USS Milius, the Flagship for the GLASS fleet

So because I find myself on this beautiful Sunday afternoon knee deep in GLASS stuff I figured I would take a moment out of the grind and brag about my ship, USS Milius, the gayest ship in the Navy.

(Hence the hull number heh)

Now in my brief Naval career I have had the good fortune to be stationed at extremely forward-thinking commands like Great Lakes Naval Base under Captain Peter Lintner (who was an AMAZING Commanding Officer) who first approved our first GLASS charter. After basic A school for my rate I got shipped to San Diego to finish up school for six months at which point I took a slight sabbatical from activism while I learned about my weapons system. It was October of last year when I first set foot on my ship USS Milius DDG 69 stationed out of San Diego. 

Honestly the first thing I really noticed as I did my check in process aboard ship was all the gays. They were everywhere. In the galley, in CSOOS, on the weather deck- everywhere. I still didnt really know anyone but I said screw it and decided to get GLASS started right away....

(needless to say it took some time getting it approved)

It took a good 3 months of pestering the hell out of my CMC, XO and CO before it got the official green light to operate. At that point we already had a great number of people who wanted to be a part of the organization. We were making plans, now we had the paperwork.

(Needless to say I cried like a damn baby when this shit was finalized)

Anyway, since it was officially chartered five months ago, we have had three more ships join our GLASS fleet. Each one has had it's own stories and such, but MILIUS remains the flagship and we have taken that responsibility to heart. We are trying to set the bar high and go still higher. We do lots of shit for our community. We do lots of shit for our command. We do lots of shit for each other.

There are no words to describe how proud I am of them. Our command is so similar to others in the sense that we are a small crew. We all know each other well. We are a family and our shipmates have accepted their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters with open arms. We work side by side with each other with no issues. We are a model of what the Navy could be, what the Military in general can be. If this program can work with a crew of 300 people, it can work anywhere. With every passing week we are adding new bases and commands to our organization. We have passed the olive branch to the Air Force, the Marines and the Army. Each branch in turn has taken it and are making strides to incorporate it to fit their needs. We are the future and I gotta say, the future is looking bright.

- FC2 Ann Foster

GLASS Chapter President, USS Milius