What's your opinion about outing oneself in the motivational statement?

[mrmperry]

Naturally I'm having friends and family give me their opinions about my statement before I submit my package, and two of them have strongly recommended that I cut the part that outs me. DADT repeal notwithstanding, they say it'll be a big black mark.

I don't out myself for kicks and giggles, though; it's in there to explain why I suddenly pulled a triple-full-time semester and graduated two semesters early. (I was a Californian student at a Mormon university when prop 8 was doing its thing in 2008. The school honor code prohibits "advocacy of homosexual behavior," including speaking in favor of gay marriage, so rather than keep quiet or break my commitment, I completed it.) I feel like the section illustrates both my abilities (I was also a research assistant for two professors while doing the triple-full-time thing--not easy) and my character (I know of many people who disregarded the honor code in this and many other respects, but I chose not to), and so being open in this circumstance is seems relevant and effective to me.

I respect these two reviewers and their opinions, but they've been out of the military for twenty years. I'd like to know what you all think. Would it be smart to not publicly identify as gay, even though orientation isn't a matter of policy anymore?

 

[Spekkio]

Here's the thing: No one really cares about your sexual orientation. No one cared 2 years ago when DADT was policy, and no one cares now. If your essay's central thesis revolves around your sexuality, it might come off as pretentious (just as it would if I spent 400 words saying I'm super special for being married to a woman [insert person] disapproves of. It's not that special and can't be tied to a good reason for why one would want to become a Naval Officer.). It also could backfire that you elected to break a university's rules and continue to fund their bigotry rather than transfer to one that is more accepting of your lifestyle. The Mormon faith does have a right to their opinion and religious beliefs regarding marriage just as you have yours. You will be ordered to do things you disagree with from time to time, and if the order is lawful you have to execute it.

 

[Silhouette]

Wow, this is a good question. Just reading the thread title my initial thought was "WHY?" but you have effectively answered that question.
I think your justification for having the information in there is sound and the information is relevant. Here's the rub, though. In my opinion (no data to support), the individuals who are sitting on these boards and reading these statements (if they do read them) are senior military members with many years in service and may have been more likely to have opposed the repeal when it came up, for various reasons.
If that were the case, you may be more likely than another applicant with the same stats to get a no. I'm not saying the board members are not professionals -- not at all. I have no doubt that they all took a 30-inch step when the repeal happened and follow the rules, but sometimes these opinions/beliefs run deep, and the extra information could effect the vote, even subconsciously.
Perhaps you could rephrase your statement to be less forward, even though a reader could still pick up what you mean. For example, saying something about 'idealogical differences' with the university or something of that nature. Hard to say without seeing what you have, though. Good luck!

 

[Silhouette]

I respect these two reviewers and their opinions, but they've been out of the military for twenty years. I'd like to know what you all think. Would it be smart to not publicly identify as gay, even though orientation isn't a matter of policy anymore?

Here's the thing: No one really cares about your sexual orientation.
You will be ordered to do things you disagree with from time to time, and if the order is lawful you have to execute it.

Ooo, a very good differing opinion offered by Spekkio. I do think mrmperry was saying that he completed quickly so as to not break the university's rule, as in he didn't speak out about marriage until he was done. Is that right, perry?
There are many wise people on this board. I'm guessing you'll have a few good responses to your question by the end of the day.

 

[mrmperry]

Oh, how nice. I wasn't hoping for any responses tonight. Thanks, Spekkio and Silhouette. (I'm in Japan, it's getting close to bedtime now.)

If your essay's central thesis revolves around your sexuality, it might come off as pretentious.

It's not the central thesis, it just comes up in a paragraph. It would be difficult to talk about my time at university without explaining why I did what I did to finish early.

It also could backfire that you elected to break a university's rules . . .

Sorry, I wasn't clear. (Silhouette got my drift, though.) I finished quickly instead of breaking the university's rules, because I had committed to their honor code and they had a right, as a private university, to dictate that sort of thing. (I don't say this in the essay, but as it happens I was also celibate my entire time there, in keeping with the honor code. Sigh . . . )

It's not that special and can't be tied to a good reason for why one would want to become a Naval Officer.

