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Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines show their support for the LGBT+ community by marching at Pride in London (Lphot Joe Cater\/Sam Seeley)<\/p>\n
As the Royal Marines join the Pride in London parade for the first time, service personnel speak to PinkNews about LGBT inclusivity in the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
The British Army, \u200bRoyal Navy and Royal Air Force have all taken part in Pride festivities for a decade, showing their support for equality for LGBT service people.<\/p>\n
At Saturday\u2019s Pride in London parade, members of the elite Royal Marines joined the other service personnel for the first time.<\/p>\n
PinkNews met with service personnel from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines at London\u2019s HMS President base, as they prepared to march in the city\u2019s Pride parade.<\/p>\n
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Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines at Pride in London (Lphot Joe Cater\/Sam Seeley)<\/i><\/p>\n
Lt Col Aldeiy Alderson has led calls for the Marines to be more LGBT-inclusive…<\/p>\n
He told PinkNews: \u201cI joined in 1996 when it was illegal to be anything other than heterosexual [in the armed forces]. You were actively hunted, at the cost of nearly \u00a310 million per year. Since then we\u2019ve come a long way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve played a small part in the Royal Marines being more comfortable in talking about some of the issues surrounding LGBT+.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added:\u00a0\u201cThe Marines are a pretty egalitarian employer \u2013 I just think we can be a little more open about how comfortable we are. I\u2019m here today to make a point that if middle management can be comfortable marching at Pride, others can be more open at work perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Colonel last year wrote a column encouraging the Marines to be more inclusive \u2013 provoking a reaction and some national press coverage.<\/p>\n
He added that while some people \u201ccalled me up and said, \u2018you\u2019re absolutely wrong, this is not where the Royal Marines needs to be going\u2019, he also received messages from \u201csome people I\u2019ve never met who said, \u2018thank you for doing this\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the Marines marching at Pride, he said: \u201cI think it demonstrates a couple of really strong messages: all are equal and all are welcome, whatever your perceived minority status.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecondly, if you want to join the armed forces, you should look forward to fair pay, fair treatment, strong leadership, and honest and transparent rules that you might not find in every walk of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Royal Marine Mike Johnson (Lphot Joe Cater\/Sam Seeley)<\/i><\/p>\n
Marine Mike Johnson, said: \u201cI think it\u2019s a great opportunity to be involved in stuff like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI haven\u2019t marched before because, like most Royal Marines, I\u2019ve been busy deployed on operations when Pride takes place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done a tour of Afghanistan, and been deployed on multiple exercises. I know a few other marines who would like to join Pride this weekend who won\u2019t be able to because they are deployed away and working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Petty Officer Samantha Kimberley-Hauff, who is based at Navy Command Headquarters in Portsmouth, being able to march and be out and proud in uniform is especially poignant…<\/p>\n
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Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines show their support for the LGBT+ community by marching at Pride in London (Lphot Joe Cater\/Sam Seeley)<\/i><\/p>\n
She explains: \u201cWhen I joined, I didn\u2019t come out straight away, I didn\u2019t say I was gay \u2013 people used to talk to me and make the assumption that I had a boyfriend, and I just went along with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really wanted to tell people, I don\u2019t have a boyfriend, I have a girlfriend, but I didn\u2019t know where to start with that. Over the next couple years things started to evolve a lot more in the service, and one day, someone asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said \u2018no, I have a girlfriend!\u2019 I was waiting for this reaction that just didn\u2019t happen!\u201d<\/p>\n
Kimberley-Hauff met her partner of six years, Ellie, in the Navy \u2013 and they finally got married last year.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cWe met at a sports weekend that was happening\u2026 I kind of saw her, and that was it! I said to my friend \u2018who\u2019s that?\u2019 and six and a half years later, here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I told everyone I was getting married, my initial thought was \u2018how is everyone going to react?\u2019 It didn\u2019t matter. We\u2019ve been completely welcomed, embraced by everybody, embraced by the Navy. I love taking her to Mess dinners as my wife, and everyone\u2019s just great.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cPride to me means inclusive, all of us together showing unity, it\u2019s awareness. My wife\u2019s here today and she\u2019s also taking part in the parade, so for us that\u2019s great, that we can be here together, letting people know \u2013 look, it\u2019s OK!\u201d<\/p>\n
Petty Officer Sam Quinn, 23, said: \u201cThis is my first London Pride \u2013 it\u2019s my first time marching in uniform.<\/p>\n
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(Lphot Joe Cater\/Sam Seeley)<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s showcasing the Navy as an inclusive employer. Everybody is welcome to serve regardless of their gender identity of sexual orientation \u2013 we\u2019re happy for everybody to serve as they are.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200bI am proud to be able to serve openly in the Royal Navy because we believe being yourself is important. I hope our taking part sends a message to other people that it\u2019s okay to join the armed forces or to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines show their support for the LGBT+ community by marching at Pride in London (Lphot Joe Cater\/Sam Seeley) As the Royal Marines join the Pride in London parade for the first time, service personnel speak … Continue reading