Hubert G “Hubie” Dorsett

Hubert G Dorsett ‘66

USNA ‘66

Homepage: www.myspace.com/huggerd

Service:

Enlisted 6/60 - 7/62
Midshipman 7/62 - 6/66
Officer 6/66 - 2/71

Duty Stations:

Enlisted:
- Boot camp and Fire Control Tech Schools - San Diego CA
- Submarine School - New London CT
- USNA Prep School - Bainbridge MD
Officer:
- Flight School - Pensacola FL
- Mine Warfare School - Charleston
- USS IMPERVIOUS (MSO 449)
- Destroyer School - Newport RI
- COMNAVFORV Staff - Saigon RVN

Education:

Bachelor Degree - USNA
Masters Degree BA - USC
Defense Systems Mgmt College - Ft Belvoir VA

Awards/Ribbons:

Bronze Star w/ Combat "V"
5 Campaign Ribbons - Vietnam Service
Commendation for Valor - RVN Navy

I should never have made it, according to the doctors who treated me so many years ago for third degree burns on my back and buttocks after I was run over by a car at the age of 5. They said I could never be athletic nor do any strenuous type of work, that my back would never be strong enough. But I showed them, my family and myself that I could do anything I set my mind to do, that I didn`t recognize any barriers. I have dived under the sea in submarines, parachuted from planes, landed and taken off aircraft carriers (as a passenger only), soloed in the T-34 aircraft, and survived plebe year as well as combat duty in South Vietnam (had an LCVP blown out from under me in the Cua Viet River on the DMZ; survived mortar barrages in Dong Ha and Tay Ninh Provinces; was in the second (of 24) STAB boats of marines that made the incursion into Siem Riep Cambodia - among many other exploits). All of this from a GAY MAN who didn't really realize until his junior year at the Academy that he was GAY. For a more detailed account of my Navy service, visit my website at www.myspace.com/huggerd.

I enlisted in the Navy in 1960, with the desire to attend the Naval Academy. I achieved that desire through a SecNav appointment after attending Naval Academy Prep School at Bainbridge, Maryland. I had been enroute to duty on board the USS SEAFOX in San Diego when I got the change in orders to report to Bainbridge (I was home on leave at the time).

After graduating in June 1966, I went to flight training but left of my own volition after determining that I could never be a Phantom (F-4) Jock (which was the pipeline I was in). Following that, I joined the Black Shoe Navy - in Minesweepers and saw duty off the coast of Vietnam in Coastal Interdiction and then in-country as a member of COMNAVFORV Staff.

However, prior to the COMNAVFORV Staff duty, I was sent to Destroyer School at Newport RI. While in Destroyer School at Newport, I met the first man I would love and have a relationship with - a playwright from New York City (living near Provincetown MA) and because of my feelings for him and because I had been the subject of several investigations by Naval Investigative Service - I decided to end my Navy career and resign my commission. In doing so I lost the first man I loved and I gave up a career that I loved - because I really did (and still do) love the Navy and all that it stood for (except of course for the policy on homosexuals).

Do I have regrets? No, not really because, you see, the Navy and the Naval Academy, provided me the opportunity to grow and be THAT NORMAL GUY I had always wanted to be and to show the world that I was good enough physically, emotionally and mentally to achieve things that I doubt I would have accomplished had I not served and to recognize that I was more capable than I thought in all aspects.

Life in the service is hard for a gay person. At least for me it was since I never found a way to balance my homosexuality with the duty I had accepted as a Naval Officer. And it has taken me a long time to come to grips with my sexuality and my worth as a human being after having hidden it for so long.

It is my fervent hope that through this organization of which I am a proud member, USNA Out, (and the other testimonials/accounts you will read here), gay and lesbian military men and women can realize "You are not alone!" Contact any of us if we can be of assistance to you (confidentiality is definitely assured).

So, in closing, I am proud to say that I am a GAY MAN and I did serve my country well. I wish I could have served longer but LIFE IS WHAT IT IS.

I am now retired and living in southwestern Florida for the time being.

Please feel free to contact Hubert here at USNA Out.