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He is one of the first ex-SEALs in the relatively small special operations world to ever to come out so publicly, and he first spoke directly to that "ultra-masculine" community through, a military website created by and for special operations veterans. More than a decade later, Jones, now with a husband and son, decided to break his silence to the world about his sexuality, because he is in the process of writing a book about his experiences that he believes could "possibly help someone struggling with who they are, or help people understand that diversity is one of the greatest gifts the world has to offer." As his Navy record shows, Jones was honorably discharged in June 2003. Jones had a reprieve but decided that when his end-of-service date next came up, he wouldn't try to stick around. A couple weeks later the Navy dropped their investigation. Jones eventually connected with SLDN, the association for actively serving LGBT military personnel, who called on the help of a Washington, D.C.
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"Of course there would be guys who would talk and whisper behind my back, but overall I received the best support one could hope for from their brothers," he said. Jones' SEAL team quickly found out, and though Jones said the special operations world is "ultra-masculine" and apt to paint the gay community in a negative light, actually most of his teammates were supportive. "Brett Jones served his country honorably," Navy spokesperson Greg Raelson told ABC News in response to a request for comment for this report. "It was one of the most difficult times of my life," Jones said. Jones said the military pulled his hard-earned security clearance and "treated like was a criminal." "That was all it took for the Navy to launch a full-scale investigation that lasted for months," Jones told ABC News. He said a woman in the same office as Jones' boyfriend at the time heard the message and reported it up the Navy's chain of command. Jones said he had known he was gay since he was 6-years-old and had just decided to risk keeping the secret in order to serve with one of the most elite military forces in the world.īut those three words just about did him in. This was 2002, nearly a decade before the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and a time when serving openly in any service as homosexual was forbidden. The man Jones had called was his longtime boyfriend and part of an entire life Jones had for years kept hidden from even his closest SEAL comrades and, even more importantly at the time, the Navy. "I said, 'I love you' before I hung up," Jones told ABC News, recounting the story by email.