[Kevin Curry]

Members of Congress Appeal on Behalf of Gay Veteran

Tuesday, 12 August 1997

WASHINGTON-- . . . 21 members of Congress issued an appeal to Defense Secretary William Cohen last week to reverse the "other than honorable" discharge handed to a decorated 20-year Army veteran for homosexual conduct.

50-Year-old Lt. Col. Steve Loomis was discharged for "conduct unbecoming an officer" one week before he reached his 20-year active-duty career mark. He enlisted in the Army at the height of the Vietnam War in 1967 and received a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars for his service. The discharge disqualified him from full retirement, and he was summarily denied both his pension and benefits.

The Washington Post reported in July the troubles of Army Lt. Col. Steve Loomis were just beginning when a soldier burned down his off-base home last year. A fire marshall investigating the ruins found a sexually explicit video cassette featuring Loomis and three other men. Rather than returning the video to Loomis, the marshall passed the information along to Army officials.

The fire was set by Army Pvt. Michael Burdette who met Loomis two years ago and had posed for nude photos in Loomis' home. The Post said that Burdette wanted to retrieve the photos, and failing that, burned down the house in an attempt to destroy them. The fire marshall investigating the blaze reportedly took the video from a standing camera in hopes it might provide clues as to the arsonist's identity.

Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Connie Morella (R-Md.) and 19 other members of Congress signed a letter which said it appeared the Army violated "don't ask, don't tell" regulations in its prosecution of the case. The letter also said that it appeared to the undersigned that Lt. Col. Loomis "has been treated in a grossly unfair and almost vindictive manner."

C. Dixon Osburn of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said that the Army made numerous violations of its own policies in its handling of the Loomis case. Said Osburn, "His command decided for whatever reason that he should be discharged and that he should be slammed hard."

* * * * *

An officer taking kinky photos of a nude enlisted male soldier? Even without the sodomy that would be enough to get the jerk kicked out.

Too bad. So sad. No cookie for Stevie. Good riddance.

[Sabertooth]

An officer taking kinky photos of a nude enlisted male soldier? Even without the sodomy that would be enough to get the jerk kicked out.

Yep, good catch. I withdraw my earlier speculation.

[ewing]

Maybe they gay lobby didnt do their homework here after all!

[Antoninus]

The Washington Post reported in July the troubles of Army Lt. Col. Steve Loomis were just beginning when a soldier burned down his off-base home last year. A fire marshall investigating the ruins found a sexually explicit video cassette featuring Loomis and three other men. Rather than returning the video to Loomis, the marshall passed the information along to Army officials. The fire was set by Army Pvt. Michael Burdette who met Loomis two years ago and had posed for nude photos in Loomis' home. The Post said that Burdette wanted to retrieve the photos, and failing that, burned down the house in an attempt to destroy them. The fire marshall investigating the blaze reportedly took the video from a standing camera in hopes it might provide clues as to the arsonist's identity.

Does this sound like behavior becoming an officer? It was only the timing of the dismissal that was unfortunate, not the dismissal itself. This guy was a creep, a perv, and guilty of gross abuse of authority.

Unless you consider taking photos of a private's privates a perfectly legitimate thing for an officer to do....Of course, that would put you in the same boat as Bwarney Fwank.

[ImphClinton]

I agree. Had these photos been of a young woman and said woman had burned down his home he would have also been kicked out. This was simply conduct unbecoming an officer. The standard is higher in the military and should be.

Considering that this tape solved the case it seems very right the tape was turned over to Army officials.

[First Amendment]

The fire was set by Army Pvt. Michael Burdette who met Loomis two years ago and had posed for nude photos in Loomis' home. The Post said that Burdette wanted to retrieve the photos, and failing that, burned down the house in an attempt to destroy them.

You couldn't find a better illustration of why homosexuals shouldn't be serving in the armed forces.