Hey! They’re talking about me! (and thousands of people who were treated similarly)
I served for three years before I had any trouble. And on paper, there’s no record that I was kicked out for being queer. There’s just an opaque charge of misconduct which was drummed up after a base commander saw me (identified as male at the time) wearing a skirt.
The fact that this base was deep in rural Georgia - almost in Florida, really - feels relevant to this story, for some reason.
Being called “airman Klinger” for the next year while the JAG sat on my paperwork? It seemed pretty damn clear to me what misconduct they meant.
(Context for non-Americans and younger generations: there was once a popular TV show here, called MAS*H, which featured a cross dressing soldier named Klinger)
Thank you for sharing your story! I can’t imagine it’s easy, but there are many in similar situations that need to know they aren’t alone. It’s a shame this is so prevalent in the military.
My wife’s uncle was forced out, but honorably discharged in the 70s because they didn’t want to piss off someone with the classified knowledge he had.
