ChuckD
The Gay Lord of Freestyle
Wounded Gay Soldier Discharged From Army
CINCINNATI - An Army sergeant from Ohio who was wounded in Iraq and wanted to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier was officially discharged Tuesday, according to an advocacy group.
Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, was awarded the Purple Heart after a grenade sent shrapnel into his arm, face and legs while he was using a machine gun on a Humvee in May 2004.
Stout, of Utica in central Ohio, told The Associated Press in April that he wanted to remain in the military and be openly gay, but that would conflict with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said Sgt. Robert Stout told him he was due back in the United States on Tuesday, the day of his discharge.
"I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open," Stout said in April.
Stout said he was openly gay among most of his 26-member platoon, part of the 9th Engineer Battalion based in Germany.
Army officials at the Pentagon could not immediately confirm the discharge. The Army declined to comment earlier on the case other than to say that soldiers discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" typically receive honorable discharges.
CINCINNATI - An Army sergeant from Ohio who was wounded in Iraq and wanted to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier was officially discharged Tuesday, according to an advocacy group.
Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, was awarded the Purple Heart after a grenade sent shrapnel into his arm, face and legs while he was using a machine gun on a Humvee in May 2004.
Stout, of Utica in central Ohio, told The Associated Press in April that he wanted to remain in the military and be openly gay, but that would conflict with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said Sgt. Robert Stout told him he was due back in the United States on Tuesday, the day of his discharge.
"I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open," Stout said in April.
Stout said he was openly gay among most of his 26-member platoon, part of the 9th Engineer Battalion based in Germany.
Army officials at the Pentagon could not immediately confirm the discharge. The Army declined to comment earlier on the case other than to say that soldiers discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" typically receive honorable discharges.
