Font ResizeAn I-Team Investigation
Some are saying it's time to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in
For some perspective on the issue, the I-Team spoke with a gay airman who was kicked out, while he was in Anchorage. Coming out can be a difficult process. Sometimes it takes years for a gay person to even acknowledge to themselves what their sexual orientation truly is. David Hall came to that realization, while he was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
It was the summer of 1998, and Hall, who loaded bombs and missiles on F-15's, got his wish: the Air Force was sending him to Elmendorf.
"I love doing outdoors stuff and hiking. So that was the reason I wanted to go there. I wanted to see what it was about and why so many people had talked about it," said Hall.
Hall also had a dream of flying those planes he was taking care of; but you have to be an officer to be a pilot. So a few years after arriving in Anchorage, Hall got permission to leave the active duty military and join the Air Force ROTC as a student at UAA. He had already been taking some classes in his spare time and had met Jack Glover, who was also in the Air Force ROTC. The two began dating.
Hall had come out to his parents, while he was stationed at Elmendorf. But under the government's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, he
"When I was at work I focused on doing my job. And I kept my private life separate. So basically, you put everything in separate compartments. And then you just learn to use pronouns. You know, you just change a he to a she," said Hall.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was the result of a political compromise after President Clinton's failed attempt in 1993, to allow gays to serve openly in the military. Under the policy, about 12,000 members of the military have been discharged for being gay, according to the Service Members Legal Defense Network.
"Are there wonderful Americans, who happen to be homosexual, serving in the military? Yes," said General Peter Pace, former Joint Chiefs
General Pace spoke out on the issue last year, while serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"We should respect those who want to serve the nation, but not through the law of the land condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law," said General Peter Pace.
But that view seems to be changing inside the military. In 2006, Zogby International, a well-respected polling agency, surveyed troops who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seventy three percent said they're personally comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians.
Hall's dream of flying was coming true. In March 2002, he won a very competitive spot in a pilot training program. He was at the top of his ROTC class, too, rising to a leadership position. By this time, he and Glover were always together. A fellow cadet put two and two together and turned them in. Hall and Glover were both kicked out.
"I was very disappointed when I got discharged--or disenrolled from Air Force ROTC. Um, I should still be flying planes today, not having to work at a desk. I think it was a big loss for the Air Force. You know, I was ranked number one in my class," said Hall.
But he doesn't blame his chain-of-command.
"I realize that this wasn't the military's fault. But this was a law that was passed by Congress. And so now I'm doing my best to get this law repealed," said Hall.
Hall and Glover both live in Washington, DC now, just a couple of blocks from each
Hall now works as a fundraiser for the Service Members Legal Defense Network, a group that's working through the courts and Congress to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. If that happens, Hall hopes to go back into the military. His dreams of flying are still very much alive.
Video of our entire, unedited interview with Hall is posted.
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