a homosexual or bisexual orientation. In turn, the military is restricted from asking personnel about their sexual orientation.
“There is no ban on gay and lesbian servicemembers,” said Lt. Col. Les’ Melnyk, a Pentagon spokesman. “A servicemember’s sexual orientation is viewed as a personal matter and is not a bar to continued service unless manifested by homosexual conduct.”
The Williams Institute, a think-tank focused on sexual-orientation law and public policy, estimates that 65,000 lesbian, gay and bisexual people serve the U.S. Armed Forces.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a nonpartisan legal service group that opposes the federal law, estimates that about 12,500 military personnel have been discharged due to DADT and have discouraged about 45,000 Americans from joining or remaining in the military.
The number of discharges under the law is low — about 0.3 percent of total discharges in 2006 and 2007 fiscal years — and recruitment figures are high, said Melnyk, a Pentagon spokesman.
“If you look at the charts, the recruiting numbers are at 100 percent, stronger than they’ve been in quite some time,” Melnyk added.
Then
DADT was enacted 1993 as a compromise by then-President Bill Clinton, who while campaigning for the presidency promised to allow military service regardless of sexual orientation, a departure from the existing ban.
The compromise came with strong disadvantages.
“Though the law has raised attention to the unfairness in the issue, it makes it more difficult [for gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the military],” said Adam Ebbin, former SLDN communications director. “Previously, there had been policies. The Pentagon or a president could have issued an order to change the policy.”
“It was meant to be a stepping stone, but it’s not, because it became a tool people used to further their own prejudice,” Sohn said. “It didn’t’ do anything besides put it in writing.”
Sohn came out to a few close friends while in active duty. When she got orders to go to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C., she was warned about notorious witch hunts to force women out of the marines.
“I would talk about my friends and [I wouldn’t] bring anybody to Christmas parties,” Sohn recalled. Notwithstanding her efforts to keep her personal life private, she once received a visit from a legal officer who told her to close her office.
“He said, ‘I can’t ask you what I want to ask you and you can’t tell me what I want to ask you,’” Sohn said. “I said, ‘You don’t have to; I consider myself bisexual.’”
The legal officer offered his help and did everything he could to dispel rumors at the depot.
“A lot of the commanders don’t care,” Sohn said. “Most people in a war actually care that there is a person there that can do their job and aim well.”
But the stress was too much, she said. Her blood pressure rose every time she went to get a physical examination.
In 2003, she decided to go on reserve status because she couldn’t live under DADT.
Two years later, Sohn was deployed to Iraq for seven months with the 5th Civil Affairs Group as a public affairs officer. In June 2006, the stress of DADT and the strain of her deployment may have contributed to the breakup between her and her girlfriend, she said.
“She had no support network to turn to,” Sohn said. “I couldn’t make her my next of kin or put her on my insurance policy.”
A few months after she returned from Iraq, Sohn decided to speak out against DADT.
By September 2007 her worst nightmare came true. She received a phone call in from a colonel of the Marine Forces Reserves stating that she was under investigation.
“He read me my rights and asked if I wanted to make a statement,” Sohn said. “I refused and stated that I would speak to an attorney before I make any statements.”
Such investigations are required, Melnyk said.
“All we are doing is implementing the law that Congress passed,” he said. “If you are looking for rationale you got to go to the source and talk to Congress.”
Now and Later
In July 2008, a U.S. House of Representatives’ panel considered the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1246), a bill that would repeal DADT. The panel identified about 143 congressional co-sponsors to the bill, which was backed by U.S. Reps. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, and Susan Davis, D-San Diego.
The bill is expected to be introduced to 111th Congress in spring of this year. HR 1246 will start out as standalone House and Senate bills, but it could end up in a DOD authorization bill, should President Barack Obama’s administration decide to go that route.
Obama publicly stated that he will sign legislation to lift the ban,” said SLDN Communications Manager Paul DeMiglio, in an e-mail. “SLDN is confident that [Obama] will partner with us during this Congress to repeal DADT. We look forward to working with the new Congress and president in the process of building additional support for repeal of DADT.”
Sohn said she hopes the country moves in the right direction. “What makes us a strong nation is our diversity,” she said. “Being gay doesn’t put into question your patriotism.”
Sohn now works for the Los Angeles Police Department, an organization that actively recruits LGBT candidates. With the help of her attorney, Sohn attained an honorable discharge in April 2008, and along with it a great life lesson.
“My discharge has made me extremely mindful that it is up to everyone to make sure that injustice isn’t met with apathy,” she said. “I would never have done anything different.”