From: rlc1028@zeus.tamu.edu
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton,alt.politics.homosexuality
Subject: GAY MARINE SPEAKS OUT
Keywords: homosexuals, marines, military
Date: 10 Nov 92 21:28:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station

This message is posted for a friend of mine.  I will forward all
responses to him. 

Bud

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    In article <matrix.721260216@sol> matrix@sol.acs.unt.edu (Goodman Byron)
writes about gays in the military.  

    On this the Marine Corps' 217 Birthday, I am replying to the above comments 
about gay's in the service.

    You claim to be in the Corps, and are writing from a University.  This 
tells me that you arer either in the reserves, on active duty as an ROTC 
instructor, or in a degree completion program such as Staff DCP, or MECEP.

    I would like to tell you about myself.  I enlisted at 18 in '84 and 
turned 19 in boot camp.  I then went to El Paso, Tx and became a Stinger 
Gunner.  After school,  I went to Okinawa, Japan for two years.  
While there, I went from Pvt to Cpl with 27 months time in service. 
I then went to Pendleton and was promoted to Sgt with 13 months time in 
grade. I also received a Navy Ach. Medal.  I re-enlisted and went to DI 
school.  I graduated number 4 out of 44(The class started with 88) and went 
to 3d Bn, Mike Co.  I pushed 4 plts and turned 250 slimy primates into US 
Marines.  I was then transfered to the swim tank and trained an additional 
10,000 pvt's in the skill of water survival.

    After a successful tour in the trenches, I went back to Okinawa.  I 
served my last year there and upon departing, my CO asked if I would ever 
come back into the service because I was "the type of Marine the Corps wants 
and needs.".

    During my eight years of service, I recieved tha NAM, two good conduct 
medals, three MUC's, National Defense Medal, and 4 NUC's.  I was also the 
recipiant of various letter's of Appreciation and Commendation.  I spent 
months on ship, and an uncountable amount of time in the field.  In all 
this time I conducted myself in the highest order acording to the MC 
standards.  

    What does all this have to do with your posting?  Well, in all the time I 
was in, my sexual preference never interfered with my job performance.  As 
a gay male, I can tell you that the Corps is not going to go to hell in a 
hand cart if it allows openly gay people to enlist.  A persons sexuality is 
a small part of who that person is.  The arguements you have for keeping 
gay people out are the same ones used to keep blacks out.  Gay people are 
not the only spreaders of aids in this country and are in fact the only 
segment of society that is showing a decrease in the spreading of hiv.  As 
for your fear that all the gay people will only be conserned about trying 
to sleep with all the other people in the unit, don't flatter yourself.  It 
is a fact that the services already have a large gay community that is well 
established.  The only thing they are asking is that they can come out of 
the closet and serve their country proudly and in the open.

    In closing I would like to say that the 8 years I served are something 
I am very proud of.  Most of the college students and people I know can not 
even imagine some of the things I have done and places I have been to.  i 
am glad to be out of the service and continuing my education and don't 
think I would be where I am today without the skills and knowledge I 
acquired in the Corps.

Semper Fi, 
High Speed, Low Drag Sgt J.C. Kilpatrick
Xref: sparky alt.politics.clinton:15994 alt.politics.bush:13283 alt.politics.perot:5216