THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070610
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW RIVER MARINE AIR STATION LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
A Marine accused of being a lesbian has struck a bargain with the Marine Corps, gaining an honorable discharge in exchange for allowing military records to say she left because of homosexual acts.
Brig. Gen. Fred McCorkle on Thursday signed papers giving Lance Cpl. Elena G. Martinez the honorable discharge, said Warrant Officer Norm North, an air station spokesman. McCorkle is the commanding general of Cherry Point air station and Marine Corps Air Bases, Eastern Area, including New River.
``My stomach is in knots,'' Martinez said, holding back tears Wednesday morning after learning the news. She wouldn't speak specifically about the details of her case, but said she is ready to move on with her life.
``I felt relieved. It was like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders,'' she said.
Martinez, a 21-year-old disbursing clerk, is married but separated from her husband, and has denied being a lesbian. However, her military separation form will say that she was discharged for homosexual conduct, North said.
She has been a Marine almost three years, with above-average ratings.
Martinez's lead defense attorney, Mark Stevens, said the agreement was reached Tuesday evening after the case was presented to Col. Louis A. Rehberger III, commanding officer of New River, during a meeting that lasted about an hour.
Martinez was to have appeared before an administrative discharge board Wednesday to defend herself against accusations of homosexual conduct.
``She agreed to waive the administrative discharge board in exchange for an honorable discharge,'' Stevens said.
The Corps had wanted to give Martinez a general discharge under honorable conditions, which is less prestigious than an honorable discharge and would prevent her from getting GI Bill educational benefits.
North said Martinez's attorneys had requested the honorable discharge agreement.
``Her attorneys came to us,'' North said Thursday. ``The conditions agreed upon were that she would get the discharge, but in the discharge was a caveat: that her enlistment code would indicate she was precluded from joining the military again and the narrative section of the record would reflect that she had been involved in homosexual acts.
``She signed that,'' North said.
Stevens said Martinez had grown tired of the accusations.
``She convinced herself she was better off,'' he said. ``Ever since the false allegations in 1992, this has been following her around.''
However, Martinez very much wanted an honorable discharge, and her work record and the opinions of her superiors warranted that, Stevens said.
Martinez now plans to return to her native Dallas, Texas, and go to school.
Her lawyers had accused the Marine Corps of conducting a witch hunt that violated the Pentagon's ``don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue'' policy on gays in the military.
The lawyers had claimed a senior enlisted Marine held a closed-door meeting with Martinez's co-workers and sought damaging information about her.
KEYWORDS: GAYS IN THE MILITARY U.S. MARINE CORPS
HOMOSEXUALS by CNB