the organization of LGBT Naval Academy Alumni & Allies
The Columbus Day Weekend Barbecue with the Navy Spectrum midshipman was a tremendous success with about 25 midshipmen, alumni, and friends in attendance.
A huge big THANKS again to Navy Spectrum for inviting us USNA Out members to join your BBQ!
On Friday, September 1st, USNAOut member Rich Jarrett was promoted to Captain at the Naval Academy’s Robert Crown Sailing Center. Joining him was his husband, Dann, and his family, sponsor family, friends, colleagues and a couple USNAOut members.
Please join us in congratulating the Navy’s newest Captain and his family.
USNA Out members in Northern California gathered at the home our member Zoe Dunning ’85 for our 2017 Pride Kickoff Get-Together. Zoe was giving us our first visit to her recently redone home high above Noe Valley. More than half of our Bay Area members were able to attend, including seven of our new Bay Area arrivals!
Uniformly, everyone felt that “we need to do this more often!”
It seems like yesterday that USNAOut and Navy Spectrum were gathered in Ogle Hall, the home of USNA’s Alumni Association, for our annual Alumni and Midshipmen Dinner. This has always been my favorite USNAOut event, as it gathers alumni together to reconnect with each other, congratulate our midshipmen on completing another year, and welcome the fleet’s newest Navy and Marine Corps officers to our ranks. It’s been a pleasure to this event grow each year from the small, private meeting into the gathering of 70+ midshipmen, alumni, and guests. Last year we’ve seen the numbers of midshipmen attendees continue to grow to the point they outnumber the alumni!
We also had the honor of presenting ten Ensigns, and three Second Lieutenants their first sets of shoulder boards and insignia, which they wore with pride at their commissioning. And 2ndLt Chris Goodale (’17) also introduced an Spectrum sponsored initiative to build a mentorship program that promises to connect alumni of all ages and phases of their military and civilian careers and personal lives. And, as usual, some key members stepped up to make the event happen. I’d like to extend a long overdue “BZ” to Steve Hall (’75), Kristen “Rosie” Barnes (’92), Jeff Morrison (’04), Chip Hall (USCGA ’12), Dave Wolynski (’97), and Chris Goodale (’17).
Fast forward 10 months, it is already time to prepare for this year’s dinner. I hope you’ll mark your calendars to join us on 6 May at Ogle Hall to congratulate all the Spectrum Mids on another year done and welcome the class of 2018 to our ranks. Please keep an eye out for the registration link and let us know you are coming. We look forward to seeing you!
The Invites are ALMOST OUT!
All USNA Out members are invited to join us at our NINTH annual alumni event in Annapolis, when the we welcome our soon to be newest members from the Class of 2016 who will be graduating and commissioning 19 days following our event. Welcoming our new alumni members through this annual event has become the most cherished and meaningful of all USNA Out activities.
The event planners are excited to share that for the second time our event is happening in historic Ogle Hall, the home of the USNA Alumni Association. Ogle Hall is just outside the Yard though Gate Three, on the corner of King James Street & College Avenue. Also as in 2016, so we can better accommodate all our members and guest midshipmen, the event will be held on a Sunday Afternoon, May 7.
RSVPs are required by Sunday, 30 April (note: early registration by 21 April is discounted).
If you cannot make this year’s event, consider making a contribution when you RSVP so that we can continue to keep the event at little to no-charge for our midshipmen guests.
If you have recently met other USNA LGBT alumni who might not yet be registered on our website, please forward this invitation to them so they may also enjoy the opportunity join us in Annapolis.
For our large membership contingent in the Norfolk area, consider coordinating car pooling with the other LGBT alumni in the area.
Hope to see you in Annapolis!
Just click the invitation below to RSVP!
Paula Nira ’86
It is with great excitement to share that the Secretary of the Navy has announced that Senator Diane Feinstein and USNA Out founding member Paula Neira ’85 are the co-sponsors of the USNS HARVEY MILK (T-AO-206). The ship’s sponsor is a ceremonial position to bestow good luck and divine protection over the ship.
The “Naming Ceremony” will take place at 2 pm, Tuesday, August 16th on the “great lawn” of Treasure Island, San Francisco.
