Benecke, at ease.Michelle Benecke takes a much-deserved break after seven years leading the charge against "don't ask, don't tell" Talk about tough jobs. Shortly after then-president Clinton announced the "don't ask, don't tell" compromise on gays in the military in 1993, Michelle Benecke, along with C. Dixon Osburn, formed Service-members Legal Defense Network, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group for military personnel harmed by the policy. During the seven following years, discharges under the policy skyrocketed--the exact opposite of what was intended. It took years of work and the antigay bias-motivated murder of Pfc. Barry Winchell Barry Winchell (31 August 1977—6 July 1999) was an infantry soldier in the United States Army, whose murder by a fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, became a point of reference in the ongoing debate about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy enforced by the military regarding for SLDN SLDN Service Members Legal Defense Network to convince the Pentagon that the policy was being administered unfairly. So it is no surprise that Benecke, praised far her grit and skill even by foes of gay rights, announced in January that she is leaving the group. The Advocate talked with Benecke, a lawyer and former Army commander, about her future and that of the antigay military policy. Why are you leaving? I've been working on this issue for many years now, and it's just time for me to move on. I'm very positive about the legacy Dixon and I have created together and the accomplishments under our watch. I still have passion for work, but I never intended to stay on forever. What's improved since 1993? We have given service members a place to turn and created a vehicle to pressure the Pentagon and create public support for a new policy. One of the best moments came in 1997, when undersecretary Edwin Dorn announced that when women complained of sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. , it wasn't appropriate to investigate whether the women were lesbians. It reveals the low baseline from which we started. Sexual harassment is taken more seriously now. As a commander, you were investigated because of your sexual orientation sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. . How did that experience inform your work as an advocate? The idea for SLDN came while I was in active duty. I served as an officer in the Army air defense artillery Weapons and equipment for actively combating air targets from the ground. Also called ADA. . I was one of the early classes of women to integrate that branch. Nearly every female officer with whom I served had been investigated. I was getting ready to attend Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (colloquially, Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard Law is considered one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States. on a military fellowship that would have required me to return after graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. , typically as a prosecutor. The idea of having to enforce the policy created an ethical dilemma An ethical dilemma is a situation that will often involve an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. This is also called an ethical paradox . I decided to drop out and go on my own. As a commander I had the autonomy to look the other way. As a lawyer I would have had no choice but to enforce the policy. When I got to law school, I was asked to write a case note for a law journal concerning the policy. In doing the research, I found evidence that the policy was being used disproportionately dis·pro·por·tion·ate adj. Out of proportion, as in size, shape, or amount. dis  pro·por against women. I had thought that was unique to the branch in which I served. After the article was published, I began to get calls from military members. SLDN grew out of that experience. Clearly, given the Bush administration and opposition in Congress, the time when SLDN is no longer needed is far in the future. When Dixon and I formed the group, I looked at the history and realized that integrating women and racial minorities had taken 50 years. We figured that if we could reduce the number to 20 years, we would be doing something great. Do you hold out hope for change in the Bush administration? During the debates he said he supported "don't ask, don't tell," which is an improvement over previous Republican positions. He could make a positive influence by implementing the policy more appropriately. Many people told us at the beginning that our mission was hopeless hopeless Terminal care Futile. See Medical futility. , but I'm still optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op . The Pentagon old guard remains opposed to acknowledging the service of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals. But there are a good number of younger officers, including some senior ones, who take us aside and tell us that they don't support the antigay policy. We're working on trying to get senior officers who support us to hold hands and jump off the cliff together. That way the policy will go down and they can survive. What are your own plans? I'll be looking at career opportunities in the private sector after my partner and I take a nice vacation and become reacquainted with each other. |
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