Well . . . the fact that I'm gay, no, you're right. But the fact that I managed 12 full time university courses at once and so on seems worth mentioning, and the motivation for that (the gay/Prop 8/BYU situation) seems relevant. But maybe it's more of a "why I'd make a good Naval Officer" than "why I want to be a Naval Officer" thing and therefore should be cut for other reasons.

Can I take all this to mean that you (Spekkio) don't think mentioning that I'm gay in the motivational statement matters one way or the other as long as it's relevant and not pretentious? That's what I had thought before hearing from my reviewers, but they and Silhouette might have a point. Looking forward to more opinions and thoughts.

 

[C420sailor]

I'm going to play devil's advocate on this one.

Now I'm just a lowly LT and I don't really know much about what the selection boards look for, so take this all with a grain of salt. That being said, if the Navy threw me on a board tomorrow and I read your statement, I'd be thinking two things:

-Good on him for adhering to his commitment to the university's code. Looks like he made the best out of a shitty situation, sucked it up, and did what he had to do to graduate. Personally, I would've said 'fuck this' and gone to another school.

-On the other hand, if this individual does happen to face some adversity (sexuality or otherwise), will he jump ship as soon as his commitment is up, much like he graduated from college ASAP?

You have to remember that while your commitment is only X number of years, Big Navy is always looking for maximum return on investment. They're looking for someone who is likely to stay the course, hopefully for a career.

I'm not advocating that you hide your sexuality. After all, that's an important part of who you are. I'm just saying you may have better luck with selection if the board just thinks that you powered through college because you're super motivated.

Just my $.02

 

[BackOrdered]

I feel like the section illustrates both my abilities (I was also a research assistant for two professors while doing the triple-full-time thing--not easy) and my character (I know of many people who disregarded the honor code in this and many other respects, but I chose not to), and so being open in this circumstance is seems relevant and effective to me

Here is another take from another lowly LT.

While you may feel this is an effective approach, to you, you seem to have forgotten your audience.

Remember, you are communicating with Senior Officers, perhaps for the first time, via this motivational statement, much in the way you will communicate to them in the fleet. I can tell you in the fleet a few things that Senior Officers universally can’t stand are “fluff”, grey noise, non-objective information, etc. Your sexuality and your private institution's policy are not a consideration for selection and are of no value to your package. You appear to be going off on a tangent of personal battles and somewhat tactless voluntary information that are open to skewed interpretation by your audience, hoping they see things "your way". Meanwhile, your peers in the selection process will have elected to discuss topics of great consequence and value to catch the attention of their target audience's needs in the fleet. I recommend discussing how hard you worked as a research assistant for two professors while doing the triple-full-time thing and how that will add value to the Navy.

If it were me on the board, I would be a little taken back that you felt the need to communicate this information as opposed to what you are going to offer me as a member of my Wardroom or any other. I would feel you have demonstrated an inability to understand "tact", perhaps even shown a "me" complex and I would possibly overlook your package. But that's just me.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Here is another take from another lowly LT.

While you may feel this is an effective approach, to you, you seem to have forgotten your audience.

Remember, you are communicating with Senior Officers, perhaps for the first time, via this motivational statement, much in the way you will communicate to them in the fleet. I can tell you in the fleet a few things that Senior Officers universally can’t stand are “fluff”, grey noise, non-objective information, etc. Your sexuality and your private institution's policy are not a consideration for selection and are of no value to your package. You appear to be going off on a tangent of personal battles and somewhat tactless voluntary information that are open to skewed interpretation by your audience, hoping they see things "your way". Meanwhile, your peers in the selection process will have elected to discuss topics of great consequence and value to catch the attention of their target audience's needs in the fleet. I recommend discussing how hard you worked as a research assistant for two professors while doing the triple-full-time thing and how that will add value to the Navy.

