[Vision2020] First openly gay general: ‘Support … is amazing’

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Army Times at:

http://www.ArmyTimes.com

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1st openly gay general: ‘Support … is amazing’

Since being promoted — and announcing that she is gay — Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith has found the Army to be “very supportive of my military family.”

“I have received no indication that my marriage is problematic,” she wrote Army Times in an email exchange. “My invitations to events now include [my wife] Tracey. In the Army, family matters. The outpouring of support from friends and strangers alike is amazing.”

Smith first publicly acknowledged her sexuality when her wife, Tracey Hepner, pinned on the rank at her promotion ceremony in August and Smith became the first openly gay military officer to achieve general officer rank.

Until then, Smith, an Oakland native and University of Oregon graduate, said she had to be secretive about Tracey, whom she called one of the most important people in her life.

Smith is deputy chief of the Army Reserve in Washington, D.C., and Hepner, the other half of the power couple, is co-founder of the Military Partners and Families Coalition. They were married March 31.

“My difficulty was that I always felt disrespectful of Tracey,” Smith said in an Army Times interview with her and Hepner, via email. “Here she was my biggest supporter, my own personal family support group, but I had to keep her a secret. She is too wonderful to be a secret! A Soldier should never have to hide their family. The strength of our Soldiers is our families.”

Smith, 49, with 26 years of military experience and a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan, admitted to mixed feelings about having to stay hidden for so long. However, she and Hepner called the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” “liberating.”

“I can’t think of a better word to describe finally being able to live an authentic life,” Hepner said. “No more hiding, no more silence, ever.”

Here are excerpts from Army Times’ interview via email with Smith and Hepner:

Q. With the promotion, following the repeal of DADT, what has this period been like for you?

Smith: I agree that it has been liberating. I do not recall ever feeling so aligned with my authentic self. The liberation has been reinforced by the countless notes of support and congratulations for the promotion, for having Tracey at my side, and for being a woman who achieved the rank of brigadier general.

Q. What were the emotions during repeal, when Tammy was deployed, and then at the promotion ceremony?

Hepner: Tammy was deployed when DADT was repealed. I was in the Senate Chamber on December 18th 2010, when the Senate voted 65-31 to end the ban. I felt hope.

Smith: I was deployed on 20 September when the ban was finally lifted. I felt joy. I didn’t come out to anyone because there wasn’t a reason to. What I did do was fly a U.S. flag in Afghanistan as a souvenir of a significant time and place. That flag was present at our wedding reception.

My emotions at the promotion ceremony were a bit surreal. First, it was just overwhelming that I was being promoted to Brigadier General. Second, it just felt really natural that Tracey was introduced as my partner at the beginning of the promotion ceremony.

Q. What support have you received since, either from within the military or elsewhere?

Hepner: We have received overwhelming support from the Army.

Q. Are you viewing the promotion from a historical perspective?

Hepner: We viewed the promotion as an honor to continue to serve in a greater role without limitations.

Smith: It is historical in the sense that Tracey and I have given others permission to be supportive of the people they love without fear of repercussion. Tracey’s participation in the promotion shifted the conversation in a very real way. It has reinforced that character matters and it is okay to be proud of who you are and those you love.

Q. What are your hopes for the Army of the future and other GLBT military members?

Smith: Considering the personal notes we have received, there is plenty of hope for LGBT military members and their families. :)

We already have the greatest Army in the world. I hope that young people who might have thought the military wasn’t an option will reconsider because they have another tangible example that the Army walks the walk on many levels of diversity.

Q. Are there any mixed feelings for any reason?

Smith: In truth, I felt a little anger that this irrelevant factor had caused me to completely compartmentalize my life.

Q. What was the toughest part of balancing your personal and professional lives?

Smith: The military is a demanding job that takes a lot of time. I was away from Tracey for long duty days, many weekends, Temporary Duty, and I had to leave her behind during social events for fear someone would be suspicious of our relationship. I never felt comfortable making a phone call to Tracey in front of peers, or excusing myself for a personal call because someone might ask who I was calling. The sad part of this balance is that Tracey is a great person and my peers were denied the opportunity to know her.

Q. Was there anything that made it easier?

Smith: The strength of our relationship made it easier, and Tracey understands that I love serving in the Army. She was willing to be marginalized in a sense so that I could serve my country. She is a shining example of selfless service.

Q. Were you able to confide in others in the Army, whether in the chain of command or otherwise?

Smith: I kept this to myself before repeal. It was just better that way.

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Tracey Hepner, co-founder of the Military Partners and Families Coalition, pins her wife's first star to her shoulder during Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith promotion ceremony Aug 10.



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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students.  The college students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)
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