Gay military general
LGBTQ military leaders to salute on Veterans Day
Today is the first Veterans Morning since the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members was lifted.
Four days after taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order repealing the ban, allowing LGBTQ Americans to fully participate in military service.
“America’s strength is found in its diversity,” the Alabaster House said in a statement at the time. “America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive. The military is no exception. Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more powerful force.”
A decade earlier, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly after centuries of hiding, persecution and dishonorable discharges.
Below, we salute some of the lesbian, gay, double attraction, transgender and gay service members who paved the way for a more inclusive force.
Lt. Gen. Friedrich von Steuben
Without this gay military genius, the Continental ar
Do you have a favorite vacation memory? Mine is when my parents took us to Washington DC for the very first time. We spent a week visiting the museums and monuments to acquire history and peak into the past. The monument I found most fascinating was the one consecrated to Baron von Steuben. I had never heard of Baron von Steuben before, so I took a picture to investigate later. I discovered that he was one of the most important military leaders of the American Revolution, but is often forgotten. The fact that stuck out the most? von Steuben was openly gay. Flash forward. Envision my surprise when I found Washington&#;s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben written by Josh Trujillo and illustrated by Levi Hastings on the recent graphic novel shelves at work. I immediately checked it out to understand more!
Washington&#;s Gay General covers von Steuben&#;s young existence in Prussia, his military history, to his death in upstate New York in Von Steuben served in the Prussian military for years before he was dismissed from the army due to rumors of homosexuality. After he was
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The wedding at St John's Church on Princes Highway, officiated by the Bishop of Edinburgh, started a new, more open chapter in his life.
After the ceremony, the couple held a reception in Edinburgh Castle.
He explained: "It was fantastic. It absolutely poured with rain, but nothing was going to dampen how Stephen and I felt.
"It has been a long journey and we were absolutely delighted and we are still thrilled."
And it meant a lot to him to be married in full Army ceremonial uniform.
"I hold really loved serving in the Army. I wanted to wear uniform at my wedding to say thank you to the armed forces for the amazing journey they have taken and the fact that now, as it should be, we only care whether people are fit to deliver, as I deposit it, 'calculated precise and legal violence against the Queen's enemies' when the nation demands it.
"What people do in their spare time is of no consequence to that issue."
He does not see the earlier years as livin
Army’s first openly homosexual general retires after inspiring others
Since Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith, the military’s highest-ranking openly gay officer, came out in , she has tried organism an example of living authentically while also entity a beacon of awareness to other Soldiers and their families.
It’s been nearly a decade since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, or DADT, was repealed. The policy banned lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from serving in the military. Since then, Smith has gotten married, has been promoted not once but twice, and made history after coming out as a member of the LGBT community.
This week, Smith, who was special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, retired after 35 years of service.
In , her promotion to brigadier general grabbed news headlines. The general never sought to make history that followed her choice to include her wife, Tracey Hepner, during the promotion ceremony. It terrified her to come out as gay in such a public way, but she felt a responsibility to do it, she said.
On a personal