A False Accusation Tests "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Written by Alex Salta Monday, 31 August 2009 06:21

A recent case out of Idaho has shed new light on the true effects of the government's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and might just prove to be the first sign of its eventual downfall.

Decorated airman fights for his pension

For 16 years the federal government's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has been part of the national conversation and a lightning rod for controversy from almost all corners of American life. From uniformed military personnel to outside observers, it seems everyone has a strong opinion on homosexuals in the military. A recent case out of Idaho has shed new light on the true effects of this policy, and might just prove to be the first sign of its eventual downfall.

Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, a heavily decorated 40-year-old Iraq War veteran with 18 years of military experience, was recently discharged from the Air Force after his sexual preference came to light. This certainly isn't the first time someone in uniform has been told to leave the ranks due to private sexual preferences—some estimate the policy has ended approximately 13,000 military careers. But the circumstances in this case have drawn extra attention.

The Idaho Statesman reports that a 30-year-old Boise man named Cameron Shaner accused Fehrenbach of raping him in May 2008, a charge which Fehrenbach vehemently denied. While being questioned by local police, who later cleared him of any wrongdoing, Fehrenbach confirmed that he had indeed had consensual sex with Shaner after meeting him through a website, but that no rape took place. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, which conducted its own separate inquiry into the case, came to the conclusion that Fehrenbach had not violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice and that Shaner was an "unreliable source of information."

Shaner, an Army veteran of the Bosnia conflict, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has 100% service-connected disability, he told Dan Popkey of the Statesman. He had recently contacted the Office of Special Investigations in Idaho about a supposed conspiracy concocted by local gay men to invite military members to "HIV parties" in an attempt to infect them with the deadly virus. After meeting with Shaner, the AFOSI decided (probably wisely) that there was nothing to Shaner's claims and declined to use him as an informant.

As for Fehrenbach, he made one fateful and ultimately unavoidable decision during the course of this whole sad saga. Faced with the prospect of jail time for a crime he didn't commit, he decided to "tell."

Of course, the only reason Fehrenbach ever acknowledged his homosexuality, something he had avoided doing over nearly two decades of what by all accounts was an exemplary military career, was to clear his name of what proved to be a false accusation of rape. This past September Fehrenbach was notified by the Air Force that he was being discharged from service. Not only was Fehrenbach denied the opportunity to leave the military on his own terms, he was also made ineligible for a $46,000 annual pension.

Eighteen years of military service, the chance for a comfortable retirement, nine Air Medals for distinguished service, 400 hours in combat flight over Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo... all gone because Fehrenbach was put in a position where he was forced to choose between acknowledging his private life or risk going to prison.

Of course, as Stephen Colbert (who we all must look to for guidance in these troubled times) noted, "he got those medals before he was gay." Something to keep in mind.

Emboldened by President Obama's as-yet-unfulfilled campaign promise to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, Fehrenbach decided to fight back. He contacted the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network who agreed to represent him, then finally came out to his family, and on May 19 took his fight to the airwaves.

Appearing on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," his only interview to date, Fehrenbach reiterated his belief that his sexual preference had "absolutely no impact on morale, discipline, and good order" among his ranks. He went on to explain that he was "faced with the end of my life as I knew it. The more I thought about it, about how wrong this policy is, I thought that I had to fight."

Emily Hecht, an attorney with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, told the Statesman that "Because of the criminal allegation, Victor confirmed the fact that he was gay.... Had his accuser been a woman, he'd have gone back to work with no further issue."

It hasn't just been cable news outlets (well, some cable news outlets) and not-for-profit groups that have taken up Fehrenbach's cause. On June 29 he was invited by President Obama to the White House to attend a ceremony honoring the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Speaking to the president during the ceremony about repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Fehrenbach claims the commander-in-chief reassured him, "We're going to get this done."

Speaking to reporters the next day, Defense Secretary Robert Gates avoided addressing the Fehrenbach situation directly, but did make the point that he believes there should be a plan put into place where military personnel in such a situation may stay in service even though they have been outed. "Do we need to be driven to take action on somebody if we get that information from somebody who may have vengeance in mind or blackmail or somebody who has been jilted?" Gates asked reporters.

Fehrenbach now sits and waits for Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to decide the fate of his career, and unless "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is repealed in the interim, chances are Donley will have no choice but to discharge Fehrenbach.

The original motivation behind "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was that the prospect of gays openly serving in the military would have an overall negative effect on troop morale. In the years since, attitudes and social mores have changed dramatically. The Air Force Times, not exactly known as being a "far left" publication, recently editorialized about the Fehrenbach situation that it "may be the law. But it's not justice."

A 2006 Zogby International poll showed that 73% of military personnel who had served with someone who was known to be gay felt that person's presence had either a positive impact or no impact whatsoever on unit morale. It is probably safe to say that since 1993, times have indeed changed.

In the end Fehrenbach may indeed be forced to leave active military service before his time, considering the extenuating circumstances that truly is a shame. If his case serves as the beginning of the end for what is at the very least a woefully outdated federal policy, it might just be worth it.

Read the original article in OhMyGov!