If it were me on the board, I would be a little taken back that you felt the need to communicate this information as opposed to what you are going to offer me as a member of my Wardroom or any other. I would feel you have demonstrated an inability to understand "tact", perhaps even shown a "me" complex and I would possibly overlook your package. But that's just me.

I read the OP question and was thinking of a response, but then I read yours and there was no need as you stated all the points I was going to make.

To the OP, are you looking at applying to be an Officer because you want to serve or because you are looking at trying to make a statement by joining?

 

[CAMike]

Go for it. It sounds like you sacrificed part of yourself by staying at that particular college for the entire time. I say be 100% honest in your application package and tell them who you are.

I can't say how the DI's will react to your orientation since the repeal of DADT - just be honest. "Be all that you can be...In The NAVY!"

 

[LFCFan]

Another thing to consider, what positions are you applying for? I ask this only because some accept way more people than others, and thus if you are applying to something that only takes less than say, ten people each fiscal year via OCS, you are taking a massive gamble about how your board might react. On the other hand, they took 96% of NFO applicants at the last board (which was quite higher than normal), and GPA and ASTB scores are the most important thing for Pilot/NFO applicants, so I'd imagine that it would "hurt" less here, if at all.

I think your course overload while doing RA work in a lab can tell a good story without getting into your sexuality.

 

[Spekkio]

No one is advocating OP lie. Would telling a story about finishing school early because of a divorce (from a woman) who was supporting him be any different? Probably not. You don't need to talk about overcoming adversity to get selected. I think Tiz put it best: your credentials speak for themselves without volunteering that you did it all because you were gay in a religious university. It begs the question of how do you perform when your beliefs aren't being challenged?

Another thing to consider is that your academic performance is annotated elsewhere on the application. The motivational statement is supposed to answer, in part, WHY you want to be an Officer and to give the Navy a reason to hire you not mentioned elsewhere. They already know you graduated quickly with a good gpa and did labwork.

 

[AllYourBass]

My entire college and professional career has thus far been based around writing, journalism and public relations. I am a huge advocate of civil rights and social equality, but when I put on my shiny business shoes, I am first and foremost a huge advocate of identifying and appealing to my target audience. Based on that principle, I do not recommend raising the issue of your sexuality. You have a ton of awesome stuff to talk about without running the risk of martyring yourself on that detail.

If you INCLUDE the details about your sexuality:
Best case scenario: They like the essay. Especially the parts about how hard you worked.
Worst case scenario: Those details weigh against your consideration, despite the rest of your package and an otherwise strong essay.

If you EXCLUDE the details about your sexuality:
Best case scenario: They like the essay. Especially the parts about how hard you worked.
Worst case scenario: You aren't picked up for officer because of something else in your package, but not because of your strong essay.

This is a tricky topic, and it's easy to waffle on my thoughts about it. As I stated before, I am very supportive of social equality and I think that the world's strife over race, ethnicity and gender/sexual identity should be put to bed already. But I can tell you this: As a straight, white male who had to work really hard to get where I got, I find myself getting agitated when somebody waves their ethnicity or sexual orientation in my face. Why? Because I feel really, really bitter about the concept of entitlement, and I've encountered plenty of people who shout way too loud about their ethnicity and sexual orientation. It can sometimes be perceived as arrogance. I know this isn't the case for all, or even most, but I am not alone in harboring knee-jerk reactions developed by the loudest representatives of an "interest group."

I don't know who's sitting on that board, but I can tell you for a fact that nobody will get the wrong message if you tell them about all your hard work and leave it at that. I don't think you're arrogant, and I think your story is a powerful one to tell. But I wouldn't test that theory on the officers who will be reading your motivational statement.

tl;dr You have a great story without bringing up sexuality. I'm sure your chances of getting picked up for officer on the merits of your hard work are high. I wish you the best of luck and hope this forum continues to be a resource to you throughout your journey.

 

[Sheepdip]

Don't bring it up

 

[HAL Pilot]

If he gets selected and makes it through primary, at least he knows he'll get jets.......

 

[Criminal]

If he gets selected and makes it through primary, at least he knows he'll get jets.......

A shit storm of rumors has just started