Youth Radio - Topic: DADT

Repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell NOW

wilmer — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:11:44 -0500

By: Joseph Christopher Rocha

This week I joined hundreds of gay and lesbians veterans (even one active duty gay vet currently stationed in Iraq), flooded the halls of U.S. Capitol as part of Veterans Lobby Day on Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT). But our stories of valor and patriotism were not all received by willing and interested ears.

Three years ago Don't Ask Don't Tell silenced me from reporting repeated abuse by fellow soldiers and my unit chief, all because they suspected I was gay. But when I told my story to Congressman Dan Lungren's (R-CA) Legislative Director Kevin Holsclaw, he dismissively replied, "The Representative does not support social experiments in our armed services." One floored comrade recounted how the most pressing inquiry on Representative Dana Rohrabacher's (R-CA) mind regarding DADT, was whether or not she had ever "engaged in homosexual acts" during her career.

by the audacity of representatives and their staffers to look veterans in our eyes and tell us they couldn't care less about our mental health, job security and human dignity, I hurried off Capitol Hill, hoping my one o'clock might be more fruitful.

I dialed the 202 number as I exited the cab and hurried into a coffee shop across from the White House. Inside I scanned the crowd. What does a Deputy Director to the President even look like?

"Hi, this is Brian," I heard the gentleman say both through my receiver and about a foot in front of me.

Brian Bond is the White House Deputy Director of Public Engagement. He has become the de facto target for criticism from the LGBT community over the administration's perceived inaction on Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).

As I sat down, I couldn't help noticing that every other customer in the café was dressed in military uniform. It seemed like a cruel joke as I prepared to argue for the repeal of DADT, a law that was ultimately used to end my military career.

"Before we get started", he said, "I wanted to see if you wouldn't mind signing your letter so I can try my best to get this to the actual President." The initiative and care, from an administration accused of not taking Don't Ask Don't Tell seriously enough, took me by surprise.

Since Bond already knew my story, I explained why it's imperative that a repeal bill passes Congress before the August recess, well ahead of midterm elections when we have no sure way of knowing who will remain in Congress.

I shared with him how, just days earlier, I had built up the courage to finally visit my former peers at the U.S. Naval Academy, an institution I dreamed of graduation from, but because of DADT, now never will.

In Annapolis, gay and straight midshipmen told me how the culture of lies and deceit, forced on our military by DADT, was straining them and their buddies overseas. I told Bond that further delay in repeal efforts will sadly result in continued abuse, suicides, and discharges.

I caught the posture of Deputy Director Bond relax at this point. "I was sort of expecting you to just want to yell at me," he said.

Instead I explained that I understood that without President Obama, Secretary Gates would not have insisted that the Pentagon working group on DADT take a "how, not if" approach. And without White House leadership, it's equally unlikely that Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would have come out so emphatically against DADT.

During a February 2nd hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mullen said "No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

But I was also sure to tell Deputy Director Bond that recent mixed signals have undermined support for the president. He knew exactly what I was getting at.

"Secretary Gate's letter to Chairman Skelton caught us entirely by surprise. I still don't really know what to make of it," he said.

He explained how careful analysis of the text convinces him it was drafted "rather hastily." As the White House's point man on DADT, Bond assured me the president is working aggressively to achieve the most cohesive congressional, executive, and DOD solution to permanent repeal.

"The President is committed to getting this done," he said, "and done right."

"Please do not interpret silence from the White House as inaction on repeal or a reflection of its commitment." According to Bond, any perceived lack of transparency is due to sensitive collaborations between the different bodies of government that have been ongoing from day one, and will result in repeal "this year."

Members of the LGBT community find ourselves wrestling with our hearts, which want repeal yesterday, and our minds, which understand the complexities of passing a bill through Congress - the only permanent solution to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

The meeting left me feeling relieved. For the first time I am entirely convinced that this administration is behind us. What is left is for us, together, to take this fight, in earnest, to both houses of Congress.

Over the course of Veterans Lobby Day, it became clear to me that legislators opposed to the repeal of DADT will not be swayed by the mountain of statistics and legal arguments stacked against DADT. At this point they can only truly be influenced by the men and women who have served under this deeply flawed policy.

As the fight to repeal DADT advances towards the House and Senate floors in the coming weeks, there's only one convincing argument left that holds any power to change our legislators' minds. They need to hear brave testimonies from the over a million living gay and lesbian veterans stretching all the way back to WWII.

The time is now, for legislators to choose what side of history they wish to be written into. Undoubtedly some members of Congress will remain in opposition to repeal, but in a country that relentlessly supports its troops, they should expect electoral retribution for anything short of full support of the dignified treatment of each and every service member.

