NEW SHOW: Unfit For Service

Speaker 1 There was constant sniping, constant gunfire, and I had a lot of adrenaline. I saw what these warlords did.
They just didn't shoot somebody and move on. They massacred them.

Speaker 2 Let me tell you a story about this soldier, this man, Randy Taylor. Randy is a fierce patriot.
He's dedicated his life to serving his country as a member of the U.S. Army.

Speaker 2 He believes in defending his country and its Constitution with all his heart.

Speaker 2 He's been living through years of training, so he knows how to think clearly and calmly in life and death situations.

Speaker 1 So I went to the television and watched the news play in real time, and then we all just prepared as if we were going to war.

Speaker 2 But Randy Taylor faces another battle for which he's had no training, no support.

Speaker 1 The worst way he could ever characterize anybody is that they would be gay. This was something that my stepfather ridiculed about quite quite often.
I just wanted to be left alone.

Speaker 1 I didn't want the public spectacle of this.

Speaker 3 The issue is not whether there should be homosexuals in the military. Everyone concedes that there are.

Speaker 3 The issue is whether men and women who can and have served with real distinction should be excluded from military service solely on the basis of their status.

Speaker 2 It's a fight that'll leave him isolated. At any moment, he could lose everything.

Speaker 2 And that's because throughout his career, the U.S. military is trying to throw out people just like him.

Speaker 1 It almost felt like it was hunting for sport, outing people just because you could. You're dealing with a population there that is trained to hunt other humans.

Speaker 1 That was during the peak discharge years of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, military police and senior Army leaders looking for gay soldiers to apprehend.

Speaker 2 I'm Eric Marcus, and from Waveland and Vespucci, this is Unfit for Service. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 2 Follow Unfit for Service on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.