Openly Gay Sailor Retiring From Navy
A petty officer who made Navy and legal history with his announcement that he was gay retired on Wednesday after 15 years of military service.
Keith Meinhold, 33, said his decision not to re-enlist had nothing to do with his status as an openly gay sailor.
“The decision was difficult for me,” Meinhold said. “Emotionally in my heart I really wanted to stay in the Navy, but my head tells me … it’s time to start a second career.”
He pledged to continue his fight for the rights of gay servicemen and women.
“I’ve been in for three years after making my statement,” Meinhold told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Tuesday. “I don’t see what another 4-5 years would prove, since my case was resolved.”
The Navy lost two federal court decisions in its efforts to oust Meinhold from the service. He was eventually allowed to continue to serve as an air warfare specialist crewman on the P-3C Orion patrol aircraft.
Meinhold’s squadron transferred from Moffet Field, Calif., to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station two years ago.
After he made his sexual orientation public in 1993, the Defense Department enacted its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay service members.
The Navy honored Meinhold at an hourlong ceremony Wednesday attended by his squadron and about 40 guests, said base spokesman Howard Thomas.
Service members can opt for retirement after 15 years’ service, which will allow Meinhold to embark on other projects, one of which is a nationwide speaking tour next month for the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit organization that supports gay and lesbian military personnel.
Meinhold revealed on national television in 1992 that he is gay. He was discharged under old military regulations that treated declarations of homosexuality as grounds for discharge.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a federal court judge’s decision to reinstate Meinhold. But the 9th Circuit overturned the judge’s nationwide order banning military discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The 9th Circuit said the case should be resolved by simply forbidding the Navy to discharge Meinhold solely because of his statement, which expressed no desire to engage in prohibited sexual conduct.