One Foot In, One Foot Out: The Continued Struggle with Coming Out in a Hyper-Masculine U.S. Military

Dr. Marin Nikolov, a veteran of the U.S. Army, deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and Kuwait during Operation Inherent Resolve. While he was a junior enlisted soldier, then as a drill sergeant leader, and after he was commissioned to the officer corps, he witnessed harassment and assault of some of his peers who were either in the closet, were outed, or known to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. In One Foot In, One Foot Out he recounts his and others' experiences with this important and often-overlooked issue and the detrimental impact that the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy had on the service members who were removed from the military solely because of their discovered status or involvement with someone of the same sex. He also makes recommendations to safely coming out in the hyper-masculine U.S. military while improving relationships with those who served during or supported the anti-gay policies.