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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, July 04, 2008
Months
after
announcing
on
national
television
that
he
is
gay,
Army
Sgt.
Darren
Manzella
was
finally
discharged
from
the
military
last
month.
Manzella,
who
gained
notoriety
when
he
appeared
on
CBS’
“60
Minutes”
in
December,
was
separated
from
the
service
on
June
10.
In
his
interview
with
“60
Minutes,”
Manzella
discussed
the
events
that
unfolded
after
he
came
out
to
his
commanding
officer
in
2006.
His
coming
out
led
to
an
Army
investigation
about
his
sexual
orientation.
During
the
inquiry,
Manzella
identified
himself
as
gay
on
a
questionnaire
and
submitted
a
video
of
himself
kissing
his
then-boyfriend.
Despite
this
evidence,
the
Army
determined
that
Manzella
was
not
gay
and
allowed
him
to
continue
to
serve.
Manzella
continued
to
talk
about
being
openly
gay
in
the
military
with
other
media
outlets,
including
the
Blade,
and
was
a
featured
speaker
at
an
annual
dinner
for
the
Servicemembers
Legal
Defense
Network,
the
lead
organization
in
the
fight
against
the
U.S.
military’s
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
policy,
which
prevents
gays
from
serving
openly.
His
willingness
to
speak
to
the
media
finally
pushed
the
Army
to
take
action
against
him.
On
March
3,
about
a
week
before
the
SLDN
dinner,
Manzella’s
commander
at
Ft.
Hood
in
Texas
informed
him
that
he
had
been
recommended
for
a
discharge.
Attached
to
the
recommendation
was
a
transcript
of
the
“60
Minutes”
piece
and
a
copy
of
an
article
from
the
Associated
Press.
Army
officials
informed
Manzella
that
he
should
prepare
to
be
discharged
within
10
to
14
days,
but
he
didn’t
receive
his
discharge
orders
until
late
in
April.
After
completing
his
terminal
leave,
Manzella
was
officially
separated
from
the
Army
June
10
and
given
an
honorable
discharge.
“All
I’ve
really
been
doing
is
just
telling
the
story,
what
has
happened,”
he
said.
“I
have
a
little
bit
more
liberty
to
speak
about
that
now
that
I’m
not
active
in
the
military.”
The
former
soldier
said
he
was
not
surprised
that
he
was
discharged
because
SLDN
informed
him
that
his
discharge
was
a
risk
when
he
made
his
story
public.
But
Manzella
thought
it
was
curious
that
the
Army
waited
until
March
to
take
action
against
him
when
the
“60
Minutes”
piece
aired
in
December,
and
was
beginning
to
think
the
service
would
let
him
stay
despite
his
being
openly
gay
in
the
military.
“They
realized
that
a
good
soldier
is
an
asset,
whether
they
be
straight
or
gay,
and
I
started
to
think
they
were
going
to
keep
me,”
Manzella
said.
Manzella,
30,
joined
the
Army
in
2002
and
worked
at
Ft.
Hood
as
a
lead
instructor
for
Combat
Lifesaver
program,
which
trains
non-medical
soldiers
in
first
aid
procedures
to
assist
medical
personnel.
He
was
deployed
twice
to
serve
in
Operation
Iraqi
Freedom
and
earned
the
Combat
Medical
Badge
for
providing
medical
support
for
soldiers.
During
his
discharge
proceedings,
Manzella
had
the
opportunity
to
request
a
board
to
rebut
statements
that
he
made
to
the
press.
Such
boards
are
available
to
all
service
members
undergoing
discharge
proceedings
and
are
not
restricted
to
troops
being
discharged
under
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
But
Manzella
waved
this
option.
“I
said
I
wouldn’t
take
back
anything,”
he
said.
“It
would
defeat
the
purpose
of
why
I
participated
in
the
segment.
It
would
defeat
the
purpose
of
working
with
SLDN.”
Manzella
had
the
same
commanding
officers
in
2006
as
he
did
when
discharge
proceedings
started
this
year,
so
the
same
people
who
determined
he
was
not
gay
in
the
earlier
investigation
determined
in
2008
there
was
sufficient
evidence
now
of
his
sexual
orientation.
Army
Maj.
Dave
Shoupe,
spokesperson
for
the
1st
Cavalry
Division
at
Ft.
Hood,
said
Manzella’s
discharge
is
a
closed
legal
action
and
the
Army
cannot
discuss
the
matter
because
of
privacy
rights.
The
former
soldier
said
his
co-workers
were
generally
supportive
of
his
decision
to
be
out
in
the
military
and
making
an
appearance
on
“60
Minutes.”
When
the
recommendation
for
a
discharge
came
down,
Manzella’s
supervisor
was
surprised
that
the
Army
made
the
decision
to
separate
him,
he
said.
But
the
situation
with
his
company
commander
was
more
difficult.
After
the
“60
Minutes”
piece
aired,
Manzella
had
an
intense
discussion
with
his
company
commander.
Manzella
described
the
conversation
as
“friendly,”
but
also
said
his
company
commander
“wasn’t
pleased.”
The
company
commander
asked
Manzella
what
his
intentions
were
behind
his
appearance
on
TV,
to
which
Manzella
responded
that
he
wanted
to
help
repeal
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
The
company
commander
said
repealing
the
law
wasn’t
going
to
happen,
Manzella
said.
“And
I
said,
‘Well
you’re
entitled
to
your
opinion
and
I
can
have
my
opinion
and
I
believe
that
it
will
be
repealed,’”
Manzella
said.
Manzella
emphasized
to
his
superiors
that
his
actions
were
not
a
personal
attack
on
his
command
and
he
only
wanted
to
show
the
injustice
of
military
policy
toward
gays.
“I
had
no
vendettas
or
grudges
against
anyone
in
my
command,”
he
said.
“My
distaste
is
for
the
policy
and
the
law,
not
the
people
who
were
forced
to
enforce
it
upon
me.”
With
his
discharge
finalized,
the
former
soldier
moved
to
Washington
about
a
month
ago
and
is
now
temporarily
working
with
SLDN
in
planning
and
attending
events
across
the
United
States.
Many
of
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