Together with our allies in Congress and the White House, this summer we face the decisive battle that will determine the fate of repeal. I, like many vets at Veterans Lobby Day, hope that by this time next year, I am back in uniform serving my country.

Sailor's Abuse Investigation Hub

noah — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:46:28 -0500

What follows is a link collection containing all the posts and supporting documentation we have for the story: Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit.

This collection will update as new material is posted online.

THE YOUTH RADIO INVESTIGATION

Navy Forces Out Chief for Bahrain Hazing

As a result of the top-level Navy review of misconduct in a canine unit in Bahrain, the Secretary of the Navy has censured the unit’s former chief petty officer, Michael Toussaint, forcing him to retire from the Navy.

Navy Report Ignores Sailor's Suicide

A Youth Radio investigation finds that the U.S. Navy’s report on hazing in its Bahrain Canine Unit omitted the suicide of the unit’s leading Petty Officer, who feared she had become the scapegoat for widespread abuse.

On January 16, 2007, Petty Officer Jennifer Valdivia was found dead in a small room at her home in Bahrain. The U.S. Navy, which maintains a major base on the island in the Persian Gulf, classified her death as a non-combat related incident. A Navy autopsy later confirmed that 27-year-old Valdivia committed suicide.

Youth Radio Investigation Sparks Top Military Review

Since Youth Radio broke the story, the current commander of naval installations in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia, Rear Admiral David Mercer, has ordered a review of the Navy’s investigation. And Youth Radio has just learned that yet another review of the investigation has been ordered, this time by the Chief of Naval Operations, the Navy's highest ranking officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The deadline for that report is October 6th.

Navy Sailors Say They Were Hazed, Abused Transcript and audio of the story as it aired on NPR's All Things Considered.

Youth Radio has interviewed six sailors from the canine unit. They all tell similar stories of abuse.

One sailor who would only talk on tape if we changed her voice, remembers seeing a different sexually charged video. In it a female sailor was ordered to role-play as the lover of another female in the unit, who was handcuffed to a bed, and appeared naked under the sheets.

Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit

Between 2004 and 2006, sailors in the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain Military Working Dogs Division, or "The Kennel," were subjected to an atmosphere of sexual harassment, psychological humiliation, and physical assaults.

It was inside that Bahrain kennel in July 2005 that Petty Officer Joseph Christopher Rocha, then 19 years old, says he was being terrorized by other members of his own division. "I was hog-tied to a chair, rolled around the base, left in a dog kennel that had feces spread in it."

THE DOCUMENT COLLECTION:

Fact Finding Summary

Investigation Report

Performance Reviews

Voluntary Statement (of sexual orientation)

Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty

Freedom Of Information Request

Navy Command Investigation into Jennifer Valdivia's Suicide

NCIS Investigation into Jennifer Valdivia's Suicide

PHOTOS & SLIDESHOWS

Navy Canine Unit, Bahrain Slideshow (Flickr Set)

A Father Remembers - Slideshow featuring Chris Young, the father of Jennifer Valdivia

PREVIOUS STORIES FEATURING Joseph Christopher Rocha:

Don't Ask, Do Tell: the Shocking Story of a Gay Sailor - Rocha's story in his own words. (KQED Perspective & Video)

The High Cost Of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Initial Audio Interview)

Youth Reaction to Prop 8 Mixed - Reporter Rachel Krantz met Joseph C. Rocha while covering the demonstration held in reaction to the California State Supreme Court's upholding of Proposition 8.

THE AWARD WINNING "REFLECTIONS ON RETURN" SERIES

From 2003 to 2008, Youth Radio produced a series of reports and first person accounts of young men aand women upon their returning from service in Iraq. The series would go on to win the Edward R. Murrow award. Collected below are a few of those stories, which themselves have links to the rest of the collection.

A Soldier's Reflection -Twenty-year-old Gaurav Taneja fought with Second Battalion, 23rd Marines Fox Company when they invaded Iraq. He spent his childhood in India, and joined the U.S. military at 17 years old. Now, Taneja is a college student and a veteran, like thousands of other young U.S.-soldiers who are coming home after completing their first tours.

The Story of a Wounded Soldier -In September 2003, 21-year-old Corporal Chris Kotch was hit by an improvised explosive device while on routine patrol near Al'Fallujah in Iraq. His left vocal chord is now paralyzed, due to a procedure following his injury, and you’ll hear the effects of that damage in his voice.

