Posted on 07/27/2006 7:39:00 AM PDT by SmithL
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, though he says he never admitted being gay and his accuser was never identified.
Bleu Copas, 30, told The Associated Press he is gay, but said he was "outed" by a stream of anonymous e-mails to his superiors in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.
"I knew the policy going in," Copas said in an interview on the campus of East Tennessee State University, where he is pursuing a master's degree in counseling and working as a student adviser. "I knew it was going to be difficult."
An eight-month Army investigation culminated in Copas' honorable discharge on Jan. 30 _ less than four years after he enlisted, he said, out of a post-Sept. 11 sense of duty to his country.
Copas now carries the discharge papers, which mention his awards and citations, so he can document his military service for prospective employers. But the papers also give the reason for his dismissal.
He plans to appeal to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.
The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, established in 1993, prohibits the military from inquiring about the sex lives of service members, but requires discharges of those who openly acknowledge being gay.
The policy is becoming "a very effective weapon of vengeance in the armed forces" said Steve Ralls, a spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington-based watchdog organization that counseled Copas and is working to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Copas said he was never open about his sexuality in the military and suspects his accuser was someone he mistakenly befriended and apparently slighted.
More than 11,000 service members have been dismissed under the policy, including 726 last year _ an 11 percent jump from 2004 and the first increase since 2001.
That's less than a half-percent of the more than 2 million soldiers, sailors and Marines dismissed for all reasons since 1993, according to the General Accountability Office.
But the GAO also noted that nearly 800 dismissed gay or lesbian service members had critical abilities, including 300 with important language skills. Fifty-five were proficient in Arabic, including Copas, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in California.
Discharging and replacing them has cost the Pentagon nearly $369 million, according to the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Lt. Col. James Zellmer, Copas' commanding officer in the 313th military intelligence battalion, told the AP that "the evidence clearly indicated that Sgt. Copas had engaged in homosexual acts."
While investigators were never able to determine who the accuser was, "in the end, the nature and the volume of the evidence and Sgt. Copas's own sworn statement led me to discharge him," Zellmer said.
Military investigators wrote that Copas "engaged in at least three homosexual relationships, and is dealing with at least two jealous lovers, either of whom could be the anonymous source providing this information."
Shortly after Copas was appointed to the 82nd Airborne's highly visible All-American Chorus last May, the first e-mail came to the chorus director.
"The director brought everyone into the hallway and told us about this e-mail they had just received and blatantly asked, 'Which one of you are gay?'" Copas said.
Copas later complained to the director and his platoon sergeant, saying the questions violated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"They said they would watch it in the future," Copas said. "And they said, even specifically then, 'Well, you are not gay are you?' And I said, 'no.'"
The accuser, who signed his e-mails "John Smith" or "ftbraggman," pressed Copas' superiors to take action against him or "I will inform your entire battalion of the information that I gave you."
On Dec. 2, investigators formally interviewed Copas and asked if he understood the military's policy on homosexuals, if he had any close acquaintances who were gay, and if he was involved in community theater. He answered affirmatively.
But Copas declined to answer when they asked, "Have you ever engaged in homosexual activity or conduct?" He refused to answer 19 of 47 questions before he asked for a lawyer and the interrogation stopped.
Copas said he accepted the honorable discharge to end the ordeal, to avoid lying about his sexuality and risking a perjury charge, and to keep friends from being targeted.
"It is unfair. It is unjust," he said. "Even with the policy we have, it should never have happened."
"Like decaying civilizations fo the past, America's fall will come from the decadence within and the security threats from without. Like them, we are bombarded by decadence and false causes in the headlines every day: we hear about racial profiling, gay and lesbian rights, racism and feminism, abortion rights and animal rights and guns and environment, as if there were no other issues in the country, or in the universe, for that matter. They have become the sunspots that blind us. It's like the insane beating of a drum that drives out all rational thought.
Racist monsters are trying to shake the pillars of this country. And from the outside there are repeated threats of atomic attacks. Can such a nation as this survive? Even Jesus observed, "Every Kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand" (Matt. 12:25 NIV)...
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Do you care to call him "unChristian"? Perhaps "hotshot" for daring to quote from the Bible? Perhaps you want to challange Salvage him on his military record?
Military investigators wrote that Copas "engaged in at least three homosexual relationships, and is dealing with at least two jealous lovers, either of whom could be the anonymous source providing this information."
It is long past time to get rid of the don't ask don't tell leftist policy of delusion and go back to a reality based policy. Ask up front about those that are predisposed toward and or practice homosexual sexual activities...
The topic involves specifically homosexual sex and in general the leftist attempt to normalize it and "homosexualize" society MUCH as you attempt to do with your argumenet which would be better suited to DU.
If you wish to advocate for a homosexual military THEN do so on DU.
not really, my best friend is an arab language specialist, he seems to think that there are enough of them.
I guess that's why thousands of documents haven't been interpreted and new ones are just filed due to lack of personnel to handle them.
but much better is to weed them out during recruitment.
Yup, I'm with you dude!!!! Weed them out before they can interpret anything. That'll teach em.
Would you be comfortable showering within 2 feet of a gay person of your sex?
If you're a secure and mature person it shouldn't be a problem. That person in the shower, 2 feet away, is the same person he/she was when they were outside the shower door. The only thing that changes is that you are aware that they're gay. If that's uncomfortable it would appear that you have a problem, not the gay person showering next to you especially if no attempt is being made to seduce you. An overt gesture would be out of place, gay or straight.
There are many such places. They are called "colleges" and "universities."
The military does not need this queer in the ranks creating morale (or other) problems. Good riddance!
It's good to know we have people who are able to effectively prioritize national security issues.
Private Fudgepacker need not worry...the ACLU will (at least try to) save the day for him.
The last word (him) could very well be us rather than him.
But, if you feel it's better to purge gays out rather than interpret documents affecting national security I guess you know best.
nice to know who the ignorant bigots are...too bad there isnt a "ignore" function
First they get the military to accept gays.
Will the homo's be satisfied with that?Hell no.
Your promotion of homosexuality is transparent.
I have no interest in debating with phonies. Go promote the inclusion of sexual deviants in the military elsewhere.
And just how does having men AND women working together in the ranks NOT cause the same morale problems? After all - one soldier lusting after another is going to cause problems - the gender of the soldiers is immaterial. Should we kick out all the females in the military?
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