Washington post article I was 18 years old when I landed in the kingdom of Bahrain, off the coast of Saudi Arabia, in the winter of 2005. It was the first time I'd ever left the continental United States. My joints ached after more than 24 hours of travel, but I knew that a new life of service and adventure awaited me on the other side of that aircraft door. This was the day I had been dreaming about since I'd enlisted in the Navy a few months before, on my birthday. I also knew that I was gay. However, I chose to put service above my personal life. Once I joined the Navy, I was tormented by my chief and fellow sailors, physically and emotionally, for being gay. Within days of arriving at my duty station in Bahrain, I decided that I wanted to earn a place among the elite handlers working with dogs trained to detect explosives. For 12 hours a day in 112-degree heat with 85 percent humidity, we searched vehicles for explosives and responded to any threats. I told no one about what I was living through.
TechEBlog Kingdom of Meridies We Make History: Where History & The Arts Meet! Steampunk World's Fair - The World's Largest Steampunk EventSteampunk World's Fair | The World's Largest Steampunk Event Woodstock, Vermont Area Chamber of Commerce Windows 7 Hacker Barony of the Osprey History of the World NPHC Greek Information - Black/African American Cultural Center The National Pan-Hellenic Council was founded in 1930 to serve as a governing body to the nine nationally recognized historically black fraternities and sororities. Its purpose is to foster cooperative actions of its members in dealing with matters of mutual concern. To this end, the NPHC promotes the well-being of its affiliate fraternities and sororities, facilitates the establishment and development of local councils of the NPHC, and provides leadership training for its constituents. The council's purpose is to promote unity and expose members to the "service for life" philosophy and foster leadership development and scholarship among the “Divine Nine” chapters which belong to the NPHC. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (1906) Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (1908) Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (1911) Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (1911) Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (1913) Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (1914) Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (1920) Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.