Paula was a member of the Class of ’85. After graduation with distinction, she became a surface warfare officer. She entered the reserves at the end of her obligated service, but volunteered for active duty serving on a minesweeper during Operation Desert Storm.
After resigning her commission, Paula continued her education in nursing and in law, becoming a member of the Maryland Bar Association in 2002.
Paula was a relentless leader in the fight agains the former policy knows as “DOn’t Ask, DOn’t Tell.” After the repeal, she continued her important work towards transgender service.
Paula was the first transgender veteran to win the right to have her military records changed to reflect their correct names and gender. This past May, Paula was inducted into the SLDN Hall of Heroes.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c3818036/paula-neiras-story
General Dynamics NASSCO was awarded a $3 billion contract by the U. S. Navy in June for the detailed design and construction of the next generation of fleet oilers, the John Lewis-class (TAO-205). This contract is for the construction of six ships. The U.S. Navy’s FY2017 budget requests advance procurement for the HarveyMilk, with procurement expected to occur in FY2018.
USNA Out member Greer Puckett ’75 is the recipient of the 2014 Outie Trailblazer Award at the 2014 Out & Equal Workplace Summit held at the Moscone Convention center in San Francisco. Five USNA Out members were present to witness Greer receiving his award and listen to Greer’s remarks to the more than 3000 gala attendees.
The Out & Equal Workplace Awards (known as “Outies”‚ honor individuals and organizations who are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees in the workplace. Through these awards, Out & Equal recognizes innovative approaches and proven successes to help create safe and equitable workplaces. For a complete list of 2014 Outie award winners, please see http://www.outandequal.org/events/outie-awards/.
This Trailblazer award recognizes an LGBT person who has made a significant contribution to advancing workplace equality. The awardee’s activities will have made a marked improvement in their own workplace and/or have contributed to the equality nationally. Greer was selected amongst finalists from Lockheed Martin, Intuit, USAID, COnAgraFoods.
Thank you Northrup Grumman for your support and confidence in Greer!
USNA Out kicks off the 2014-2015 year with an opportunity to meet and mingle with our counterparts from the Scarlet & Gay of Ohio State University. USNA Out members read the details of this event on the members event page.
Filming for the documentary “Out of Annapolis” began in late October 2008 on the Yard of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Filming of the individual participant interviews began in November, and by January, about fifty percent of the planned interviews have been filmed, primarily in locations along the Eastern Seaboard between Philadelphia and Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Producer Steve Clark Hall ’75 will return to Annapolis during the second week of March and again the last week in April. Filming in Florida, Southern California and Austin will be completed during the month of March.
Our intention is to present a film primarily of interest to the LGBT community for use in numerous LGBT film festivals around the country. A recent article in the Baltimore Sun reported on some of the initial direction of the film.
What we are learning is that over 90% of our participants did not identify as LGBT when they took the Oath of Office as a Midshipman, more than 50% still didn’t identify as LGBT four years later at graduation from the US Naval Academy, when they were commissioned as officers serving in the US Navy and US Marine Corps. And for the vast majority, the coming out process was very, very difficult, sometimes impacting performance and usually impacting their career aspirations. Deployments and service within the war zones had the added stress of separation from their partners who had to remain invisible. As a whole, this project is revealing that despite the added pressures of living within the restrictions of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” we continue to be very dedicated to serving our country while remaining very dedicated to our families.
We have now identified over 200 LGBT Naval Academy Alumni, many who cannot participate in the project as they remain on active duty in service to their country. This number continues to grow. Our outreach will continue throughout the project so that we can better put a face on who we, the LGBT Alumni, really are.
“Out of Annapolis” is expected to be released in early summer, 2009. A short trailer for entry into Frameline 33 as a “work in progress” was submitted as part of the entry application. Frameline is the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world’s oldest and largest queer film festival. If “Out of Annapolis” is accepted as an entry, its debut will be at Frameline 33 in San Francisco which runs June 18-28, 2009.
You may view the trailer for “Out of Annapolis” on YouTube or at OutOfAnnapolis.com. Production updates, participant lists, schedules and inquiry contact information can also be found at the film website at OutOfAnnapolis.com. Some portions of the site are restricted to the registered participants.
