Gay Sailor Wins Court Battle

A highly decorated sailor who successfully fought his dismissal from the Navy after he was accused of being gay will retire under a settlement that includes full benefits and payment of $90,000 in legal fees.

Timothy R. McVeigh, 36, who has spent 18 years in the Navy, said Friday he was "happy to be leaving on my own terms" and looking forward to returning to civilian life just before Labor Day.

His lawyer, Christopher Wolf, said a separate settlement had been reached with America Online, the nation's largest online service, which will pay McVeigh damages for violating his privacy. Wolf did not disclose the amount.

McVeigh, a master chief petty officer, the Navy's highest enlisted, rank, said he hoped the case "sends a message that the military needs to follow its own rules and regulations."

Wolf said McVeigh "will be able to leave the Navy ... with full retirement benefits and with his head held high. The Navy also has agreed to pay Mr. McVeigh's attorney fees and costs" amounting to $90,000.

Wolf described McVeigh as a hero who throughout his career "consistently was recognized for his exemplary leadership skills"

C. Dickson Osburn, a director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, who also represented McVeigh, said, "This case should serve as a warning to the Department of Defense to clean up its act, follow the rules and stop invading people's privacy."

Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a tentative agreement would pay his legal fees but declined to provide details on grounds a final agreement had not been signed. The Justice Department had no comment on the case.

The Navy began investigating McVeigh last year after he was linked to an anonymous America Online profile page suggesting he was sexually interested in young men. Despite spotless performance reviews, he was ordered dismissed in December on charges he was homosexual.

McVeigh, who has never publicly discussed his sexuality, sued to block the dismissal. A federal judge ruled that the Navy violated the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act by obtaining confidential information from America Online without a warrant or court order.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin held the Navy wrongly enforced the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military. The policy allows dismissal of someone who discloses he is gay, but the military cannot raise the issue without sufficient cause.

As a result of the court ruling, none of the negative accusations against McVeigh remain in his personnel file, the Navy said.

Wolf said Sporkin's decision and this case "was the first to set limits on how far the military can go under the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy governing gays in the military."

"It also showed just how flawed that policy is, permitting the military to engage in a game of 'gotcha' wit even its most outstanding service members."

Gay rights groups had criticized the Navy for having an investigator call America Online to obtain the full name of a "Tim" who had posted personal information on the Web site.

Investigatory records, copies of which were obtained by the Associated Press, show the Navy investigator acknowledging he made the inquiry.

Because of the case, first reported by The New York Times, AOL will require its customer-service representatives to receive "scenario training," said AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose. The training will outline ways in which employees can be "misled" into giving confidential information to unauthorized callers, she said.

Violating the company's privacy policy -- which Primrose said has recently been rewritten -- could result in being fired.

"We recognized we had made a mistake and that was a result of human error," Primrose said today. "Our service representative violated our own privacy policy."

While his lawsuit progressed, McVeigh was reassigned to a clerical job ashore. A judge later ordered him reinstated to nuclear submarine duty and last month he was promoted to master chief petty officer.

McVeigh, who is from Jacksonville, Fla., and is stationed at Pearl Harbor, said he had planned to remain in the Navy another six years.

Written by Harry Dunphy
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