Did not survive DON’T ASK DON’T TELL, but that DID NOT STOP ME.

Did not survive DON’T ASK DON’T TELL, but that DID NOT STOP ME.
Name: Amanda Hetzler
Pronouns: She

I am such a fan of your new DO ASK DO TELL campaign. I was in the Air Force from 2003-2006. I was honorably discharged for HOMOSEXUAL CONDUCT. I had a gentleman sexually harassing me and when I spoke up about him, he outed me. I did not back down and I owned being a lesbian. I was provided a military lawyer known as a JAG and thankfully, I received an honorable discharge. This means I was able to reenlist if I wanted to in the future, but of course not if I was gay. That is until the DADT was lifted in 2011. What is really incredible is not only did I get discharged for being a homosexual (and that is exactly what my discharge papers state), I later legally married an Active Duty Air Force woman in 2017, and in 2019  I commissioned into the Army and am so happy to proudly be serving in uniform amongst my brothers and sisters of the Armed Forces. We focus a lot on what’s wrong in our society, but this campaign is a great reflection on what is right and the progress being made. I lived it full circle.


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