Family Times and Iraq - Specialist Richard Denny is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for 12 months, returning to the states in November 2004. He’s from a family of military men. Both his father and his brother have done tours of duty in Iraq. But Richard explains that since he returned to his base North Carolina, he’s realized his war experiences are hard to share, even when he’s with his family in Tennessee.

Investigation: Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit

noah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:39:48 -0500

By Rachel Krantz

In the Persian Gulf, on the island of Bahrain, the U.S. Navy has a special division made up of bomb-sniffing dogs and the sailors who handle them. The Bahrain Military Working Dogs Division was featured in a Navy News spot highlighting the work involved in deploying these highly trained canines to sniff out narcotics and explosives coming through the Persian Gulf and into the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq.

(See a Navy video of the dogs that can detect small amounts of explosives with a sense of smell "10 times greater" than their trainers'.)

Developing trust between the dog and the handler is at the core of what makes canine detection work, as together, their job is to step into situations that can be deadly at any moment. However, that trust between the individual sailor and dog does not necessarily extend to the overall culture of the unit.

A Youth Radio investigation has found that between 2004 and 2006, sailors in the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain Military Working Dogs Division, or "The Kennel," were subjected to an atmosphere of sexual harassment, psychological humiliation, and physical assaults.

Joseph Christopher Rocha with an MWD in Bahrain.

It was inside that Bahrain kennel in July 2005 that Petty Officer Joseph Christopher Rocha, then 19 years old, says he was being terrorized by other members of his own division. "I was hog-tied to a chair, rolled around the base, left in a dog kennel that had feces spread in it."

Rocha says that beginning six weeks into his deployment, he was singled out for abuse by his chief master-at-arms, Michael Toussaint, and others on the base, once Rocha made it clear he was not interested in prostitutes. "I was in a very small testosterone-driven unit of men," Rocha says. "I think that's what began the questioning-you know-‘Why don't you want to have sex with her? Are you a faggot?’"

Youth Radio has conducted interviews and obtained documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) showing that the hog-tying episode was not the first or only case of harassment and abuse during Rocha's deployment. In another incident cited in the documents, Rocha was forced to appear in a twisted "training video." A member of the Working Dogs Division, Petty Officer Shaun Hogan, recalls the scene.

Petty Officer Shaun Hogan

"Petty Officer Rocha and another junior sailor…were instructed to go into a classroom by Chief Michael Toussaint, who orchestrated the entire training. And Chief Toussaint asked them to simulate homosexual sex on a couch," Hogan says.

Next in the simulation, Hogan says a handler and his dog barged onto the scene, and that's when "one person…would sit up, kind of wipe off their mouth, the other would get up, and they would be fixing their fly."

Rocha says Toussaint bullied him, "telling me I needed to be more believable, act more queer, have a higher pitched voice, make the sounds and gestures more realistic...I didn't think I had a choice…It made me feel that I wasn't a human being, that I was an animal, rather."

Rocha says at the time, he had no gay friends, no male lovers, and wasn’t even fully out to himself about his sexuality. "The fact that I was starting to figure out that I was a homosexual, it was the most degrading thing I've ever experienced in my life." Still, eight thousand miles away from home, he was afraid to report the constant hazing. And Rocha was not the only one.

[PAGE TWO: THE DOCUMENTATION]

[NOTE: We've disabled the comments section on this page in order to keep the discussion on this topic in one place. Please use the comments section on Page Three of the story. We apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.]

Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit: THE FALLOUT

noah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:44:01 -0500

[Click here for Page Two]

As for the sailors from the Military Working Dogs unit, those Youth Radio interviewed who took the risk of participating in the investigation have seen no public accountability within their military leadership. “I would like to see the people responsible for allowing this to go unpunished be held accountable,” says Rocha, “and in doing so setting an example throughout the armed forces that the values of honor, courage and commitment and are more than just a tagline.”

An undetermined number of sailors from the unit are struggling with the after-effects of the hazing and abuse they suffered or witnessed.

Joseph Christopher Rocha (at left) has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by Veterans Affairs.

Shaun Hogan (at right) says he is haunted by personal guilt.

"I was duty bound to protect those under my command; Petty Officer Rocha [and] several others. I have a lot of regret for not having spoken up at the time and intervening... and the reason I didn't was because I felt threatened myself. Chief Toussaint had shown he will throw people out of the kennel. The last thing he did when he left was threaten me, that if he hears anything that doesn't agree with him, he knows people, and he'll seek to have my certification to handle dogs removed."

A female member of the unit, who asked not to be named, says after her “horrible” deployment in Bahrain, she was ready to quit the military. Then she was transferred to a new base and decided to stay, determined to become a different kind of leader.

