Serving in Silence? review: The plight of LGBT personnel in the armed forces

Serving in Silence?

Noah Riseman, Shirleene Robinson, Graham Willett

NewSouth, $39.99

In this series of case studies of LGBT personnel in the Australian armed forces, from WW2 to the present, the authors subvert the archetypal Anzac legend of "military engagements performed by heterosexual white males". LGBT people, they stress, have served throughout our history. Officially banned for years, it is only recently that the ADF has become more inclusive. The story of Carole and Christine is a case in point. During the sixties in the air-force they kept silent about their relationship (they're still together) and eventually left just before a "witch hunt" saw 14 other women kicked out of the force. Today military personnel march, in uniform, at Sydney's Mardi Gras, but there's still resistance. This is another take on our military history that challenges the recent rise of "Anzackery".