Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Phillip Pavlovich | 160615-N-AV234-153 PEARL HARBOR (June 15, 2016) Capt. Stanley Keeves Jr., commander of...... read more read more
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PEARL HARBOR (NNS) – The Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) and U.S. Pacific Fleet joint Diversity Committee hosted a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month ceremony at the Hickam Officer's Club June 15.
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall riots that took place in New York June 1969. The riots are largely regarded as the beginning of the LGBT rights movement, and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for LGBT Americans. The Department of Defense has chosen "Celebration" as the theme for this year's observance.
Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Ean Oliver kicked off the ceremony by asking those in attendance to bow their heads for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Orlando Fla., mass shooting. “What happened is such a tragedy,” said Oliver. “As a gay man, all I could think about was that could have been me.”
The mass shooting took place June 12, at Pulse night club in Orlando Fla., leaving 49 people dead and 52 wounded. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history, and the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks of 2001.
Following the moment of silence, guest speaker Retired Command Master Chief James Miller was welcomed to the stage. Miller shared personal stories about how LGBT policy in the Navy changed throughout his time serving.
“It was very nerve racking because normally people ask me to speak about leadership or submarines but this is more personal to me to talk about sexuality,” said Miller. “This meant a lot to me and I was honored to share my experiences.”
Military policy and legislation had previously prohibited gay individuals from serving, and subsequently from serving openly. In turn, a legislative policy was enacted in a 1993 bill that continued the ban under which LGBT individuals were prohibited from serving, but it also prohibited investigation into a member's sexual orientation without suspicion. The new policy was known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and was seen as a compromise between the two political efforts.
Miller expressed his thoughts saying when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was first instated he feel it was a tough time for the LGBT community in the Navy due to the nature of the policy and the investigations. He said they had to keep their dating life a secret and if they were going through a tough emotional time in their lives they weren’t allowed to talk about it.
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 created a future pathway to allow the LGBT community to serve in the military. This repeal would only take effect with sufficient certification it would not harm military readiness, followed by a 60-day waiting period. In early 2011, military leaders began issuing training plans for the expected repeal of the ban. A court order on July 6, 2011, required the Pentagon to immediately suspend the ban, which the government complied with. Prohibitions were entirely ended September 2011 after Congress voted to repeal the policy.
During Miller's speech he talked about how the military has came along way since he first joined on the topic of LGBT members serving in the military but expressed that no matter what leaders need to take care of their Sailors.
"As a leader, when one of your Sailors come to you and tell they think they are gay or are having an issue, realize they are trusting you and believe in your ability to help them,” said Miller. “Even if you are not a part of the LGBT community one day you may have a Sailor that is and if that Sailor needs help you need to know what resources are available to help them. You may not be the person that has the knowledge to help them but you have to be the person that has the knowledge of resources to help them.”
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2016 17:57 |
| Story ID: | 201459 |
| Location: | PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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