The honor of the first kiss off the USS Oak Hill, upon returning to port, was raffled off. The winning ticket was drawn by Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta, who was met on the gangplank by her girlfriend Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell.
David Bauer, the commanding officer of the USS Oak Hill, didn’t appear terribly surprised about the moment, which ‘officially’ signaled to any leftover doubters that the Navy has caught up to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
"It's going to happen and the crew's going to enjoy it. We're going to move on and it won't overshadow the great things that this crew has accomplished over the past three months," Bauer said.
According to the AP, both Gaeta and her partner Citlalic have been dating for over two years, working as fire controlmen on various Navy ships, and hiding their relationship under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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| (photo from the AP) |
As The Washington Post blogs:
When the couple began dating, they had to hide their status under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The 17-year-old policy was repealed in September. On Wednesday, in front of Gaeta’s entire ship and a cheering crowd, the two women made history as the first same-sex couple to share the coveted kiss.
“It’s nice to be able to be myself. It’s been a long time coming,” said Gaeta about life after the repeal. “It’s been pretty awesome to say the least.”
By: Brant
There goes the seamen...
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