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Bliss among them a blonde haired boy of 18, named Jason, who was assigned to work in the electronics shop alongside Stacy. The summer of 1999 brought a fresh batch of soldiers to Ft. The Pulse was everything the OP was not the crowd was younger, the music fresher and, most importantly to Private Lane, “Everyone looked like they were having fun.” Stacy soon discovered from “Spartacus”, the travel guide to all things gay, that something better was a mere three-hour drive to Albuquerque, N.M., where he read that there was a hopping gay dance club called The Pulse. The OP was Specialist Lane’s very first gay bar, and though it was nothing to write home about, this smoke-filled dive sparked in him the hopeful thought, “There’s gotta be something better.” Whenever he could, Stacy would slip away to a gay bar in nearby El Paso called the Old Plantation (or OP for short). Off-base, however, was an entirely different matter. In an atmosphere drenched in homophobia, Stacy kept his sexual orientation closeted on the base. “You’d hear anti-gay comments everywhere, everyday, from just about everyone,” Stacy says. Possessing a college degree entitled Stacy not only to the higher rank of Specialist, but also a private room. And so, Stacy Lane enlisted in the Army, and dedicated himself to studying electronics repair and maintenance and completing his basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., before being shipped off to serve at Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas. Though a military career wasn’t something Stacy had ever considered, he was bewitched by the Army’s generous offer to repay his student loans. Stacy’s graduation from Abilene Christian University was very pleasing to his deeply religious family, but along with the notes of congratulations came the payment book for over $20,000 in student loans. Graham is a bastion of conservative Christianity, and the Lane household was no different. The only sign of homosexual life in Graham was to be found inside the town’s lone florist shop, run by a couple of suspiciously single older gentlemen.
![gay men flag dancing gay men flag dancing](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article17482307.ece/ALTERNATES/s1227b/0_HUNGARY-GAY-PRIDE-LGBT.jpg)
9,000), where Stacy grew up, was a very early innovator of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Small towns aren’t often on the cutting edge of federal policy, but Graham, Texas (pop. Flag dancing isn’t one of the courses offered in basic training, but after being discharged from the Army for being gay, flagging was one of the skills Stacy took home with him, that and a certificate in electronics repair and maintenance.
![gay men flag dancing gay men flag dancing](http://static.politico.com/cf/e4/6079779240e881cbb1be642263a8/orlando-shooting-gay-nightclub.jpg)
Even so, his three years in the military expanded his notion of who he was and what he could be. Army, he was just looking to pay off his student loans. Private Stacy Lane wasn’t looking to “be all he could be” when he joined the U.S. This admission and your sexual orientation could be prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the unit, and you are subject to separation under Chapter 15.” -Andrew S. 00, you made an unsolicited statement that you were gay.