"A symbol of injustice for those who condemn the military's expulsion of gay servicemen and women"

That line, from this report of yet another blatant case of homophobic discrimination in the US military, is extremely apt for Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Fehrenbach who, after over 18 years of honorable service and only two years short of a perfect retirement age, is facing a dishonorable discharge from the military after false accusations of rape lead to a "violation" of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" when he was forced to tell the police that he was gay in order to clear his name. (Clearing his name of rape charges, only to smear himself as "gay" in the eyes of the Air Force ... sadly ironic.)

On April 3, 2003, Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach flew his F-15E toward an Iraqi ambush site about a mile from U.S. Army troops advancing on Baghdad airport.

Fehrenbach faced anti-aircraft fire, surface-to-air missiles and a mechanical problem on his wingman's plane. Still, he destroyed the enemy position and helped clear the way for the Army to take the airport that night. For his heroism, the Notre Dame grad won an Air Medal with a valor device, one of his nine Air Medals.

Five years later, Fehrenbach confronted a crisis in a very different setting. A Boise police detective sat across a conference table questioning him about an alleged crime.

Fehrenbach, stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, was in a Catch-22. To clear himself of the claim he'd raped a man, Fehrenbach could tell police his side of the story. But admitting he'd had consensual sex could get him kicked out of the Air Force he loved after 18 years.

[...]

Fehrenbach, 40, was notified in September that he would be discharged, costing him a $46,000 annual pension and the dignity of retiring on his own terms, as his Air Force parents both had. If discharged early, he'll get an $80,000 lump sum.

At first, he planned to go quietly with an honorable discharge. Shaner, angry that there would be no prosecution, wouldn't go away and was pressing the Air Force for a dishonorable discharge.

Jeez, what's this Shaner fuckbag's problem? He falsely accuses the guy of raping him, which not only smears his name to begin with, but subsequently leads to his forced "outing" and thus him facing a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force he loves. You'd think what with having been proven unreliable, Shaner would just ooze away, but no ...

All is not lost, however: Lt.Col. Fehrenbach is now fighting back. Having heard of Obama's promise to abolish DADT (yet another promise he's curiously slow to make any headway with ...), he's now pushing to be kept on a bit longer. He also met with President Obama himself recently; appearing on Rachel Maddow's show later on, he states that Obama said, "We're gonna get this done".

I have no doubt that Obama, or someone else, is eventually gonna repeal DADT. The problem is ... when? How many more innocent, brave, self-sacrificing and incredibly loyal military men and women will have to lose their beloved careers before justice prevails?

(via The Agitator)

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