"How can we sit there and try to promote honor, courage and commitment when we have people like that in the military?” she said, “That's why I hope I can make rank and make a difference somehow, in a small way, hopefully."

As for Rocha, after his assignment in Bahrain, he chose a path towards officer training. But the hardest moment came when he decided to walk away from that, and with it, his lifelong dream of a military career. He says there are lots of reasons behind that painful choice: the lack of public accountability for the abuse he suffered in Bahrain; the fear that the abuse at his next deployment could be as bad or worse; and the vision of a life where he'd be lying to himself everyday about his sexuality and who he is, just to keep his job.

In the end, it only took three words.

"I am homosexual."

Rocha's official statement went on:

"I am proud of my service and had hoped that I'd be able to serve the navy and country for my entire career. However…I must be honest with myself, courageous in my beliefs and committed to my course of action. I understand this statement will be used to end my naval career."

(Read the full statement.)

On the basis of that statement, Rocha was officially discharged by the U.S. Navy.

Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit: THE DOCUMENTATION

noah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:40:44 -0500

[Click here for Page One]

Allegations of abuse across the unit escalated to a point that Navy officials enlisted Marine Corps Captain Brooks Braden to carry out an independent investigation. When Youth Radio reached Braden by phone, he said he didn’t have authorization to discuss “any investigations that may or may not have occurred.” There are a variety of opinions as to what specifically triggered the investigation of the Working Dogs Division. What’s not in question are the Findings of Fact highlighted in the Navy’s report.

Youth Radio has obtained a copy of both Braden’s investigation and the Navy’s Findings of Fact, which detail what happened to Rocha, in addition to incidents involving other service members. The FOIA documents have been redacted, so names are blocked out, but the actions listed include: throwing hard balls at the groin, spraying down uniformed personnel with multiple hoses, and a dog attacking a sex worker on base to the point of hospitalization.

(See the redacted investigation report.)

Youth Radio’s investigation includes interviewing four members of the Bahrain Working Dogs Division who served between 2004 and 2006. All say the tone was set by Chief Toussaint. Some sailors participated in the culture of hazing as victims, others as perpetrators, or in some cases both. They say the hazing continued because of a series of threats that were also integral to the culture of the unit, which not only tolerated abuse, but also invited it. To prevent them from speaking out, sailors Youth Radio interviewed say Toussaint would threaten to revoke their handlers’ licenses--taking away their dogs and their specialty in the Navy.

Another incident cited in the investigation found that two female service members were ordered to simulate sex with each other on video. According to the Findings of Fact, the women were handcuffed to a bed and appeared to be naked under a sheet.

(See the redacted Findings of Fact.)

For response from the Navy, investigator Brooks Braden and Naval officials in Bahrain pointed Youth Radio to Regional Public Affairs Officer Wendy Snyder. Though stationed in Naples, Italy, Lieutenant Commander Snyder confirmed that she is the official spokesperson for the base. She said in a phone call that she did not possess records for the investigation of the Military Working Dogs unit.

"Because it's been more than two years, they are no longer available,” Snyder said. “Whether they're shredded or destroyed, I don't know."

In response to the fact that Youth Radio has obtained a copy of the official findings of the investigation, Snyder said, "I know an investigation was held in 2007 regarding several instances that took place within the Military Working Dog Division of the Naval Security Force in Bahrain. I believe there were at least 16 individuals involved in allegations."

Youth Radio asked what disciplinary actions Navy officials have taken against those responsible for the abuses against sailors at the Bahrain Working Dogs Division. "As far as I know,” Snyder said, “the investigation was completed, and the outcomes I don't know of those individuals involved." In a subsequent email, Snyder wrote that “personnel were held accountable” on the basis of the investigation, but she could not report specific disciplinary actions for the chief or his superiors.

Seeking a more specific answer, Youth Radio contacted the Navy’s Judge Advocate General, its Commander of Naval Installations and public affairs offices in Bahrain and state-side. All either weren’t available or refused to identify repercussions for those in the chain of command responsible for the Working Dogs Division abuse.

Youth Radio has obtained a copy of an email addressed to commanders distributed by Vice Admiral Bob Conway, who at the time of the investigation oversaw the management of Navy bases around the world, including Bahrain. In it, Conway states that hazing activities cited in the investigation “were encouraged, and in some cases instigated, by the senior enlisted leadership of the M.W.D. Division.” The email goes on to say the Navy “must hold those who engage in or enable hazing accountable.” While Conway continues that he might be “beating a dead horse,” he says “incidents” continue to occur, and that the Navy needs to identify those responsible “before something bad happens.” Service members who “don’t get it,” he says, “have no place in a leadership position.”

