It's done sotto voce, but somehow word gets passed. The Air Force is the most hospitable armed branch; the Marines and Army are the pits. Entertainment and medical jobs are the safest; artillery and infantry units the roughest. If possible, head for bases around San Francisco or Washington; steer clear of South Korea and Hawaii. Join groups like Alcoholics Anonymous; for those in the Navy, especially, they are safe enclaves. Buy Bob Damron's Address Book; it lists gay bars near military installations both at home and abroad. But be careful: such clubs are off limits and are often scouted by bands of military police known as "courtesy patrols." Be alert for changing code words. If someone says, "Don't go straight, go forward" or asks, "Are you a friend of Dorothy's?" you'll know you've found the Emerald City.
For gay men and lesbians, military service means a life of unflagging vigilance and tactical deception. The adversary they fear most does not speak a foreign tongue. Rather, the enemy lies as close as the next bunk. At military bases across the country, homosexuals describe an existence that at best is tentative, guarded and supported by discreet networks. At worst, it can mean snickering colleagues, witch hunts and dangerous "blanket parties," during which the victims are held beneath covers, then beaten senseless. Until now, the military's homosexuals have had to live with the uneasy knowledge that exposure of their secret could mean expulsion.
Over the past decade, homosexuals have been discharged from the armed services at the rate of about 1,500 a year. Rarely does the expulsion involve any of the acts so commonly cited as a threat by those who oppose gays in the military: harassment of straight colleagues, fondling or staring in the showers, nocturnal visits to unsuspecting bunkmates. "In every case I know of, someone told someone about a person's sexual orientation or that person was asked a question during a security clearance," says Kevin Cathcart, executive director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay civil rights group. Sometimes the outings are coerced. Confronted by investigators, gays are often told to name names if they want an honorable rather than a general discharge.
Since 1982, the military has encouraged -- indeed, demanded -- such scrutiny. Defense Department Directive 1332.14 states: "Homosexuality is incompatible with military service." No overt act is required to set this ban in motion. A mere "propensity to engage in homosexual conduct" is enough to invite discharge. The military has many other rules on sexual conduct that apply to everyone -- gay or straight. Officers are not permitted to fraternize with enlistees. Sex is barred on bases except for married personnel in their living quarters. Even off-site sex is regulated. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, anal and oral intercourse are prohibited anywhere, anytime, by anybody. But each of these rules speaks to conduct, not sexual orientation -- and the last rule goes largely unenforced.