THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Loomis, who was discharged from the U.S. Army just eight days short of qualifying for full retirement pension and benefits, spoke to the annual American Veterans for Equal Rights Chicago chapter Veteran's Day dinner at Ann Sather's restaurant on Belmont Nov. 11. His story was told again on 60 Minutes Sunday, Nov. 16.

Steve Loomis still wears his hair in a way that would be acceptable with a uniform, not a crew cut, but tight and tapered. He has a bearing that suggests a long military career only a few years in the past. He speaks in front of a group confidently and forcibly, like a military officer. His message still rings with respect for the military way of life and those who live it, and with pride in the work he did while in uniform.

The story he tells is of a government action which disregarded one soldier's dignity, but also becomes an example of the affect of a larger policy, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which in practice threatens or ruins the lives of countless soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines who are gay or perceived to be. In the 10 years it has been policy, nearly 10,000 military members have been discharged for homosexuality.

During his military service, Loomis was often honored for combat heroism and valor. He served in Vietnam combat as an active duty officer and later for many years as an engineer in the Army Reserve.

'I enlisted during Vietnam and then went to officer candidate school,' he told WCT. 'Less than six months after officer candidate school I ended up in Vietnam as a Platoon Leader. Platoon Leader at the time was the most hazardous duty; later on it became helicopter pilot. I went over as a second lieutenant and came back as a first lieutenant.'

While in Vietnam he earned the Purple Heart, when his platoon was ambushed and he helped most get out. His point man had died saving others and Loomis had the job of putting his body on the helicopter and then of writing to his family.

After Vietnam, he served one more year on active duty, was promoted to Captain, got out and returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico. There he joined the Army Reserves and eventually transferred to the engineer corps.

Asked about his own gay awareness while in the military, Loomis spoke of his gradual coming out to himself and a distant awareness of other cases which challenged the gay ban. At most stages of his life, his military duties took priority in his attention.

'I was still figuring it out when I went into the military, but I figured it out not too long after I was in the service and still never acted on it. It then becomes a process of accepting what you are realizing. And finally that did come also, so I spent a large part of my career knowing exactly what my inclination was and knowing that there was a certain hazard to that in the military. But I also knew that I was serving with people that, for the most part, didn't give a damn.'

During combat in Vietnam, when military policy dictated unequivocally that homosexuality would always result in discharge, he faced the most danger and the least worry about disciplinary action.

'In combat, nobody cared,' he said to Morley Safer on 60 Minutes. 'In the mud and dust of Vietnam you would sleep next to each other. And when rounds were coming in you'd be huddled together, and nobody cared about your orientation.' As a result of his service he was awarded the Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, one for valor and one for service, and an Air Medal.

Like many closeted military members, day-to-day duties demanded his attention to the exclusion of learning about the early challenges to the gay ban. Gradually the news attracted his attention.

'I was a little aware of [Leonard] Matlovitch and [Perry] Watkins and later on several others, but I don't know that I followed it closely. The mainstream press didn't cover it, except for the very high profile, and the gay press has grown so much since then. It is easier to follow that sort of thing now, which I think helps the younger people both in and out of the service.

'By the time Don't Ask, Don't Tell [DADT] came along, I had already been stationed outside San Francisco [and so had his awareness raised]. One young sergeant who came out, Jose Zuniga, was stationed at the Presidio the same time. I wanted to find a way to meet him but there wasn't a way to figure that out safely. As you are aware, he came out in uniform, in Washington shortly after [President Clinton] was elected. He was an enlisted aide to one of the generals there and he caused some (chuckles) problems ... .'

Asked if those cases affected the way he lived his life, he said again that duty normally demanded his attention.

'At that time I was an Inspector General and had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. And as IG I had a responsibility to the commander to insure that military policy is fairly administered. I often tried to discern how I would handle it if a gay soldier came to me. They never did. There was a certain reticence about speaking to anyone on the subject. There was a soldier I assume was gay because the commander made some aspersions and, essentially, I provided some guidance to him saying, 'Hey, if you don't know anything, don't say anything.' The subject came up sometimes and military people, just like civilian people, learn to laugh along with the jokes. I got tired of that. My response eventually became something like, 'Why are you telling the joke? Are you afraid of something?'' he told Windy City Times.

Loomis's career was halted after a video tape showing him having sex with other military men was discovered by police during an August 1997 fire. A man he had taken photos of became afraid of discovery and attempted to destroy the pictures by setting fire to Loomis' residence. The fire happened after Loomis had been selected for full colonel, the promotion had been ratified by Congress, and on the evening he had been presented his fourth Meritorious Service Medal. Even though Loomis hadn't violated the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, discharge proceedings began against him when the tape was given by police—without subpoena—to the military.

When the tape proved to have nothing to do with the arson, the police 'had no further business with it. Nor did the Army,' Loomis said. He appealed based on the inappropriateness of the Army's actions and several times asked for early retirement, but was turned down. His lawyer encountered personal prejudice expressed freely by members of the Board of Inquiry, but that didn't impress those involved with the Army's internal review.

Loomis also has other points in his case, which he said he could not discuss, that should be able to help him win, based on non-gay issues. Loomis and his attorney also believe that the recent Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down Texas' sodomy statute, will lend strength to the case and that his reinstatement as an openly gay retired officer collecting full military benefits may serve as an example.

There was a limit on the appeal of six years from the date Loomis was discharged, July 14, 1997. In June of this year, his appeal was ready to go as it stood. 'We were going to file on the 27th of June. Then, on June 26, the Supreme Court announced its decision on Lawrence vs Texas,' he told WCT. '

If you take the court's view, that the government should stay out of people's private lives, then they have to vote in favor of this type of case,' he said.

'The sodomy statute is an underpinning of DADT. DADT is one or two pages long but the justification for it is six pages or something ridiculous like that.'

He ended up filing a week later, making his the first military ban case to use Lawrence. The appeal challenges the constitutionality of both the federal sodomy statute and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It is now going before the Federal Claims Court in Washington, D.C., which has jurisdiction when there is a monetary value of over $10,000. Twenty years of benefits can be projected, in his case, to an amount of over $1 million.

Servicemen's Legal Defense Network represented Loomis during initial discharge proceedings and is providing assistance to the attorney in this prime case. SLDN has assisted about 5,000 men and women in uniform since its founding in 1993.

— Also contributing: Tracy Baim ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------