General in the military who is gay
First Openly Gay US General Inspires Students to Aim High
By Andrew Cohen
U.S. Brigadier General Tammy Smith addresses the
audience at Berkeley Law.
For Tammy Smith, the first openly gay general to provide in the United States military, professional success had always been linked with personal secrecy. After meeting her wife Tracy Hepner in , however, the weight of living two lives increasingly proved too much to bear.
“It became harder and harder to keep those worlds separate,” Smith said during a riveting presentation Sept. 22 at Berkeley Law. “The most important part of my life I had to keep secret.”
During her chat, Smith reflected on her experiences before, during, and after the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Enacted in , the policy ruled that applicants should not be asked about their orientation and that the military could not punish service members for their sexuality—so long as it stayed secret.
“At the time, I thought, ‘this is good, this is progress,’” Smith recalled. “I was already excellent at not telling anyone … it was almost a celeb
Do you have a favorite vacation memory? Mine is when my parents took us to Washington DC for the very first time. We spent a week visiting the museums and monuments to absorb history and peak into the past. The monument I found most intriguing was the one devoted to Baron von Steuben. I had never heard of Baron von Steuben before, so I took a picture to explore later. I discovered that he was one of the most important military leaders of the American Revolution, but is often forgotten. The fact that stuck out the most? von Steuben was openly gay. Flash forward. Envision my surprise when I found Washington&#;s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben written by Josh Trujillo and illustrated by Levi Hastings on the fresh graphic novel shelves at work. I immediately checked it out to grasp more!
Washington&#;s Gay General covers von Steuben&#;s young being in Prussia, his military history, to his death in upstate New York in Von Steuben served in the Prussian military for years before he was dismissed from the army due to rumors of homosexuality. After he was
Tammy S. Smith becomes first openly homosexual general
An Army officer being promoted to brigadier general openly acknowledged her homosexuality on Friday by having her wife pin her luminary to her uniform, thus becoming the first openly male lover officer of flag rank in the United States military.
The officer, Brig. Gen. Tammy S. Smith, 49, a year veteran of the Army, was promoted in a ceremony at the women’s memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The star was affixed by Tracey Hepner, who was a co-founder last year of the Military Partners and Families Coalition, which “provides support, resources, education and representation for lesbian, same-sex attracted, bisexual and transsexual military partners and their families,” according to its Web site.
The couple married in Parade in the District of Columbia.
The military dropped its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gay service members on Sept. 20, , after a change in federal law.
The Army said that General Smith was not available for an interview on Sunday. However, she said in a declaration that the Defense Department had made sexual orientation a private ma
Army’s first openly male lover general retires after inspiring others
Since Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith, the military’s highest-ranking openly gay officer, came out in , she has tried organism an example of living authentically while also creature a beacon of awareness to other Soldiers and their families.
It’s been nearly a decade since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, or DADT, was repealed. The policy banned lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from serving in the military. Since then, Smith has gotten married, has been promoted not once but twice, and made history after coming out as a member of the LGBT community.
This week, Smith, who was special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, retired after 35 years of service.
In , her promotion to brigadier general grabbed news headlines. The general never sought to make history that followed her ruling to include her wife, Tracey Hepner, during the promotion ceremony. It terrified her to come out as gay in such a public way, but she felt a responsibility to do it, she said.
On a personal