Having served 16 years in the Air Force, the National Guard and the Army Reserve, I was appalled when DADT was first schemed. In my army being gay or gender dysphoric was a disease that opened people hiding their disease to blackmail and security breakdowns. There were hundreds of soldiers that I knew or suspected was gay or of a variable gender identity. They did their jobs well, some of which had a lot of fiscal responsibility if not a lot of security responsibilities. Over the years there was less surveillence of local gay bars near Forts and Bases to try and catch soldiers in their sexual diversity. Some units were acutal magnets for gay or lesbian recruits and service people. The only problem with these concentrations was displays of affection off duty. Most of us that were serving away from our families were affected by these displays largely because we missed our loved ones affections and felt like the GLBT folks were rubbing our noses in that separation.
It was a time when sexual harrassment law came in vogue. I found it a problem reporting sexual harassment with the locker room attitude of streight soldiers, taking license with their hands. In a sense, men in male dominent military living conditions do things to each other that would fet one fired in a private corporation. Those actions were considered innocuous by streight soldiers, but a major violation of military protocol between gay soldiers. I think there should be a don't touch, don't tell should be a military protocol. The military was the first to intigrate the races in America which gave many people of color the courage to take action to gain and protect their civil rights. Gay people have civil rights, but I think people in uniform should not be displaying affection with one another, whether homosexual, heterosexual nor castrata. As a soldier, the last thing I was thinking of is someones sexual preference.