Expert: Rod Powers - 1/20/2006

Question
Rod,

It was recently revealed that the Army will ship a soldier to Iraq if he declares his homosexuality after it has been announced he will be deployed.  Is this because of the suspect nature of such a declaration at the time, and because regulations now allow commanders to investigate?

What wasn't made clear was whether or not once a soldier is deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or a U.N. peace keeping mission the military would investigate the claim then or wait for the soldier's return to the States.  What usually happens?

Thanks.

Stefen
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Followup To
Question -
Rod,

You recently had an interesting statement in USA Today.  You said "commanders aren't buying it when someone says they're a homosexual."

Could you explain why this is so?  Are military personnel becoming more tolerant or are commanders unwilling to discharge soldiers in this time of manpower shortages?  Do you have any evidence for this statement?

I would like to know.  I'm a reporter for Gay City News, a New York paper, and your insight could be the basis for an interesting article on DADT.

Thank you.

Stefen Styrsky
Answer -
Hi Stefen,

Actually, I was misquoted (a little).  What I actually said was "commanders aren't NECESSARILY buying it when someone says they're a homosexual."

A public statement about being a homosexual or bi-sexual, used to result in a pretty-much automatic discharge, with little or no investigation into the truth of the statement.

During the first Gulf War (Desert Shield/Desert Storm), there were a number of troops who claimed homosexuality -- co-incidently -- after they were tagged for deployment.  

Shortly after (1993), DoD changed their guidelines to allow commanders to investigate such statements, and if they found that such statements to be untrue, discharge was not mandatory (See DoD Directive 1332.14, paragraph E3.A1.1.8.1.2.2., on page 27, at: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/d133214wch1_122193/d133214p.pdf).

Since the change, more and more commanders are initiating investigations into such statements, before deciding on whether or not to proceed with discharge, most especially if there are indications that the member is trying to use the policy (untruthfully) as a method of discharge.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com


Answer
Hi Stephen,

Claims of homosexuality made, after an individual has been notified of an upcoming deployment have to be viewed with a degree of skeptism.  Most commanders will initiate investigations into such claims to determine their validity, before deciding what action is appropriate.  However, if there is a hard, fast rule that such soldiers *will* be deployed, in all cases, this is the first I've ever heard of it.

If such a declaration were made after a deployment began, my gut feeling is that it would be viewed with a great deal of skeptism.  While such decisions are always at the descretion of the commanding officer, I think most commanders would probably initiate a preliminary investigation, with what information and resources he/she has available in the deployment location, before deciding whether or not it warrants the early return of the military member for full investigation at the home station.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com