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Hello. My name is James Wharton, I’m 23 years old
and I’m an openly gay solider in the British army.
Just over 10 year ago, gay men and women were not
allowed to serve in the armed forces.
In fact in 1999 alone 298 people were discharged from
the army simply because they were gay.
This figure is greater than the loses sustained in the
Falklands and the first Gulf War.
With the help of Stonewall the ban on gay people serving
in the military was lifted in 2000.
For people like me, the progress that has been made
in the last ten years has been truly life changing.
I can now be myself and be open about who I am,
whilst doing the job I love.
This year I celebrated my civil partnership within the barracks
of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and was featured
on the cover of the British army’s official publication
Solider Magazine, as an openly gay man.
In 2005 at the age of 18 I decided to come out.
I had been in the army for 2 years at this point and felt at a
stage ready, where I was confident to tell people,
the truth, that I was gay.
In 2007 I served in Iraq with my regiment for 7 months,
and whilst I was in Iraq I was able to operate more
effectively because I could be myself. I didn’t have to hide who I was
I wasn’t lying about who I was, and that’s why I worked better.
The army isn’t perfect yet, and there is still room for improvement.
But the armed services is fully committed to make the military
as gay friendly a place as possible, where everyone is able to be themselves.
The Navy, the Army and the Air Force are all members of the
Stonewall Diversity Champions programme where employers
work with Stonewall and each other in order to improve their
working environment for lesbian, gay and bisexual service members.
My experience shows that a lot can change in a very short
space of time. Things can get better today if we all work
together to combat homophobia in our workplaces and in our schools.
You too can make a difference by challenging homophobic
bullying at school and by encouraging your school to do the same.
If the army can do it, you can do it too.
It gets better today, we can make it happen.