Don't Ask, Don't Tell - a happening gayme

a silent, dishonorable, and potentially deadly game to remain on active duty

premise

- a game board with dice and cards will be presented to a group of players

- the challenge is to move a gay servicemember through a career from enlistment to retirement

- game spaces have landmines representing the challenges of serving under the military policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

- each move requires players to draw a Formation card

- each formation card informs the player of a real-life situation of an American gay servicemember

- the player then evaluates the possible choices available to a gay servicemember

- depending on the selected choice, the player will select a Disciplinary Action card to learn the consequences of their decision

- all information presented int the game will be included in my Unit 4 paper

- the game creates an opportunity to inform those unfamiliar with military life and/or DADT and to evaluate the policy, its efficacy, and the impact on servicemembers both straight and gay

potential Formation Cards

- talk about your weekend with coworkers

- choose who to talk to about personal problems

- choose the personal items you can place on your desk

- choose the personal items you take with you when you deploy to a war zone

- choose the bumper sticker(s) you place on your personal vehicle

- listen to homophobic remarks from your coworkers

- receive unsolicited advances from someone of the opposite sex in front of your peers

- explain why you've never been married - you're 38 years old

- fill out benefits paperwork

- go to a social work event

- talk to your partner on the phone from a war zone

- fill out emergency contact information

- fill out a will 

- fill out military insurance beneficiary forms  

- seek legal advice from the base legal office

- talk to a base mental health counselor about relationship problems

- talk to your base doctor about sexual health issues

- deploy to a war zone with other nations that allow open service by gays

- be seen in public with a gay friend by coworkers

- be seen at a local gay-owned business by coworkers

- be seen at a gay pride parade by coworkers

- be seen at a gay bar by coworkers

- not have sex for the duration of your military career

- not have a meaningful, long-term relationship for the duration of your military

- respond to a news report about DADT with coworkers

- complete Pentagon survey regarding open service of homosexuals in the military

- write a letter to the editor about DADT and include your name

- write a letter to your lawmaker about DADT and include your name

- choose who you invite to your retirement ceremony

- choose where to hold your retirement ceremony

- publicly thank those who mean the most to you at your retirement ceremony

- protest Don't Ask, Don't Tell while on active duty

- choose the mental / physical problems you'll suffer while serving under DADT for 20 years

- accept less pay when deployed than your married coworkers

- accept less pay for housing than your married coworkers

- watch your coworkers move into base housing with their spouses

- move your family's belongings using single servicemember (vice married) weight allowance for household goods

- listen to your coworkers talk about their spouses participating in spouse support events

- move to another country with your partner (without any military support for your partner)

- find a job for your partner in another country (without military support for your partner)
- find child care in another country for your partner's biological children (without military support)

- leave your partner behind while you're stationed overseas (because the host country doesn't grant a visa to your partner)

potential Disciplinary Action cards

- serve on active duty while constantly fearing the loss of your career

- your doctor / chaplain / psychologist / lawyer / supervisor / co-worker / friend / ex-lover / dorm roommate turns you in for admitted homosexuality

- discharged from military two years before your retirement; all retirement benefits lost

- dishonorable discharge: loss of all benefits, future employment ramifications for life

- general discharge: no veteran benefits

- honorable discharge: full veteran benefits

- whisper campaign ruins your reputation

- lose friendships / isolated from peers

- family notified, they disown you

- tires slashed, "homosexual freak" scratched into the side of your car

- shunned at base church by parishioners and pastor

-  lose job and dishonorable discharge means you're now homeless and without a car

- passed over for promotion

- demoted and arbitrarily punished

- suffer ulcers, anxiety disorder, and depression from DADT-induced stress

- commit suicide due to social isolation

- lose  your security clearance, no longer able to do your job

- reassigned to menial duties

- your dorm room is ran sacked while you're at work during a "safety" inspection

- you're brutally beaten to death by your roommate (Barry Winchell)

- co-workers sabotage your workplace causing deadly accident (Clayton Hartwig)

- recruiter must find replacement for discharged servicemember (find stats)

- service branch must spend time, tens of thousands of dollars to retrain, retain, and replace discharged servicemember (find stats)

- since your office must do all the work of the discharged servicemember, you fall behind and do not translate an Al Qaeda message planning an attack (link)

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DADT Jeopardy or Bingo

same idea as above but instead use a Jeopardy game board to score a contestant's knowledge of DADT