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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, July 04, 2008
Months after announcing on national television that he is gay, Army Sgt. Darren Manzella was finally discharged from the military last month.
Manzella, who gained notoriety when he appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes” in December, was separated from the service on June 10.
In his interview with “60 Minutes,” Manzella discussed the events that unfolded after he came out to his commanding officer in 2006. His coming out led to an Army investigation about his sexual orientation. During the inquiry, Manzella identified himself as gay on a questionnaire and submitted a video of himself kissing his then-boyfriend. Despite this evidence, the Army determined that Manzella was not gay and allowed him to continue to serve.
Manzella continued to talk about being openly gay in the military with other media outlets, including the Blade, and was a featured speaker at an annual dinner for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the lead organization in the fight against the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prevents gays from serving openly.
His willingness to speak to the media finally pushed the Army to take action against him. On March 3, about a week before the SLDN dinner, Manzella’s commander at Ft. Hood in Texas informed him that he had been recommended for a discharge. Attached to the recommendation was a transcript of the “60 Minutes” piece and a copy of an article from the Associated Press.
Army officials informed Manzella that he should prepare to be discharged within 10 to 14 days, but he didn’t receive his discharge orders until late in April. After completing his terminal leave, Manzella was officially separated from the Army June 10 and given an honorable discharge.
“All I’ve really been doing is just telling the story, what has happened,” he said. “I have a little bit more liberty to speak about that now that I’m not active in the military.”
The former soldier said he was not surprised that he was discharged because SLDN informed him that his discharge was a risk when he made his story public. But Manzella thought it was curious that the Army waited until March to take action against him when the “60 Minutes” piece aired in December, and was beginning to think the service would let him stay despite his being openly gay in the military.
“They realized that a good soldier is an asset, whether they be straight or gay, and I started to think they were going to keep me,” Manzella said.
Manzella, 30, joined the Army in 2002 and worked at Ft. Hood as a lead instructor for Combat Lifesaver program, which trains non-medical soldiers in first aid procedures to assist medical personnel. He was deployed twice to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom and earned the Combat Medical Badge for providing medical support for soldiers.
During his discharge proceedings, Manzella had the opportunity to request a board to rebut statements that he made to the press. Such boards are available to all service members undergoing discharge proceedings and are not restricted to troops being discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But Manzella waved this option.
“I said I wouldn’t take back anything,” he said. “It would defeat the purpose of why I participated in the segment. It would defeat the purpose of working with SLDN.”
Manzella had the same commanding officers in 2006 as he did when discharge proceedings started this year, so the same people who determined he was not gay in the earlier investigation determined in 2008 there was sufficient evidence now of his sexual orientation.
Army Maj. Dave Shoupe, spokesperson for the 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, said Manzella’s discharge is a closed legal action and the Army cannot discuss the matter because of privacy rights.
The former soldier said his co-workers were generally supportive of his decision to be out in the military and making an appearance on “60 Minutes.” When the recommendation for a discharge came down, Manzella’s supervisor was surprised that the Army made the decision to separate him, he said.
But the situation with his company commander was more difficult.
After the “60 Minutes” piece aired, Manzella had an intense discussion with his company commander. Manzella described the conversation as “friendly,” but also said his company commander “wasn’t pleased.”
The company commander asked Manzella what his intentions were behind his appearance on TV, to which Manzella responded that he wanted to help repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The company commander said repealing the law wasn’t going to happen, Manzella said.
“And I said, ‘Well you’re entitled to your opinion and I can have my opinion and I believe that it will be repealed,’” Manzella said.
Manzella emphasized to his superiors that his actions were not a personal attack on his command and he only wanted to show the injustice of military policy toward gays.
“I had no vendettas or grudges against anyone in my command,” he said. “My distaste is for the policy and the law, not the people who were forced to enforce it upon me.”
With his discharge finalized, the former soldier moved to Washington about a month ago and is now temporarily working with SLDN in planning and attending events across the United States. Many of the events are also fundraisers for SLDN.
At the events, Manzella talks about his story and the impact of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“I focus on how detrimental [the policy] is to the military — to have these capable and competent armed forces members removed,” he said.
Adam Ebbin, spokesperson for SLDN, said Manzella participating in organization events helps “put a human face” on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“There’s no one more effective in explaining the outrageousness of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ than a service member who’s lived through it, particularly a service member who’s served with distinction in a war zone,” Ebbin said.
Manzella is still considering career options. He is thinking about medical school or physician assistant school.
The former soldier said the experience of being out in the military, making media appearances and ultimately being discharged from service has made him “much more aware” of his identity.
“My belief that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ needs to be repealed has magnified significantly because I’m personally affected by it now,” he said.
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