#1Jul 29th, 2009
The ban on homsexuals in the British Army was lifted only in 2000.
James, aged 22, "came out" just after he joined the army, aged only 16. He has already seen active service in Iraq.
Gay soldier becomes Armed Forces' magazine's first homosexual pin-up
By Ryan Kisiel
28th July 2009
Daily Mail
A gay serviceman has become the first homosexual soldier to appear on the front cover of the Armed Forces' magazine.
James Wharton, a trooper in The Household Calvary Regiment, is featured in the monthly Soldier publication.
The move to celebrate diversity in the Army comes nine years after it lifted its ban on homosexuality within the ranks.
Gay pin-up: Trooper James Wharton is the first homosexual soldier to appear on the front of Soldier, nine years after the Army lifted its ban on gay recruits
Trooper Wharton, 22, who has been in the forces for six years, told colleagues about his sexuality shortly after his initial training was over when he was aged only 16.
'I came out to the Army before I told my parents, so that says a lot for the Armed Forces,' he said.
Cover boy: Trooper Wharton's debut front cover for the army mag
'I have always known I was gay but it wasn't until then that I told anyone.'
Based at Combermere Barracks in Windsor, he is soon to be promoted to lance corporal and has already proved himself as a soldier, having served in Iraq on dangerous long-range desert patrols in 2007.
Trooper Wharton, who met his boyfriend Ryan at last year's London Gay Pride march, admits he is occasionally a target for teasing from fellow soldiers, particularly for going to Britney Spears and Pink pop concerts. But he insists his unit has no problem with his sexuality.
He does confess that while attitudes have changed in the Army, there are some who are still unhappy with the idea of homosexuals in the Armed Forces, and potential recruits are sometimes put off signing up by uneducated recruiters.
During his six-year career, he says he has experienced just two uncomfortable moments, but neither was serious enough to make him quit.
He added: 'A lot of people express their worries about being gay at recruitment and some awful things have been said to them, like "you're not allowed to be gay in Army time" or "you shouldn't be gay".
'Considering some people have general problems every week I'm not complaining. I haven't got any personal problems. My problems are like every other soldier's – bombs and bullets.'
Both the Royal Air Force and Navy have joined the Army in actively encouraging recruitment from the homosexual community by taking part in gay pride events where members marched in their uniforms.
The fight to allow homosexuality in the British Armed Forces started with a legal battle.
Three gay men and a lesbian, who had been discharged from the Royal Navy and RAF after being found to be homosexual, spent two years engaged in court proceedings that reached the European Court of Human Rights.
The Government had claimed that the military should be let off equality laws because of the 'close physical and shared living conditions together with external pressures such as grave danger and war', but the ECHR ruled that policy was not sustainable in 2000.
Until that year, around 200 servicemen and women a year were dismissed from the Armed Forces for homosexuality. Some have since won compensation.
Former Coldstream Guard Lieutenant Mark Wakeling, 37, who resigned his commission for fear of being unmasked as homosexual, described the change in the UK Armed Forces as 'immense'.
He said: "I can't express how fantastic it is to know they are able to be themselves.
'I regret that I lost out. I felt I didn't really fulfil my ambition in the army. It was tragic. I was a good soldier. I could have been useful to the army.'
dailymail.co.uk
neanderthals are still alive and well.
