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BBC: "Falklands Veteran 'Forced Out Over Sexuality' Will Get Medal Back"

soleil

War Hero
"A Falklands veteran forced out of the Royal Navy over his sexuality will have a military honour returned.

Joe Ousalice, 68, served as a radio operator for 18 years but was discharged in 1993 because of a ban of LGBT people in the armed forces.

He completed six tours of duty in Northern Ireland and was seconded to a Nato task force.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) admitted its policy was "wrong, discriminatory and unjust".

Mr Ousalice, who lives in Southampton, was awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and three Good Conduct badges.

But the medal was stripped from him when he was discharged because his bisexuality was believed to be "prejudicial to good order and naval discipline".

It is understood a scheme will be set up to return medals to other veterans in the future."

 
At the time regulations forbid homosexuals to serve, in my opinion his discharge was perfectly legal and inline with the times. However the man had earned his medals and no matter what his sexuality should have been able to keep them.
 
Will he receive his original medal or will it be a replacement?

I'm asking about policy. If a man returns his medals, would they be stored under his name?
 
At the time regulations forbid homosexuals to serve, in my opinion his discharge was perfectly legal and inline with the times. However the man had earned his medals and no matter what his sexuality should have been able to keep them.
It says that he is a Falklands veteran and also served in NI.
Only his LSGC was taken off him apparently and reading between the lines. No reason to take the campaign medals off him, LSGC removed due to "conduct prejudicial to good order and naval discipline" , which at the time was, as said, legal.
But in these enlightened times there should be no reason to not allow him or anyone else to get his/her LSGC back based on the 'crime' at the time if that 'crime' is latterly declared a 'non-crime'.

Edited to say - agree with slim
 
BOBSERVATION - Mmmm - Most recipients wear their Pea Do with pride (Lower case)

With his medal our Veteran can now join that smaller cohort of those entitled to wear it with Pride (LGBT+ variant)
 
LSGC, LGBT, it’s all so confusing.

In the photo of him being awarded his LSGCM by Admiral Boyce, matey doesn't appear to be wearing SAM or GSM ribbons which would surely pre-date his LSGCM. There are all sorts of reasons why not
(including not enough time in theatre to qualify) but to a cynic, spidey senses are twitching.
 
The initialism LGBTTQQIAAP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pansexual) has also resulted, although such initialisms are sometimes criticized for being confusing and leaving some people out, as well as issues of placement of the letters within the new title.
 
LSGC, LGBT, it’s all so confusing.

In the photo of him being awarded his LSGCM by Admiral Boyce, matey doesn't appear to be wearing SAM or GSM ribbons which would surely pre-date his LSGCM. There are all sorts of reasons why not
(including not enough time in theatre to qualify) but to a cynic, spidey senses are twitching.
The MV Myrmidon the article says he was on didn't get to the Falklands until after the ceasefire, according to the t'interweb, so he probably wasn't entitled to a SAM. The NI bit is another matter.
 
The MV Myrmidon the article says he was on didn't get to the Falklands until after the ceasefire, according to the t'interweb, so he probably wasn't entitled to a SAM. The NI bit is another matter.
Not a Falklands Veteran then, any more than I am a Singapore veteran because I was there 50 years after the Japanese steamed in.
 
The initialism LGBTTQQIAAP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pansexual) has also resulted, although such initialisms are sometimes criticized for being confusing and leaving some people out, as well as issues of placement of the letters within the new title.
Thats a village in Wales,isn't it?
 
Can't be, it doesn't start with LL and we have no Q's in Welsh! That's not to say we don't have queues in Wales, try finding a public loo in Cardiff on Rugby International Match day.
 
The initialism LGBTTQQIAAP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pansexual) has also resulted, although such initialisms are sometimes criticized for being confusing and leaving some people out, as well as issues of placement of the letters within the new title.
Daily Orders when the ship sails would really blow their minds then...

0845 HTHSHOOTROTDCOTUDCASDAH :D
 
The MV Myrmidon the article says he was on didn't get to the Falklands until after the ceasefire, according to the t'interweb, so he probably wasn't entitled to a SAM
They recently changed the rules for SAM to allow Illustrious (and others eg Amazon) to get the SAM without rosette. Took the entitlement date out to about Oct 82 IIRC
But does that make him a Falklands War veteran? Not for me to say, I didn't get there until 84 (spent 82 at FOST FMG rebuilding civvy tankers into RAS ships and adding extra GPMGs to grey ships, even worked on Illustrious when she turned up straight out of build with a dodgy aircraft lift - FOST FMG was a 'war' billet but we didn't get a medal even though there was plenty of 'enemy' action in the Green Shutters every night :D )
 

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