Navy SEAL Brett Jones publically spoke out about being secretly gay in the military.
Jones did not think his entire career would plummet because of three words: I love you.
Since this was back in 2002, the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy had not yet been placed. In fact, at this time it was forbidden to be in the service if someone was gay. Jones wanted to serve his country, so he decided to keep it a secret.
The highly decorated soldier, who has been deployed twice, went under a severe investigation after leaving a voicemail for his boyfriend. ABC News reports that a woman working in the office heard the message and reported it to his higher ups.
“That was all it took for the Navy to launch a full-scale investigation that lasted for months,” Jones said.
Jones found that many of his comrades were extremely supportive. With the help of the association of actively serving LGBT military personnel, the investigation was dropped after a few weeks.
Now a former SEAL, Jones wrote on SOFREP that the military needs to keep their focus on the work of their soldiers, not their personal life.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
