THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407130382
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
In the stateroom of a submarine, during a tense hourlong meeting some 18 months ago, Lt. j.g. Dirk Selland acknowledged to his commanding officer that he was a homosexual.
Bolstered by rumors that a newly elected president would lift the military ban against gays, Selland came clean, hoping to end his private torment.
``I did not ask to be placed in a civil rights struggle,'' Selland explained Tuesday. ``I was not trying to make a political statement. I was not then. I am not now.''
What Selland set in motion that January evening came to a crashing halt in a military courtroom Tuesday morning, when a three-member board considered whether to discharge him.
Selland, 25, was called before the administrative board to answer allegations that he had violated the President Clinton's compromise ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy regarding homosexuals .
The board is expected to continue this morning.
The Navy's case against Selland rested on the word of Cmdr. Carl Hasslinger, commanding officer of the attack submarine Hammerhead.
Hasslinger testified the meeting took place in his stateroom at about 6 p.m. on Jan. 21, at Selland's request. He said he needed to talk.
Selland seemed uncomfortable, looking at the floor and shifting in his seat. It was a chaplain who finally broke the news, Hasslinger said. Selland did not dispute it.
Later that night, Hasslinger summoned Selland to talk to him.
``I asked him the question is what the chaplain said true?'' Hasslinger testified. ``He said yes.''
Hasslinger ordered Selland to leave the submarine that night.
The testimony provided the Navy lawyers with the cornerstone of their case.
In response, attorneys representing Selland described the officer as a ``stellar performer'' who had the support of many of the people he worked with. They introduced statements from employees at the Fleet Industrial Supply Center, where Selland is now assigned.
``Dirk Selland has never performed at less than full tilt,'' said attorney Toni Ianiello. ``We're here because of one reason, because of a few words spoken at a meeting, in private.''
Ianiello drew a difference between Selland and Lt. j.g. Tracy Thorne, a former Oceana aviator, who was brought before a similar administrative board in Washington this week. Thorne, who is now assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command, went on ABC-TV's ``Nightline'' news program to announce he was gay.
In the second day of Thorne's hearing Tuesday, the board's legal adviser, Marine Maj. Richard Stutzel, sifted through three volumes of exhibits submitted by the defense, ruling that more than 30 could not be considered by the three captains hearing the case.
Most of the barred materials were reports or commentaries challenging the military's policy banning gay service members. Stutzel said they were irrelevant because they did not relate to specific actions or statements by Thorne. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Selland
KEYWORDS: GAYS IN THE MILITARY U.S. NAVY HEARING by CNB