Focus On The Rainbow

I got to thinking about that question when I was doing article searches for today’s Focus On The Rainbow Daily News Brief when in my topic searches ROTC came up in several stories albeit not about DADT.

When I went to Danbury High School I was in the Air Force ROTC program and as it was back in the late 60’s/early 70’s I well remember the “discrimination” on Fridays when we wore our uniform and over the course of those three years because of the Air Force’s involvement in the Vietnam War being called everything from baby killers to being spate on.

So I did a google search for ROTC Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and my question was answered at the website Washington City Paper in an article from last month.

According to the G.W. student newspaper the Hatchet, University Freshman Todd Belok was dismissed from the Navy ROTC program after his fellow midshipmen learned that he was gay. Belok didn’t explicitly inform the Navy that he was gay, but after he was observed kissing “another male” at a fraternity party, Belok was “officially dismissed from the program in December,” the Hatchet writes.

On September 13, 2008, Belok attended a party at Beta Theta Pi, a fraternity which he later pledged, when two other midshipmen [MIDN], Dave Perry and Squad Leader Nick Trimis, said they saw Belok kiss another male on the lips.

“In the basement of Beta Theta Pi, MIDN Belok introduced me to another male, who he referred to as his ’special friend,’ ” Trimis wrote in the Performance Review Board report. “Within five minutes of this introduction, I witnessed MIDN Belok kissing this individual on the lips. I decided I needed to leave after this encounter.”

Belok says he’s still determined to become a Navy officer—after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed. Belok has, however, now pledged Beta Theta Pi.