Before 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, a return to the Navy wasn’t something Nicole Barbe could even consider. Twelve years ago, she was forced to leave the Navy, one of about 13,000 people discharged from the military under the 18-year-old “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
View full sizeNicole Barbe said her revelation to her superior officer in the Navy in 1999 triggered an immediate investigation, in which even former coworkers were questioned.Even before Tuesday’s repeal of that policy, she had begun talking to a recruiter about re-enlisting in the Navy Reserve.
“It feels like — I don’t know, like Christmas morning,” Barbe said Tuesday.
Gay and lesbian communities across the nation celebrated the reversal of the controversial policy enacted in 1993 under President Bill Clinton.
It was no different at the Boondock bar in the French Quarter, which was adorned with signs Tuesday evening announcing “Goodbye, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Barbe hosted the celebration on behalf of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which helped her receive an honorable discharge after the Navy sent her packing in 1999.
President Barack Obama issued a statement saying he is confident that lifting the ban will enhance national security.
“As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love,” he said. “As of today, our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and lesbian service members.”
At a Pentagon press conference Tuesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he is “committed to removing all of the barriers that would prevent Americans from serving their country and from rising to the highest level of responsibility that their talents and capabilities warrant. These are men and women who put their lives on the line in the defense of this country, and that’s what should matter the most.”
The military has spent months preparing its personnel with training about the change in the policy that had reached about 97 percent of the nation’s troops. The military had no estimates of how many service members have been hiding their sexual preferences. Barbe said she knows about 20 such people in New Orleans, serving both in the reserves and active duty.
A check with military commands in the state and region revealed no reports of service members revealing their sexual identity Tuesday. In fact, some military spokesmen greeted the question as “a non-issue.” Military officials said gay and lesbian troops will be treated with “respect and dignity,” a term that appears in undersecretary of defense for readiness and personnel Clifford Stanley’s memo released Tuesday announcing the repeal.
“All Marines, sailors and civilian Marines here at Marine Forces Reserve and those who are assigned to our units in 48 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are Marines first, regardless of sexual orientation,” said Lt. Col. Francis Piccoli, director of public affairs for at Marine Forces Reserve, whose commander, Lt. Gen. Steven Hummer, led the repeal implementation team for the Pentagon before he assumed command of the New Orleans-based headquarters.
Lt. Col. Michael Kazmierzak, Louisiana National Guard’s state public affairs officer, described it as a policy for which Army and Air National Guard personnel have received training. “We don’t anticipate any problems whatsoever,” Kazmierzak said.
At the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, public affairs officer Andrew Thomas reiterated the Navy’s preparations for Tuesday. “All of our sailors have received the training associated with the repeal of ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell,’ ” he said. “Sailors will continue to treat one another with dignity and respect in accordance with the Navy’s core values.”
With the publication of this story, Staff Sgt. Marissa St. Pe said, the Army will learn she is a lesbian. She hid her sexuality through four years as an active duty soldier and another four as a reservist with the New Orleans-based 787th Medical Detachment, where she is a preventive medicine specialist.
“I was actually one of them who pretended she had a boyfriend,” St. Pe said of her early years. “I gave up a lot of people and a lot of things just to make a career.”
She cautioned, however, that the nation still has far to go, when gay troops’ partners can receive the benefits.
View full sizeNicole Barbe decorated the Boondock Bar with toy soldiers and posters that celebrate the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' for a party in the French Quarter on Tuesday.Barbe said having the ban accepted at the unit level rests largely on the leaders, because, as in society in general, homophobia will persist among troops. “You’re still going to have your bad seeds,” she said.
Barbe, then a weather forecaster and petty officer second class stationed in Kingsville, Texas, told her chief she was a lesbian in 1999 after four years in the Navy. Most of her coworkers knew about her sexual identity already and she had experienced few problems, she said. That changed after her admission to her chief petty officer.
“I was dealing with a little bit of harassment at the time, needless to say,” she said, adding that her commanders thought she was faking. “I’m paraphrasing: Good luck. You’re not going anywhere.’”
Her revelation triggered an immediate investigation, in which even former coworkers were questioned. She fretted about revealing her identity, fearing it put her “in harm’s way.” She contacted the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, and they helped ensure she would get an honorable discharge. She worked for the group about eight months and since has become an advocate.
“It’s not a gay issue,” Barbe said. “It’s a common sense issue.”
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