Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305090131
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
"If they ask me, I'll tell them," said one veteran submariner whose boat is in port at the Norfolk Naval Base. "But I'm not going looking for them."
Members of the Armed Forces Committee will visit the huge base for a field hearing on President Clinton's attempts to end the Pentagon's ban on gays. The hearing is open to military members and their families.
The location is stacked against anyone who wants the ban lifted, said Lt. j.g. Tracy Thorne, a Navy flier who disclosed his homosexuality on national TV a year ago.
"I'm disappointed they've chosen this setting," said Thorne, who said he is undecided whether to go to the hearing. "It makes it very difficult for anyone to come out and testify to overturn the ban."
The committee has taken steps to get the views of rank-and-file sailors out of earshot of Navy brass. During the visit, members of the panel plan to go aboard several ships and speak privately with selected crew members and others who request a meeting.
The panel has guaranteed confidentiality, saying names and information provided in those interviews won't be disclosed to superiors.
But for many sailors based at the 130-ship installation, headquarters of the Navy's Atlantic Fleet, the arrival of the delegation from Washington is viewed as a minefield to navigate around.
In recent months, members of the sea service have taken a pounding from economic and social changes, from plans to reduce the size of the fleet to the Tailhook scandal to combat roles for women.
In interviews after the Senate field hearing was announced, some sailors lamented the intrusion of politics into their lives. All who spoke insisted on anonymity.
"I'd like to go, but I'm not getting in the middle of that mess," one sailor said of the hearing. Then he added, "It won't make any difference. They're going to do what they want."
A two-year Navy man assigned to a shore unit said he plans to make a career of the service and didn't want to hurt his chances for advancement. "My command might not like me talking," he said.
Most of the sailors said they were willing, with varying degrees of reluctance, to accept homosexuals at base jobs. But none thought it was advisable to send gays to sea.
"They shouldn't have gay people on a ship," said the shore-based sailor. "If they're in a shore command, I don't see anything wrong with it. But for their personal safety, I think they shouldn't go in at all."
"I've got no problem with it as long as they can do their job," said a 5 1/2-year veteran assigned to a ship. "But a ship is close quarters. I don't like the idea of getting undressed and having eyes on me all the time."
"When you're in the middle of the ocean sharing a bed with someone, alternating 12 hours on and 12 hours off, you want to know who you can trust," said an aircraft carrier crewman, an 11-year veteran.
None of the sailors said they would quit the Navy if the ban is lifted.
Thorne, notified Wednesday that he will be placed on inactive reserve under Clinton's preliminary plan for dealing with gays in the military, said sailors who support lifting the ban will not come forward.
"The environment is completely hostile to someone who would move from the status quo," he said. "It's difficult for any straight member to come out and testify against the ban without being implicated as being gay."
by CNB