In the Washington Post Outlook section article, Joseph Rocha — ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Didn’t Protect Me From Abuse in the Navy , dated October 11, 2009, Mr. Rocha tells a tale of how the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for gays in the military not only did not work for him but worked against him. Rocha joined the U.S. Navy in 2005 and was sent to the Bahrain, perhaps in Shore Patrol unit.
After qualifying and training for a spot in a dog handling unit, he joined a unit of 24 individuals responsible for 32 dogs. The dogs were used to search for and detect explosives, drugs, contraband, bound from Bahrain to Iraq and Afghanistan. Joe’s description of how he was treated vies with notoriety for stories of Abu Graib:
“– the chief had decided that I would be down on my hands and knees, simulating oral sex. A kennel support staff member and I were supposed to pretend that we were in our bedroom and that the dogs were catching us having sex. Over and over, with each of the 32 dogs, I was forced to enact this scenario.”
To make matters worse, the only person that stood up for Joseph, was the unit second in command, a 1st Class Petty Officer, who was named “Sailor of the Year” when she was 27, was blamed for not reigning in her boss, a Chief Petty Officer. WTF? This woman, with orders to return to the States, was charged with negligence, had her orders rescinded and had to stay in Bahrain. She killed herself.
The story continues. Please read the whole article and write to your elected representatives and ask them to support gays in the military…or anywhere.
I hadn’t had the time, or energy, to publish this entry before I read in the Washington Post on October 21, 2009, that the Chief Petty Officer responsible for the dog handing unit was under investigation for “years-old allegations of hazing and sexual harassment against a gay sailor and others.” Read more here…”Navy petty officer to face punishment in hazing.”
Disclaimer: I am not gay. I spent 10 enjoyable years in the Navy. I worked for five years as an equal opportunity coordinator while I was in the Navy. I have written, planned, coordinated, and conducted numerous classes/seminars on equal rights/opportunities, sexual harassment, and discrimination and briefed the Chief of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, Korea, on said topics.