The 1993 law "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was done away with 13 years ago by the Obama administration. The policy required gay, lesbian and bisexual persons to keep their identities secret while serving in the military. The law was repealed in December of 2010, and the reversal was finalized on September 20, 2011.
Chris Wilbourn served in the Mississippi National Guard, and joined in 2011 right after Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed. He said the experience was difficult for him, even though he knew change was coming.
“When I got to my National Guard unit, I was out. I was the first openly gay soldier at the time in an all-male unit,” he said. “I definitely had my struggles there. I faced a little bit of discrimination from some of my superiors.”
Wilbourn says that his superiors would often refer to their post-Don't Ask Don't Tell environment as "the new army" in a condescending way.
Cevion Span, who identifies as queer, began his military career later. He enlisted with the Army Reserve in 2018 and was stationed in Vicksburg. He feels that his experience coming into the Army was different because the culture was beginning to change.
“We did have a few LGBT members that were serving in my basic training unit who would talk about, you know, they were seeing somebody or they would get letters from their boyfriend,” he said. “There was no like, I guess forms of harassment or insults thrown their way.”
In recognition of the repeal anniversary, The Department of Defense is launching an initiative to change the discharge status for those dishonorably discharged because of their sexual orientation.
