The U.S. Navy
assigned an openly gay sailor to duty for the second time
in the Individual Ready Reserves, where he can still be
recalled to active duty, according to paperwork
obtained by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Former petty officer second class Jason Knight, a Hebrew
linguist, has already been recalled once from IRR after
coming out to his superiors and being
discharged.
Knight made
headlines in May when he revealed in the military
newspaper Stars and Stripes that he
accepted a call-back to active duty and was serving openly
in Kuwait in spite of "don't ask,
don't tell," the military policy that
prohibits gays and lesbians from acknowledging their
sexual orientation. Following the media attention
given to Knight's case, the Navy moved to dismiss him
from service again.
"I was
expecting to be dismissed under 'don't ask,
don't tell' but am ready, willing, and
able to continue my service to the Navy if I am
needed," Knight said. "I have been nothing but proud
of my service in the Navy, and I'm ready to
serve in the Individual Ready Reserves and to return
to active duty if called."
During both of
his previous tours in the Navy, Knight said he served
openly with the support of his command and colleagues.
Knight had also been out to his first in
command. That command dismissed Knight for
'completion of service,' despite knowing about
his sexual orientation, and also assigned him to the
IRR. That assignment led to his second tour in the
Navy.
Just before the
end of his second tour of duty, Knight was removed and
now has been placed on IRR duty until April 2009.
Knight's dismissal form, also called a DD-214,
again lists his reason for dismissal as
'completion of service.' The classification
allows him to again be called to active duty, as he
was in 2006 after completing a four-year enlistment in
the Navy.
"It's a very pleasant, and unexpected,
surprise to learn that the Navy so values
Jason's service that they have again assigned him to
the Individual Ready Reserves, despite his very public
advocacy as an openly gay man," Steve Ralls,
director of communications for Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network, told Stars and Stripes in a
statement. "There are clearly many people inside the
armed forces who couldn't care less about
sexual orientation. The Navy has welcomed Jason Knight
not once, not twice, but now a third time, and he has always
answered the call to duty." (The Advocate)
