Cubbie

Camp Pendleton sailor found dead on base


CAMP PENDLETON — The body of a 29-year-old sailor was found in a Camp Pendleton guard shack Tuesday, and a “person of interest” was taken into custody in connection with the suspected homicide, Navy officials said yesterday.
The body of Seaman August Provost of Houston, Texas, was discovered about 3:30 a.m. on the western edge of the base, said Doug Sayers, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest.
An autopsy was completed yesterday, but authorities were waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine a cause of death.
A “person of interest” was being held in the Navy brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. No charges have been filed.
The death has local gay activists calling for a formal investigation into whether Provost was slain because of his sexual orientation.
“We're definitely monitoring this and trust and hope the military will investigate this in the professional way it should,” said Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of San Diego's Human Rights Commission. Murray-Rameriz also has contacted Reps. Susan Davis and Bob Filner, asking that they make official inquiries to the military concerning an investigation.
The Navy would not comment on whether Provost's orientation had anything to do with the death.
“While 'Don't ask, Don't tell' is in place, anybody in the military who is a homosexual has no place to go to get assistance or counseling,” said Ben Gomez of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for gays in the military.
Provost's boyfriend, Kaether Cordero, said yesterday that Provost was openly gay but kept his private life quiet for the most part.
“People who he was friends with, I knew that they knew,” Cordero said from Houston. “He didn't care that they knew. He trusted them.”
Provost had recently complained to his family that someone was harassing and bothering him, and they advised him to tell his supervisor, said his sister, Akalia.
“He's the type that if someone comes at him, he walks away. He never stands and argues,” she said. “He didn't deserve anything but a good life.”



Camp Pendleton sailor found dead on base


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waitingtables

What a shame and a terrible waste.

Nwolfe35

Ties in with what I just posted in the thread about Gates looking for ways to "more humanely" enforce "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

How is a service memeber who is being harrassed, threatened or assaulted for being gay supposed to report it? If they report it then they violate the "Don't Tell" part of the policy are would be subject to discharge.

It's a f'd up policy.

fxashun

Or maybe he just pissed somebody off and the killed him. WE don't know it he was killed because he was gay, or he was just an ass.

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Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
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Nwolfe35

In this case you are correct, we don't know.

But in general, don't you agree that the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" subjects gay service members to more risks then straight ones?

They can't report any kind of harrassment/abuse that they are subject to because of their sexual orientation....because to do so would subject them to discharge.

They are more vulnerable to blackmail, because if someone "outted" them they would be subject to discharge.

I don't see how anyone can argue that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" IMPROVES our security.

fxashun

I agree wit you. There are only a few instances where being gay would really matter in te service, and they can easily be dealt with. I have no problem working with a gay person. I've done it on several occasions. And I used to attend raves, techno and house parties. I am NOT foreign to hanging around gay folk. But I know in my 4 man room, we used to walk naked out f the shower and sh*t like that, and that dynamic would be kinda screwed if we knew one of the roommates was gay. You can call that what you want, but that's just the facts of the matter.

__________________
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
Buddha

pensacola_niceman

Everybody knows that if you are in a 4 man room and one of the guys is gay, you will wake up at 2:00am with a dick in you butt.

fxashun

Nu uh, I'd sleep on my back. With a pillow over my crotch.

__________________
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
Buddha

pensacola_niceman

In my early enlisted days in the Navy, I had to bunk in 4 man rooms too. I don't recall any problems

fxashun

I bunked in four man rooms too. But then again, none of us were gay. Or at least not openly. In fact, with all the porn around, somebody would have really been in the closet.

Are you saying you had gay room mates?

__________________
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
Buddha