Sam Spade's San Francisco

She has friends in the civilian world, and while some work for companies that promote people on merit, others say their bosses pay lip service to the idea.

"I have never once felt like I needed to be defensive [because of race or gender], or that no one was going to listen to what I said," said Army Lt. Col. Fern O. Sumpter, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen, Netherlands.

In the photo: Lt. Col. Fern O. Sumpter, left, garrison commander for U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen, Netherlands, and Command Sgt. Maj. Mary L. Brown both say their success is proof the U.S. military takes equal opportunity seriously. Photo by Stars and Stripes.

In today’s Army, she added, it’s "all about performance, and I’m really glad that it is."

Sumpter has President Truman and her predecessors in uniform to thank.

Sixty years ago Saturday, Truman signed an executive order stipulating that "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin." Unfortunately that document failed to recognize discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender citizens of this country that continues to this moment.

To commemorate the occasion, Installation Management Command-Europe is encouraging communities to sponsor events over the next two weeks to celebrate the Army’s diversity and equality.

Events such as fun runs and luncheons are in the works, though nothing has been finalized, said Tom Saunders, a spokesman for IMCOM-Europe.

The anniversary, Saunders noted, is an opportunity for people "to remember the challenges and champions of integration."

Richard Kohn, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said one of the challenges today is defining the very meaning of "progress" as it relates to racial, ethnic, gender and religious integration. How finely grained do you want it, he asks.

"I think the progress in the military has been, in historical terms, enormous," Kohn said in a telephone interview last week, "but at times it has been uneven."

Among the services, Kohn believes the Army leads the way, particularly within the officers corps. But progress along such a front is not always linear, he added.

"We are somewhat of a prisoner of our expectations and definitions," Kohn said.

Within the Army in Europe, there are plenty of examples — past and present — of minorities and females rising to the top of an organization.

In Schinnen, for example, both Sumpter, the commander, and Mary L. Brown, the command sergeant major, are female and black. The same is true of the garrison leadership in Kaiserslautern, Germany. And the former senior enlisted member of U.S. Army Europe, Command Sgt. Maj. Iuniasolua T. Savusa, is a native of American Samoa.

Advancement "is based on the best-qualified person for that job," Brown said. "I don’t look at race. I don’t look at gender. We are an equal opportunity employer."

When Brown was asked how that squares with the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, she chose not to tackle the question. Lt. Col. Mechelle Hale, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern, passed as well.

"Whatever orders come from my leadership, I will follow them," Brown said.

Hale would like to see even more minorities in leadership positions and greater emphasis on recruitment and mentorship programs.

"We have come a long way," she said, "but there is still some distance to go."

However, based on social science research, the military is well in front of the civilian world in terms of equal opportunity, said James Burk, a professor of sociology at Texas A&M University who specializes in civil military relations.

In the U.S. military, "good race relations are not an end in themselves," Burk said, "they are a means to an end."

That end is military effectiveness.

"Does that mean the Army is a racial utopia?" Burk asked rhetorically. "No, it is not, but it is better than the civilian world."

Source: Stars and Stripes

The military may be a better life for most minorities than life in the civilian world, but not for all. If you are gay or lesbian discrimination is alive and very active in our military. Being gay in the military is like being Dick Cheney's official friend - but having him stand next to you with a loaded shotgun. That's the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

The last wall that must be torn down is to permit all qualified citizens of the United States to serve openly in uniform in all the branches of military service. Gay, lesbian and transgender Americans must be allowed our (their) rights as American citizens to equal opportunities to serve in the Army, in the Navy, in the Air Force, in the Marine Corps and in the Coast Guard.

So, congratulations to the U. S. Army for implementing non-discrimination laws well. I am convinced the Army will do an equally fine job of assuring that gay, lesbian and transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen are given equal opporunities to rise up through the ranks in key commands.

The great civil rights movement of the 21st century is the gay, lesbian and transgender civil rights movement. It's just a matter of time before every American citizen will be equal and treated as such. It is just a matter of time and it's a time that is long overdue.

If you are active duty military and if you are being discriminated against, or, if you are gay, lesbian or transgender and would like a career in today's Army (or any other branch of service) then please get in touch with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. If you need their help, they are waiting for you. If you don't need their help, then please know that they need yours.

To learn more about institutionalized discrimination within the military please read: DADT is Dying - the Slow End of Military Homophobia