As we approach Nov. 5th, a lot of positive events have taken place...We have had a great cadet response to the Blue Alliance Dinner, and as a result we still need members to "sponsor a cadet", so I would encourage everyone to help out if you can.

The Dinner should be interesting - several high ranking members of the Academy Staff will be in attendance. We will be hearing about how the implementation of DADT has been going so far, and will have an opportunity to forge a new relationship with the Academy leadership. It will also be a chance to meet new members, straight allies, and to talk about our beat down of Army. The dinner is after the game, and don't forget we will have a tailgate before hand. Stay tuned for details.

Blue Alliance recently received official "affinity" status from the AOG which basically means we have the same rights and privileges of any other alumni organized group. Good news - kudos to the AOG - they have worked with us very closely for over two years and you would likely be surprised at how supportive they have been to Blue Alliance.

I find it interesting to note the very strong reception and interest in Blue Alliance from the Cadet Wing. How times have changed.....The next few years will be a time of growth and development of our group, and an interesting time for USAFA in general, much as it was in 1976!

Fly safe,
JB USAFA '85
Blue Alliance Board

Hey Guys and Girls,
I joined years ago, but just got back to paying attention to what's going on here, so you don't know me yet. Anyway, I'm older than any of you (class of '60), so I'm going to act like your granny and lecture a little.
From just now checking out the legal defense network stuff, it seems to me that there are several things we should be working on - at least be discussing.
First, as a transsexual (MTF post-op) I was curious about what might be the reaction in a barracks if someone with drag queen tendencies cross-dressed and some redneck or other hostile type objected. Somebody should be thinking about what the group's stance on gender-bending should be, seeing as the repeal of DADT should be just the first step in a long, tedious process of unraveling the other restrictions on LGBT people, and we don't want to mess this thing up do we? I mean, you realize that how you play it out in the military will determine how fast the house of cards which stymies many other minorities from realizing their full potential in society, and a cross-dresser in the service will be playing with fire. Hell, someone might think they're a transsexual.
The other minorities I'm thinking of include, besides transgendered people, atheists, agnostics, humanists, D & S practitioners (including BDSM and S & M), prostitutes, fat or ugly people, and any others whose looks, actions or beliefs differ from the general public's and do not really hurt anybody. I know that many of you have prejudices against one or more of those groups, so I'll say here that "just because you're in a minority doesn't mean you're not a bigot." As a bisexual atheist, former dominatrix and escort, I feel particularly qualified to defend those groups.
Second, what about the defense of marriage act (no caps on purpose) denying benefits to the spouse of someone in the service? I think that as soon as someone with a same-sex partner gets in and their partner is denied VA benefits, they should run, not walk, to the nearest federal courthouse to file suit, since the courts take forever to decide anything and people will be treated badly until they do. And of course getting rid of DOMA would be even better.
Third, I was particularly disappointed to read that the so-called education of the troops concerning DADT, particularly in the marine corps (no caps on purpose, based on the way they're acting) is perfunctory at best. and hostile to gays and lesbians at worst. I know the younger generations are less hostile to gays and lesbians than mine, but still, there is from what I saw on the legal site nothing being done to really change people's attitudes about homosexuality and the rest, and there should be.
And for your information, I am dealing with the VA hospital in Decatur, GA regularly now, since I have a superbug in my right eye and will likely lose it, the VA has strict privacy rules, which from what I've seen at that hospital are rigidly adhered to. They have been scrupulous in not letting the people I deal with there know about my post-op status. So once a gay former or active duty service member enters the VA world, from my experiences I think they should expect their privacy to be honored.
I've made my phone number and email addresses available, so let me know what you think about my points if you feel in the mood. And I wish you guys who go back in or come behind well. All of us deserve better than we've gotten.
Regards, Sabra

Dinner to honor LGBT Graduates Deemed Too Controversial for Air Force Academy Site

WASHINGTON, DC, September 9, 2010 – The Denver Post reported Thursday morning that a Veterans’ Day dinner to honor the history of LGBT service in the Air Force has been moved off Air Force Academy grounds. Blue Alliance, an organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender alumni of the Air Force Academy, and OutServe, a network of actively serving gay and lesbian military members, were slated to host the dinner at the Association of Graduates (AOG) building to celebrate Veterans’ Day in November. The two organizations were originally notified of the Graduate Organization’s support of an Academy-focused event. But the AOG was unwilling to support the event on the Academy if senior political leaders and media outlets were invited while national leaders are discussing the fate of the country’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.

The Executive Vice President of the AOG was quoted as saying that the event was intended to embarrass the Air Force Academy. Blue Alliance Executive Director, Greg Mooneyham vehemently denies that claim. “We have had a positive relationship with the AOG in the past and this dinner was just a natural extension of a previous event that was held in the AOG building. We had no intent to embarrass the Air Force Academy – in fact, our intent was to recognize the outstanding contributions and accomplishments of a group of Air Force Academy graduates. We regret not being able to honor LGBT service in this way, at the Academy, at this time, but look forward to the day when the contributions of these heroic men and women will be an equal element of the history of the greatest Air Force in the history of the world.”

OutServe’s active duty co-director, who goes by the pseudonym JD Smith, further recognized that “At a time when we’re honoring veterans, we wanted to recognize probably the most ignored veterans in our country: gays and lesbians.” To that end, the two organizations will host the dinner, as planned, at the Westin Hotel in Denver.

Air Force Academy's alumni group cancels event to honor gay soldiers
By Michael Riley
The Denver Post

WASHINGTON — With the ban on gays serving openly in the military inching closer to repeal, gay soldiers and their advocates scheduled a dinner this November on the Air Force Academy campus, planning to invite the academy's superintendent and a member of Congress.

The two groups sponsoring the event signed a contract and put down a deposit, but the dinner was canceled last month by the academy's alumni organization, which controls the venue where it was to be held.

A spokesman said the event placed the school's leadership in the tough spot of appearing to endorse repeal of the current ban, known as "don't ask, don't tell."

The turnabout has set off a fusillade of charges and countercharges, focusing attention on the institution that is known as the most conservative of the service academies just as the military studies the possibility of welcoming openly gay fighters.