Photo Above: USNA Out members Eric Shangle ’97,
Lee Ingleright ’97, Jeff Petrie ’89
Joe Soto ’83, and Steve Clark Hall ’75
at the SAGALA Army Navy Tailgater
Army-Navy Weekend 2008 will go down in military history as one of The Best Ever!
USNA Out members were joined by our fellow Alumni, friends and families from West Point, New London and Kings Point for a long weekend of festivities surrounding the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia.
Top photo: USNA Out members Jeff Petrie ’89
Joe Soto ’83 & Eric Shangle ’97
with SUPT VADM Fowler
USNA Alumni Assn photo by Debbie Latta
Four members of USNA Out — Steve Clark Hall ’75, Joe Soto ’83, Eric Shangle ’97 and Jeff Petrie ’89, attended the USNA Foundation’s 2008 President’s Circle Weekend in Annapolis. In addition to an awesome comeback win by Navy over Temple in football, all four attendees agreed that we had a truly successful weekend and a great time!
This was the third straight year in which USNA Out Members attended the President’s Circle Weekend events. Eric Shangle ’97 and his classmate Thomas were the only two attendees who had graduated in the past 15 years. Because of our relative youth among the participants, USNA Out members stood “OUT” in the crowd.
The events of the weekend serve to recognize and thank major donors the the USNA Foundation. The ambitious schedule included business meetings, cocktail receptions, tours of facilities, the final Fall Formal Dress Parade, and a delightful “Halloween Concert” in the chapel featuring the Naval Academy choruses performing to the accompaniment of the mighty M.P. Möller pipe organ.
All USNA Out members who have the financial resources to join the USNA Foundation’s President’s Circle are strongly encouraged to do so. By attending events such as the President’s Circle Weekend, we demonstrate that our commitment to excellence at the academy is as strong as (or stronger than) that of our contemporaries. And by doing so, we put a very positive face on who we really are here at USNA Out.
It’s a go! “Out Of Annapolis” will begin filming in November 2008. Leave it to a group of Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual US Naval Academy alumni to put together a major team effort for producing a documentary film. The production staff will consist entirely of USNA Alumni and their partners.
How about a little motivation to stay in shape throughout the summer? USNA Out is recruiting you to run in the Annapolis 10 Miler at the end of August. If you are not a runner, then come out and be a cheerleader or a tailgate host. Jeff has already promised cosmos at the finish!
Check out the info page at: http://annapolisstriders.org/A10Info2008.htm (The finishers jacket is worth the price of running 10 miles)
Barb has looked into getting “USNA Out” micro fiber shirts printed for the event. Cost will depend on the quantity ordered but will be $20 or less. Even if you are not running or cheering and would like a shirt, let her know.
Continue reading “USNA Out at the Annapolis 10 Miler – August 24th”
In early May 2008 the Naval Academy hosted its 10th Annual Admissions Outreach Conference. The title of this year’s event was, “Diversity: Built on a Solid Foundation, Forging a Stronger Future.” Disappointingly, still today gay and lesbian midshipmen are forced to compromise their honor and integrity on a daily basis — as required by the military’s embarrassing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy — and create a heterosexual facade lest their truth be discovered, resulting in shameful separation from USNA. No one at the Academy dares to take a leadership role in changing the outdated policy that is an embarrassment to our nation. In the past, Academy leaders have pretended that we do not exist within the Brigade of Midshipmen. In the hopes of bringing a mature perspective to a childish personnel policy, two of us USNA Out members attended the Admissions Outreach Conference. What follows is our account of how the two days unfolded:
Continue reading “Naval Academy Admissions Outreach Conference”
Left Coast – Paul Culver ’74,
Linda Postenrieder ’82, Jeff Petrie ’89 (seated)
Steve Clark Hall ’75, Eric Shangle ’97,
Greer Pucket ’75, Joe Soto ’83
The second USNA Out “National Meeting” was held on Army-Navy Friday, 30 November 2007 in Memorial Hall. Seven alumni were able to attend the a second “Left Coast Edition” of the national meeting held in San Francisco on Sunday, 16 December.
Continue reading “Second USNA Out “National Meeting” held in Annapolis & San Francisco”
