Another Hero Fired ... For Being Gay

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Tuesday May 19, 2009 · 11:12 PM PDT

2009/05/19 · 23:12

Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach. F-15 fighter pilot. 18 years of service. Part of the initial alert crew on September 11. Flew combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. 88 combat missions. 2180 flying hours. 488 combat hours. 1487 fighter hours. 9 air medals.

Under constant fire and surface-to-air missile assault, with a wingman experiencing a major aircraft malfunction, he fired all the weapons on his aircraft and guided all the weapons from his wingman's aircraft to take out 12 armored personnel carriers preparing to ambush the initial advance on Baghdad.

This decorated, officially confirmed hero is being fired.

Two years short of a full Air Force pension. Two weeks short of his next deployment. Neither he, nor the roughly $25 million spent on his training, will continue to be of use to us.

His crime is that he is gay.

Before tonight, not one person in his squadron knew that he is gay. There was no possible affect on "unit cohesion," a made-up defense of Don't Ask, Don't Tell with zero evidentiary basis, as admitted by those who created the policy.

He and his lawyer have been trying to delay an appeal hoping that Obama would fulfill his promise to end discrimination in the military. His time is running out.

This is a real life. This policy is ending the career and livelihood of a real person. It has ended the careers and livelihoods of over 12,500 people, including 206 since Obama was sworn in. Don't Ask, Don't Tell may not be an urgent matter to our president, but it is an urgent matter to Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach. It is an urgent matter to real people. We need to tell others that it is urgent.

There is no justification for this policy. The militaries of the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany — militaries with which our troops serve and interact directly — are perfectly able to handle gay people serving openly. Ours can, too.

—Chan Lowe, Florida Sun-Sentinel. Share this.

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Another Hero Fired ... For Being Gay

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