New York Times
February 14, 2000
Pg. 1
Policy On Gays Is Put To The Test At Army Base
By Elizabeth Becker
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 11 -- Midway through his training
course on
the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays in
uniform,
Maj. James Garrett bluntly told his audience of 48 commissioned
and
noncommissioned officers to use a little common sense.
This Army base, where a gay soldier was beaten to death last
Fourth
of July by a fellow soldier after a beer-soaked barracks party,
has
become a particular proving ground, almost obsessive about
whether
the 6-year-old policy can be enforced properly without
undermining
the rights of gay service members.
So for more than an hour, Major Garrett mixed homilies about
respecting others with graphic definitions of sexual acts in a
comprehensive briefing that was part of the military's effort to
help
its leaders come to grips with the policy.
A major, dressed in battle fatigues like the others, asked:
"What if
a gay soldier hits on you? Like, hey, do you want to go to a gay
bar
with me? Isn't this an act, asking you on a date?"
Major Garrett answered: "No, it's just associational behavior.
Going
to a gay bar, having a gay roommate off base, marching in a gay
parade, that's associational behavior. That is not against the
policy."
Major Garrett, an Army lawyer, then brought his discussion back
to
what he called "the policy in a nutshell: conduct."
"The conduct piece is the key to understanding," he said.
"Homosexual
conduct is grounds for separation from the armed forces -- not
sexual
orientation. This is the law, the policy Congress told us to
follow."
But sitting ramrod straight in long rows of classroom tables,
the
largely male audience took notes and sometimes seemed to be
having
trouble following their instructor's rapid presentation. But for
a
few asides, there were no jokes and few questions. Afterward,
Capt.
Patrick McCabe said that he found it "disturbing that the Army
has to
teach people to respect each other."
To test their understanding of the lecture, Major Garrett
offered
hypothetical situations. "Let's go back to that soldier in an
off-base
apartment with a gay roommate," he said. "Say another soldier
goes to
visit and says he witnesses French-kissing, grabbing of the
genitalia, whatever. Is this an act, is this conduct?"
The group answers "yes," which prompts the next question: Is it
a
credible report and should it be investigated? Silence in the
audience.
The major's answer was no, commanders should not investigate
anything
without first talking to the base's military counsel.
"We're your legal counsel, you're not out there alone," he said.
"
We're your best friend when it comes to this. Call us first.
Whether
you get a report of sodomy or if you get that report of a French
kiss, call us."
After the murder of the gay soldier, Pfc. Barry Winchell, Maj.
Gen.
Robert T. Clark, the commander of the post and of the 101st
Airborne
Division, ordered that all soldiers on the post, beginning with
him,
receive training about the policy on gays. A few months later,
the
Pentagon ordered everyone in the military -- from privates to
four-star generals -- to undergo similar training.
No one is more aware than General Clark that his outfit has
become a
microcosm for the national debate.
"The paramount fact is, harassment continues even after Private
Winchell's murder and after Major General Clark knew there was a
problem," said Michelle Benecke, co-director of the
Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network, which is leading a campaign calling for
General Clark's removal.
The number of soldiers at Fort Campbell who have asked to leave
the
military because they are gay or lesbian has skyrocketed since
the
murder. Before, the base averaged seven cases of gays leaving
the
service each year. Since July, that number has tripled, to more
than
20 people who have asked for voluntary separation, said a senior
military official who added that most requests were
automatically
granted under the Pentagon policy.
While General Clark says that he takes "full responsibility" for
everything that takes place at Fort Campbell, he is adamant that
"this is not a homophobic base."
In his first interview about the Winchell case, General Clark
said
today: "I don't believe any of my commanders would walk by an
example
of abuse and not do something about it. The Winchell murder was
an
absolute tragedy and we are learning all we can and we are doing
our
level best to make sure this never happens again."
But there are still signs of the tension from the murder that
has
roiled the base, which straddles the border of Kentucky and
Tennessee.
On several walls and toilet stalls, there is graffiti of vulgar
language emblazoned on a baseball bat. Sometimes it is painted
over.
Even after Private Winchell's death, soldiers wonder what
constitutes
harassment.
E-mails have been exchanged by soldiers wondering whether the
daily
banter and jokes they take for granted are harassment. In an
e-mail
he wrote after Pvt. Calvin Glover's conviction for the murder,
Cadet
Lt. Gordon Cooke, who was the commander of Private Winchell's
platoon
the month before his death and is now a senior at West Point,
said he
had never heard anyone joke about Private Winchell's being gay.
"It's easy to wonder, 'Why didn't the leaders do something?' "
he
wrote. "But there is no apparent difference in the joviality and
banter that are signs of good morale and a tight unit and the
harassment and hatred that allegedly (mixed with alcohol) caused
Private Glover to take a baseball bat and beat his roommate."
The major's training session was meant to dispel such confusion
about
the difference between barracks talk and intolerance, especially
toward gay and lesbian soldiers for whom jokes could escalate to
dismissal.
General Clark said the increase in gays asking for discharge at
the
base included soldiers who were genuinely afraid after the
murder, as
well as those "who have been seeking an easy way out of the Army
with
an honorable discharge."
At General Clark's request, the Army's inspector general will go
to
the post this month and assess the command climate there at the
time
of Private Winchell's death.
When testimony at the court-martial of Private Glover described
nightly binge drinking by underage soldiers, the general ordered
a
study and has reversed the liberal policy toward drinking in the
barracks.
He has added security improvements to the barracks and made the
gay
bar frequented by Private Winchell off-limits because Nashville
police records revealed numerous drug arrests and fights there.
He
has reprimanded a sergeant involved in another case of anti-gay
harassment and removed him from his position.
Most important to him, General Clark says he has tried to talk
directly with soldiers and commanders about respect, beginning
with a
morning jog with Private Winchell's brigade shortly after the
murder.
"I ran with the brigade," he said, "and afterward I took Private
Winchell's company aside and I talked to them and their leaders
about
what a tough time it was for them, how I knew this was a
difficult
thing. I asked them to focus on the future and the importance of
taking care of each other."
|
