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Old 03-15-2009, 17:33   #4
Stras
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Why is he wearing a uniform if he's retired?

Jihad and I looked at this, and don't see an airborne tab between the SF Tab and patch. He's got the old SF Wing backing (yellow and blue), no nametag, missing the Southwest Asia Service Medal, and appears to have an 82nd combat patch. I can't tell what the ribbon is above his overseas service ribbon, but the rest of his fruit salad is all in order. No CIB or CMB???? Gulf war service awards were National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Liberation of Kuwait Medal (Saudi Arabia), and Liberation of Kuwait Medal (Kuwait).

retired SSG.... I don't know of any SF Retired SSG between 1993 and present.. unless he was medically retired.

There are certain functions that are spelled out in AR 670-1 with regards to the wear of the uniform by retirees. I seriously doubt that this is one of the occasions authorized to wear a military uniform. (just my humble opinion)

Perhaps "adminstratively eliminated" is code for Medical Board for BROKE BACK....

Here's the full article:
Lincoln man brings his story of the Army's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy to Jax State
By Nick Cenegy
Staff Writer
03-13-2009

Retired Staff Sgt. James Walker of Lincoln shares the story of his disrupted career in the Army. Walker says he was 'administratively eliminated' after a fellow soldier competing with him for one slot in a special program reported him to commanders.
He was among the most elite Special Forces soldiers in the U.S. Army. Trained expertly in explosives, he was a motivated weapon of war and deployed twice to the Middle East during the first Gulf War. Commanding officers praised his professional performance and noted his distinction among his peers. But a gay Green Beret in a "don't ask, don't tell" Army walked a different kind of minefield.
Retired Staff Sgt. James Walker, of Lincoln, brought the story of his disrupted career in the Army to about 20 students, residents and members of JSU Students for Equality, a straight and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) alliance group.
The alliance, only a semester old, aims to provide a safe and supportive environment for LGBT students and their allies, said the Rev. Patrick Clines, the group's coordinator.
In his uniform decorated during his Army years Walker told the group, gathered on the 11th floor of Jacksonville State University's Houston Cole Library, that the military policy of willful ignorance ruins people's lives.
"It forces people into lives of dishonesty, mocking military traditions," Walker said.
The Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was instituted after President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gay service members in 1993. It refers to the military practice of not asking recruits their sexual orientation. In turn, service members are banned from saying they are gay or bisexual, engaging in homosexual activity or trying to marry a member of the same sex. What constitutes engaging in that type of behavior or what the military refers to as a "propensity or intent" for that behavior is left to military court martial boards to decide.
"This is the only job in the U.S. where you can be fired for being gay," Walker said.
By 2007 the military discharged 12,000 service members under the policy, he said.
According to the Pentagon, the number fired each year dropped sharply after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, when forces were stretched thin. Whereas more than 1,200 were dismissed in 2000 and again in 2001 for violating the policy, about half as many — 627 — were fired in 2007.
The Pentagon has not released its 2008 figures.
Commanders are different but many are not inclined to give up a good soldier. All are required, however, to investigate alleged homosexual activity.
Walker said he was "administratively eliminated" after a fellow soldier competing with him for one slot in a special program reported him to commanders.
While he was under investigation by the Army for homosexual activity he broke his back on a nighttime parachute jump.
Walker said the other soldiers in his unit went so far as to go to his apartment to bring his partner back to the hospital.
"A lot of guys in the unit knew I was gay, thought I was gay, had some suspicions, but we were all professionals. I dedicated myself to being a professional soldier and sexual orientation was not a big part of that," he said.
The White House has said in recent weeks President Barack Obama has begun consulting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen on how to lift the ban. But the administration won't say how soon that might happen or whether a group of experts will be commissioned to study the issue in-depth, as some Democrats have suggested.
Likewise, Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill support repealing the ban but have not promised to press the issue immediately.
The Army fired 11 soldiers in January for violating the military's policy that gay service members must keep their sexuality hidden, according to a Virginia congressman.
Democratic Rep. Jim Moran said he has requested monthly updates from the Pentagon on the impact of the policy until it is repealed.
Walker, unlike many, managed to retire from the service. Army prosecutors opted to drop the charges against him. If he had been court martialled he would have lost his veterans benefits, he said.
Walker said he believes that it was because he was a Green Beret in a time when the media was abuzz with the topic.
An outed serviceman in such a high-profile special forces group would have garnered a lot of media attention, he said.
Though soldiers are still being fired for their sexuality, Walker said trends in the public and political realms are leading in a positive direction.
"We have always maintained ourselves as a country of equality and freedom. Society is not crumbling because gays and lesbians are serving in the military," Walker said.
At the same time, he said, some moves from the Pentagon have been baffling.
Recently the Army lowered its recruiting standards to include those with some criminal histories.
"They will take a felon over a gay or lesbian," Walker said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Last edited by Stras; 03-15-2009 at 17:37.
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