The U.S. Navy is up in arms over a “sleepover” dispute. A male soldier says he fell asleep with another male soldier after watching “The Vampire Diaries.” Now, Navy Petty Officer Stephen C. Jones is being discharged on account of “willful failure to exhibit professional conduct.”
“That is the honest, entire story,” Jones said.
Navy officials, however, have a different view of his bedroom behavior. While there is no evidence the 21-year-old sailor was involved in a sexual relationship with his male friend, the Navy is seeking to discharge him for dereliction of duty.
The sailor is contesting.
“The subterfuge is, they believe this kid is a homosexual, but they have no proof of it,” said Jones’ attorney. “So what they’ve done here is to trump this thing up as a crime. This is not a crime.”
Even though the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy has been repealed by the Obama administration, the law has not taken effect, and Jones is still under the current policy. He cannot say publicly whether or not he is in fact gay.
Thomas Dougan, a spokesman for the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, denied that officials were discharging anyone based on sexual orientation.
Jones stands by his statement that the encounter was platonic.
Asked by a reporter whether he was gay, Jones said, “Under the circumstances, that is my business and my business alone.”
