We spoke to Jaime (she/her) in Rochester, NY on March 21, 2026. Jaime served as a US Navy Storekeeper Third Class from 1999 until 2003. Jaime enlisted four years after graduating from high school because she was “in a bad way,” and she explained that the military “saved” her. 

Jaime was out as a lesbian when she joined the Navy, and she remembered that she was apprehensive about serving as queer. “It was a little scary back then,” she said. “I joined in the buddy system with my girlfriend at the time. They didn’t know, but you had to be careful. They were looking for every little thing.” Jamie served during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a policy that banned queer service people from disclosing or acting on their sexuality. Jamie had heard about raids on queer spaces and folks who had been dishonorably discharged due to their identity. However, she soon found an extensive network of queer individuals on her ship who became a sort of family to her. She dated others serving alongside her, and she remembered that “that’s where I fell in love for the first time.”

Jaime reflected that the military made her into the person who she is today. She stressed the pillars of purpose, discipline, honor, courage, and commitment. “But, at the same time,” she told us, “there was this sense that you had to hide, or mask, in front of others. We shouldn’t be ourselves. You kind of get used to that. Even though you’re dating and doing things, you had to watch what you did.” Today Jaime lives as an out lesbian in Le Roy, New York.