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The Navy
by Neville Walker This article originally appeared in Gay Times in 2005. Four years ago we told the tale of Mark, a 20-year-old gay man who was in the Royal Navy. The ban on lesbians and gay men serving in the Military was newly repealed; the Government had been forced to repeal the ban after a series of court cases culminating in the European Court of Human Rights ruling it unlawful The long struggle by Rank Outsiders (now AFLaGA —Armed Forces Lesbian and Gay Association) was vindicated. The forces of conservatism had been vanquished. Or so we thought. But Mark wasn’t so easy to convince. “I want to stop people joining up, thinking it’s all hunky dory now, because it’s not. We’ll never have acceptance. In junior ratings’ accommodation, attitudes are still very hostile.” Mark was no delicate flower, but a robust, rugby-playing Northerner. Nevertheless, he was keeping his head down, and didn’t hold out much hope for change. Fast-forward to 2005. In February, the Royal Navy announced it was joining Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme to promote good working conditions for its employees, and to ensure equal treatment for lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel. No less a person than the Second Sea Lord, Vice-Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, stepped up to the plate on behalf of the Royal Navy to show that, in matters of equality at least, the Senior Service was no longer so square. The Royal Navy’s goal is to be a world-class navy, ready to fight and win. This can only be achieved if our people feel they’re valued team members who share a bond of loyalty and trust with those in their ship and unit. I’m committed to ensuring the Royal Navy has a culture in which all our people are valued for themselves, and are thus able to give 100% to their jobs. I look forward to working with Stonewall to help make this happen.” For once, even The Daily Mail appeared to look at the clock and realise which century it was in, heralding the Stonewall link with a remarkably factual piece — though, with an oddly wistful tone, it noted that “for centuries, the Senior Service maintained a strict ban on homosexuality, but all that is being swept away”. But it sounded more like a line from Gone With The Wind than a convincing rallying cry for the forces of conservatism. Stonewall describes Diversity Champions as a “best-practice forum” on sexuality, a place where employers can network with other employers, attend good-practice seminars and seek advice on initiatives to improve the lot of lesbian and gay employees. The Navy announced it would seek recruits through the pages of the gay press. For the first time, it seemed, one of the Armed Forces had moved publicly beyond the grudging acceptance forced on it by the European Court towards a more positive and inclusive future. Never mind the battle, surely the war was won? Real life, of course, isn’t as easy as that. As Stonewall points out, though the 2003 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) regulations have made workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual people unlawful, it still happens. It’s one thing for the Navy’s top brass to embrace the 21st century and with it the needs of personnel who come from minority groups, but it’s quite another to make sure the message reaches the furthest nooks and crannies of the Service. However sincere the initiative, it will take a hell or a lot of work to make it stick. It’s something that the Navy’s diversity and equality offlcer, Commander Tim Kingsbury, appears to acknowledge. He says. “Our role is to create better understanding of the issues in the Navy, to improve the climate and make life better for serving gays and lesbians.” After the ban was repealed, the Navy began working with Lieutenant Commander Craig Jones — the Navy’s highest ranking out, gay officer — and others in a new sexual orientation working group. “Through that, we began to understand the issues to be addressed,” he
says. And now? “We’re changing the culture by making the
chain of There is, as Kingsbury acknowledges, an assumption among many service people that your partner will be straight. It’s an assumption that excludes many gay people. Though support networks were set up after the ban ended the Navy found these weren’t being used — people went to AFLaGA with their problems instead. So, AFLaGA was invited to put its posters up. Lieutenant Commander Rolph Kurth was discharged from the Navy in 1997 because be was fed up with the strain of being a serving officer in the closet, but when he returned to he job he loved after the ban was lifted, he found most people supportive. “The ban was an excuse for lazy prejudice, but Navy culture doesn’t necessarily lag behind culture in general. People said to me, ‘We always kind of knew’.” You can’t, as Kurth points out, legislate peoples beliefs. There will always be sexist and racist people, just as there will always be homophobic people; the proof of the Navy’s new leaf will be its success in challenging such attitudes in the workplace. It’s not uniquely a Forces’ thing: changing workplace culture is difficult in any vast organisation. “There are still a lot of people not comfortable about coming out,” says Rolph Kurth. “A career in the Navy isn’t for everyone. ‘Jack’ (the average sailor) has a mischievous sense of humour; there a culture of banter. Not everyone can handle that,” Nor has everything changed for the better yet at an official level. Treasurv solicitors continue to fight a losing battle against compensation claims brought by lesbians and gay men who were dismissed because of the ban, yet they fight that battle to the bitter end, at who knows what cast to the taxpayer. Rolph Kurth is one of those still battling for compensation. But the prejudices and preconceptions of some Forces personnel about the lifting of tbe ban have proven groundless, and all reports suggest the reintegration of lesbian and gay personnel has caused remarkably little fuss. It’s perhaps just as well. In a tight labour market, victory goes to employers who treat their workforces well. Yet Tim Kingsbury is adamant the Stonewall link isn’t just about attracting new recruits. “We want people to be comfortable about being themselves so they can concentrate on their jobs. Our aim is to maximise operational efficiency.” It takes more than PR hype and friendly headlines to achieve that, of course. Issues facing lesbian and gay personnel will now be covered in mainstream career training courses at all levels of the organisation. A video about combating bullying already includes the case history of a gay officer. The Army and RAF are watching closely what the Navy has done. Management gurus talk about tuning a super-tanker when they want to illustrate the difficulty of getting a large organisation to change course— because however hard you try, something that big just keeps ploughing on in the wrong direction long after the wheel has been turned. Happily, it seems that warships might be just a bit
more manoeuvrable than that. Short pieces by: Mark Probee, chief petty officer physical trainer page: news :: 200507-gaytimes-inthenavy.htmupdated: 30 Aug 05 |
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