And yet, the Navy’s actions in the case of the Bahrain Working Dogs unit don’t line up with that directive. Since the investigation, Michael Toussaint, Chief over the unit during the abuse, was promoted to Senior Chief with the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group in Dam Neck, Virginia.

Youth Radio made several attempts to contact Toussaint directly and was told by Special Warfare Command spokesman Major Sonny Leggett that Toussaint is in “austere locations” and unable to be reached.

[PAGE THREE: THE FALLOUT]

Don't Ask, Do Tell: The Shocking Story of a Gay Sailor (VIDEO)

noah — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:44:26 -0500

We met Joseph Rocha at an anti-Prop 8 rally in San Francisco back in May. Little did we know at the time that his story would prove to be so compelling. This week we asked Joseph to share his story with the audience of KQED-FM, and he produced the following Perspective.

By: Joseph Christopher Rocha

After a rough childhood, I dedicated my life to public service, starting in the military. I had no idea at that time that every one of my major military accomplishments, including acceptance to the U.S. Naval Academy, would be overshadowed by my sexuality.

I earned a spot among the elite, high-testosterone community of Military Explosive Detection Handlers. While stationed in the Middle East, the men in my unit spent lots of time with prostitutes. Soon, my refusal to partake was reason enough for my peers to accuse me, day in and out, of being gay.

My Navy peers often harassed me, insisting the extra training I did with Marines was a search for sex partners. Once, I was hog tied to a chair, rolled across the base, and left in a dog kennel with feces. I was forced to simulate sex acts, on camera, to armed service members with trained attack dogs in the room. Men with hoses sprayed me down in full uniform.

Thousands of miles away from the United States, being subjected to extreme humiliation by my own military leadership, I did not feel hatred. I felt fear. Fear they would hurt me and no one back home would ever know. I had no gay friends to talk with and no gay personal life. I was only 18 years old, and I was afraid if I told anyone, I would be kicked out for being gay.

Joseph tells his story to reporter Rachel Krantz.

Eventually, someone a rank above me reported it, and there was an investigation that found dehumanizing pranks against me were habitual. I was preparing to testify, when I got a call from a Navy attorney telling me the case was dropped.

So all I have to show for my abuse is a two inch packet of investigation findings and post traumatic stress disorder.

Since 1993, the policy that reads "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Harass, Don't Pursue" (DADT) has legitimized discrimination and abuse against our Country's finest. It's a policy that made it easier for my abusers to torment me. I support House bill H.R.1283 which would replace DADT with a non-discrimination policy, and when it comes to a vote, our President and legislators in Congress should have little fear of opposing it. Because according to a 2008 Washington Post/ABC News poll, 75 percent of Americans favor allowing openly gay people to serve in the military.

I wish I could still be serving in our military, but after three and a half years in the Navy, including two and a half years stationed in the Middle East, I resigned because I refused to be punished any longer for who I am. My official statement to the Navy reads in part:

"I am homosexual. I am proud of my service and had hoped that I'd be able to serve the Navy and country for my entire career. However, the principles of honor, courage and commitment mean that I must be honest with myself, courageous in my beliefs and committed to my course of action. I understand this statement will be used to end my naval career."

I told, and I was discharged.

Previously:

Murder of Navy Seaman Possible Hate Crime

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:44:23 -0500

29-year-old Navy Seaman August Provost III was found shot dead at his post on Camp Pendelton Marine Corps Base on July 1st. Currently, an investigation is being launched into whether his murder was a hate crime provoked by his being gay.

Provost's family states they believe his death was a hate crime, especially since Provost had complained of harassment on the base because of his sexuality. So far, Navy Captain Matt Brown has released this statement.

"What I can tell you, unequivocally at this point, based on the preliminary information that we have, is that regardless of the person standing watch in that sentry station, this crime would have most likely been carried out in the same way. In other words, another sailor could have been on that post and would have been the victim of this crime."

That statement might be more credible if the military didn't have a history of covering up crimes against gays in the military. Youth Radio brought one such story into the public eye when we talked to veteran Joseph Christopher Rocha about the abuse he experienced in the Navy because of suspicions about his sexuality. The investigation into Rocha's case of abuse was mysteriously dropped after it reached the highest military court. We can only hope that an investigation into Provost's death will be more thorough.

This is just the latest scandal that brings up the potential for disaster and abuse due to Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Whether or not Provost's death was a hate crime, the very possibility that it was should underscore the flaws of this disastrous military policy.

Previously:

The High Cost Of Don't Ask, Don't Tell