The Idaho Statesman is reporting that Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach who is now being drummed out of the Air Force under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was outed through a false accusation against him. Sadly, this is something that happens REGULARLY and I have two clients who were the victims of the same type of bogus accusation that they had come onto another service member. In fact, nothing of the kind ever happened yet bot were forced from the Navy where they had been competent and honorable service members. Truth be told, when the military is not actively running witch hunts of its own - something that DOES happen - it is jumping onto wildly untrue allegations made by disgruntled service members or out right homophobic bigots. The unfairness of the policy and the nastiness it encourage is an affront to what America is supposed to be about. And again, the only thing that truly gives rise to DADT is religious discrimination - something supposedly barred by the Constitution. Here are some story highlights: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.
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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.
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Fehrenbach was soon cleared by police and the Ada County prosecutor's office. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations subsequently found no violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. AFOSI concluded that Fehrenbach and Shaner had consensual sex, and that Shaner was an "unreliable source of information." But the Air Force wasn't done: Fehrenbach's admission he'd had gay sex was a violation of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. . . . Had his accuser been a woman, he'd have gone back to work with no further issue."
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But the prospect of President Barack Obama fulfilling a campaign promise to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," prompted Fehrenbach to fight. In April, a board of five officers recommended an honorable discharge. Fehrenbach's goal was to continue to serve. With two more years, he'd reach 20 years and qualify for full retirement.
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He also seeks to raise hope among those who want gays to be free to serve openly, as they do in 26 countries, including Britain, France, Australia and Israel. "You coming out has galvanized a lot of people, and it brought a lot of people out of the woodwork," Maddow told Fehrenbach on June 23. "Absolutely " he replied. "I have literally gotten thousands and thousands of e-mails, letters, phone calls from people I have served with ... I can't even count the number who have said, literally, 'Dude, I'll go to war with you tomorrow.'"
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DADT is a travesty - it is unfortunate that we have a spineless - and untruthful - president who lacks the balls to issue a stop loss order while the nightmare of DADT is repealed.
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