declaring 302

was reading a local glbt forum and a guy posted his concerns about declaring his sexuality when he went for his ns (national service) call-up medical check-up... or rather, this guy had declared (his sexuality), but he was worried how they would treat him. there were quite a few replies and many of them were spouting nonsense and allegations that were either unfounded or bitchy.

thought they were not useful and counter to what this poor chap had wanted to know/ find out when he posted his queries in the forum. so, i sent him a personal message. i thought i should make it sound as objective as i could given that i was an ex-regular officer who had spend more than 20 years in the military (despite my bad experiences of being outed, interrogated and so on when i was in service). felt it was the right thing to do to allay the fears and apprehensions of my fellow gaymen who are awaiting enlistment. i decided to post it here cos i am also aware that there are some here who has the same questions.

:-)

this was what i wrote...

reference your posting about declaring, frankly, it is gonna be a non-affair for the armed forces if you are an nsf (national serviceman [fulltime]), i.e., conscript. many people have declared and they are required to go through their ns like anyone else. as for the talk about excusing people from whatever specific roles etc, really, it all depends on the following:

(1) whether you are effeminate. this is an important factor for them to consider (especially if you have intentions to eventually go for a sex change). generally, for people who are in the process of transition, they would be employed in non-combat roles and would not be required to stay-in. apart from protecting the servicemen from possible harrassment from their peers, it would also minimize the stress and trauma for the servicemen from having to undergo combat roles and duties (which generally are more rough and tough, and that would pose some very practical inconveniences for transitioning personnel). if you are straight-acting and medically assessed that you are comfortable with your sexuality, you would be treated no difference from any other persons and would be required to undergo the full ns. i myself know of many friends who went through even after declaring they are gay. you will unlikely be given a lower pes status (medical status) just because you declare you are homosexual.

(2) whether you are applying to be a regular (contract soldier). as a regular, you would be subjected to additional security checks and one of the areas that they would be interested be would be your sexuality. generally personnel who declare they are homosexual would not be employed (it is an unwritten rule but everyone knows about it). the reasons could include firstly, the avoidance of security concerns especially when gay people, who are closeted, would have a higher chance of being blackmailed (for classified information), or secondly, their fear that there might be a confidence issues with the organisation amongst parents if they were to find out that there are gay servicemen leading their sons. (i do not subscribe to these reasons but i do acknowledged that they exist).

hope i have shed sufficient light on the issue of homosexuality.

after sending this message, i sent a second one...

if i may add, handling homosexual servicemen is something that the saf (singapore armed forces) is still learning. when the so called directive pertaining to homosexuals was first drafted and formalized, it classified persons who declare their homosexuality into a category by itself called "302". that was in the 70s when the perception of gays was - gays = ah-guas (transvestites). to me, that was a very wrong start from the beginning. it was too simplistic and did not address the whole continuum of sexuality issues that is a fact of life - eg openly homosexuals who are out of the closet but straight-acting, homosexuals who are closeted, sexual dimorphism, transexuals, transvestites, etc... you can also read this post about the difficulties i experienced managing my staff who went for a sex change, it simply illustrated the vacuum in directives/ policies managing such cases, even for regulars. but interestingly, the key issue is not one of policy but that of people's acceptance... end of the day, it was people's acceptance or rather, non-acceptance of the individual that led to the officer leaving service...

this was made worst by some servicemen who tried to escape ns, malinger and/ or cheat the system by declaring they are transvestites with the intent to transition, get excused/ downgraded, and excused from reservist. iknew of previous cases such as these and after 2 - 2.5 years of being posted as a clerk and excused from reservist, the servicemen ord (ended his conscript time), left service, and reverted to his totally straight lifestyle. yup, you will be surprise, but there are such people in singapore.

as such, for those who declare they are homosexuals, the medical officer would have to make the assessment as to whether he needs to psychologically tested (especially when they suspect there is an intention to malinger/ cheat). otherwise, declaring of homosexuality is really a non-issue for an nsf.