Top general admits gay soldiers still face bullying

ONE of the Army’s most senior officers has warned that ‘ingrained prejudice’, ‘bullying’ and ‘discrimination’ remain a major problem in the Armed Forces.

Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders, who commands 82,000 soldiers, admitted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender soldiers were often victims of discrimination.

The three-star general, who is the commander of the Field Army, is one of the few senior officers ever to admit that the Army has a problem with prejudice. His comments come two years after the head of the Army promised a crackdown on bullying and sexual harassment.

Lieut Gen Sanders, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, also cited gay jibes by ex-Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond as being ‘hurtful’ to the Army’s LGBT community.

Last December, Hammond sparked controversy during screening of the Amazon Prime show Grand Tour after implying that eat- ing ice cream was ‘gay’. In an open letter to the Army and the military’s LGBT community, Lieut Gen Sanders used the presenter’s comment as an example of the type of prejudice that still exists in the Army.

In the letter, Lieut Gen Sanders, who describes himself as the Army’s LGBT champion, says: ‘Under fire, no one cares if someone is black or white, gay or straight, because they value the individual for who he or she is, what he or she can do, and because they are so utterly dependent on him or her. But this experience is not universal. Away from the cauldron of operations or training, lazy or ingrained prejudice remains, ranging from outright bullying and discrimination, to the sort of casual but hurtful remark that refers to ice cream as “gay”.’

But his letter attracted criticism from some in the Army who felt the officer was exaggerating the problem. One soldier said: ‘Why focus on the LGBT community when the real problems are low morale, poor accommodation and low pay?’