IRACH hosts inaugural LGBT observance, event a first for Fort Knox community

By Rachael Tolliver, Fort Knox Public AffairsJuly 2, 2015

Training Run
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Rachel Wienke, right, and her wife Carmen Vega train for the running portions of upcoming events. Wienke is running the Army Ten Miler for the 4th time and will serve as team captain this year. Vega is training for the Ironman Triathlon held in ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Change of Command
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Army Ten-Miler 2012
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Wedding
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When Maj. Rachel Wienke joined the Army, there were many things she never expected to do. But she did something June 25 that not even in her wildest dreams was she prepared to participate: presenting as the guest speaker for a DOD approved Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender observance, held on a military installation--and the first ever at Fort Knox.

Wienke, who is the troop commander and chief of the human resources division at Ireland Army Community Hospital, and her wife Carmen Vega, a certified occupational therapy assistant at the Fort Knox Warrior Transition Unit, have been at Fort Knox for four years--Wienke spent the first three at Human Resources Command before her current assignment.

So when Ireland's Equal Opportunity team thought about what do for June's LGBT observance, Wienke's name came up.

"The hospital command was very supportive and the event wasn't hard to put together," she explained. "And its (equal opportunity) team, especially Sgt. 1st Class John Wilkerson and Staff Sgt. Rebecca Trepasso deserve a lot of the credit."

As she debated over what to discuss during her presentation, Wienke said she eventually came to the decision to focus on her personal experiences through the changes in recent years.

There were three big events to mark that time: the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the day she and Carmen were able to wed, and the June 2013 Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act.

These events taken as a whole meant that even the small things that people take for granted, like being able to put a picture of a loved on a desk, were things that LGBT military couples could now look forward to without fear.

For example, after the 2013 ruling Vega, who already had Tricare benefits as an Army retiree and DA civilian, was able to access active duty family member benefits. And Wienke is able to get Basic Allowance for Housing with dependents, which meant they can get the married couple weight allowance now and won't have to worry about paying out of pocket for PCS moves.

"(And) on Sept. 3, 2013, when the Department of Defense policy change went into effect, Carmen was able to get her spouse ID card," Wienke remembered. "We made an appointment at the ID card office here at Fort Knox in the mid-afternoon. I was surprised to learn that we were the first same-gender married couple to come through--they told us we were their 'guinea pigs.' But they were very kind and helpful, and everything went well."

However, there was something equally important that Wienke was ready to celebrate after the 2013 ruling--her Officer Record Brief.

"For nearly a year after we got married, I was still single as far as the Army was concerned--my Officer Record Brief still read 'single,'" she explained. "It was so exciting for me to have 'married' annotated on my (ORB), and not to feel any longer like I was a second-class citizen in the country and the Army that I love."

But those changes came with the usual air of disagreement and vocal disparagement when a social norm is challenged and in spite of DODs move toward LGTB inclusion, for some couples there is still the fear of discrimination and retaliation.

"We have several military friends who have decided not to be open about their orientation because of the fear of discrimination," she said. "We even know married couples who are geographically assigned to different locations because they don't want to risk enrolling in the Married Army Couples program. We have been very fortunate with the way people have treated us.

"When we became part of the MEDDAC family here, the team has welcomed us and treated us just like everyone else. In my change of command ceremony, Col. (Matthew) Rettke acknowledged Carmen, which is something that I never expected."

But for Col. Matthew Rettke, the Ireland Army Community Hospital commander, there wasn't really another way to treat the couple.

"I think as we move forward it's not about everybody having the same beliefs but about accepting folks for who they are," he said.

He also acknowledged that this observance was the first to ever be held at Fort Knox.

"I had no reservations about conducting the LGBT observance at Ireland. They are an important group, and it is important to become more aware, acknowledge, and become educated," he explained. "It's no different from Native American, African American, Holocaust observance…There is no difference in this group--it's an underserved category. Maj. Wienke's comments were spot on and it was great to see folks be able to express themselves as the individuals they are."

Ellen DeGeneres once said, "I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that's ever happened to me has taught me compassion." And if learning compassion can come from the less pleasant experiences in our lives that might explain why Wienke and Vega are involved in as many community activities as they are. Or, it could be that they enjoy helping others.

"I enjoy being productive--I was in the Army and am now a DA civilian occupational therapist," Vega, a native of Puerto Rico, explained. "Working and getting out (in the community) gives me purpose--which is to help other people."

The couple, who were married in 2012, are active in several community organizations and participate in various outdoor sports. Wienke is the leader for the Fort Knox Road Warriors--a running and fitness group on post--and is running the Army Ten Miler for the 4th year--she serves as team captain this year.

Vega volunteers as cadre member on several multi-day Ride to Recovery events with wounded, ill, and injured Soldiers, (https://ride2recovery.com) and is a member of the Fort Knox Road Warriors, Fort Knox Project HERO, Ride 2 Recovery, and a racing cycling team, the Central Kentucky Wheelmen. (http://ckwracing.com.) She is currently training for the Ironman marathon held in Louisville in October.

And while looking for a church where they could be spiritually fed but also welcomed, they found Living Faith Fellowship Baptist Church in E'town, upon the recommendation of a chaplain on post. Wienke is on the Praise Team there.

But if there is any message Wienke and Vega wanted to convey to the IRACH audience and the community at large they said it would be, "...to send a positive message, don't be afraid of the unknown, don't tolerate discrimination, and everyone should be valued for who they are."

Wienke ended her presentation by noting a conversation she had with Tom Evoy, chief of military personnel at IRACH.

"Those of you who know him have probably never known him to be at loss for words. I asked him recently, 'What do you call a lesbian on the moon?'" Wienke recounted. "He looked at me, and I could tell he was thinking that he didn't want to touch that question with a ten-foot pole! He finally said, 'I don't know.' I told him the answer was, 'An astronaut! Hello!'

"So if you've ever wondered what you call a lesbian or gay man in the Army, now you know the answer. A Soldier. Just a Soldier."

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