Alumni Caucus for Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual Concerns at Allegheny College

Meadville, PA

An Alleghenian Tells of Life in the Military

By Alan Ochsenbein, '68

As some of you may or may not know, I was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the Allegheny college AFROTC program in 1968. Allegheny was a land grant college and AFROTC was compulsory for the first two years as a student (l964-l966), and then it became voluntary. A few of us sensing a military expansion of our role in Southeast Asia (Viet Nam), stayed with the ROTC program and got commissions. I managed to make a very closeted career in the military, holding numerous command and staff jobs until 1985 achieving the rank of Major. In 1985 I was asked to resign my commission in lieu of Court Martial. At that time, I had been selected for Lt. Colonel, and was a squadron commander in Japan. The resignation was a result of a long and painful investigation into my relationship with a Japanese National in Tokyo. Long before "don't ask, don't tell", which is a most unsatisfactory compromise, the Reagan years were not kind to homosexuals in the military. For those Allegheny grads who are gay or lesbian, the late Randy Shiltz's book, Conduct Unbecoming is an unparalleled resource to describe what happened in the military in the 70s and 80s. He interviewed me after my discharge, and I am mentioned in the book's credits.

My point in mentioning the above at all is the fact that over the weekend of March 13 - 16, 1998, the national Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Veteran's Group met in Denver, Colorado for its annual national conference. The leadership spoke about the current status of "don't ask, don't tell, and presented some startling statistics, that discharges have actually increased under this policy. Most of you have read recently in the Advocate, or local press about the navy petty officer, whose sexual identity was discovered through the internet. It shows to what great length the armed forces will go to discover the sexual identity of its members.

On Sunday, March 15, several of us gathered in uniform, to place a wreath at the Veteran's memorial here in Denver. It was an extremely moving moment. I have continued to be active in Veteran's affairs here in Denver. It is this type of activism that will some day change, law and public policy. If all gay /lesbian/bisexual armed forces members were to resign today, the military would face severe staffing problems in its all volunteer force. Serving in silence does not help our cause. There may be other graduates who have similar stories to tell. Please feel free to use the newsletter to communicate.

For the record, there is a happy ending to this story. I am currently very out and protected by City Ordinance and Mayor's executive order. Despite the negative publicity experience during the Colorado Amendment 2 fight in 1992, and the subsequent overturn by the United, States Supreme Court in May, 1996, Colorado is a wonderful place to live and work. The gay/lesbian population is one of the largest in the nation. In the City and County of Denver, there are several gay/lesbian personnel serving in extremely critical management level positions. I currently am the Associate Manager of Aviation/Purchasing at D.I.A. and have been in a long term relationship with Jim Kennedy from Denver for six years.

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© 1998, Last updated: June 23, 1998
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