Jase Daniels (born Jason Daniel Knight, July 18, 1982) is a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
who was
discharged from the military twice under the policy known as "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...
" (DADT). Daniels served from 2001 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007. After coming out in ''
Stars and Stripes'', a newspaper published under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Defense, Daniels challenged the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...
policy that forbade
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
service members from serving openly. His case attracted attention in such major U.S. media outlets as ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. Daniels returned to active duty in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
on December 12, 2011, and is believed to be one of the first servicemembers, and perhaps the first, to return to active duty following the end of restrictions on service by openly gay and lesbian servicemembers in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Early life
Daniels grew up in
Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Wallingford is an unincorporated community in Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania, Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County in Pennsylvanias. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallin ...
, where he spent his childhood in and out of
foster care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...
and between the custody of his parents John and Theresa who divorced when he was five years old. Despite his rough upbringing, he excelled in arts and sciences at
Strath Haven Middle School and won an award for excellence in
volunteerism
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
and community service from the
Rotary Club
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...
. Daniels graduated from
Chichester High School
Chichester High School (CHS) is an 11–18 mixed, secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It was established in September 2016 following the merger of Chichester High School for Boys and Chich ...
in
Boothwyn, Pennsylvania
Boothwyn is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,933 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 5,206 at the 2000 census. The census esti ...
, in 2000.
[ This article refers to Jase Daniels as Jason Knight.]
Military career
Daniels enlisted in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
on April 4, 2001. He served his first two years in the
Navy Ceremonial Guard where he was one of the first group to qualify for the
Navy Ceremonial Guard Ribbon
The Navy Ceremonial Duty Ribbon, is a decoration of the United States Navy which was established on December 12, 2003 by order of Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England. The ribbon is retroactive to May 1, 2001. Service with the Guard or on bo ...
. Daniels then studied
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
at the
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...
in
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
, graduating in December 2004. Daniels was then transferred to
Fort Gordon, Georgia
Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cyber Command, and the Cyber Center of Excellence. It ...
, and served as a Hebrew linguist. There he
outed himself in marriage annulment paperwork he submitted to his command and the Navy initiated discharge proceedings under DADT.
[ His discharge records, because of a clerical error, failed to note that his homosexuality was the basis for his discharge] and his status became active reservist, which made him eligible for recall.[
Daniels was recalled to active duty June 2006 because the military needed his language skills. He later said: "I wanted to go back so bad, I was jumping up and down. The military was my life."][ He served a year in Kuwait with the Navy Customs Battalion Romeo. Daniels has said that during this deployment he served openly without issue. In May 2007, he was profiled by '' Stars and Stripes'' in a cover story that chronicled his life serving in the Armed Forces as an openly gay man. He was discharged again under DADT when his tour ended later that year.][
He campaigned publicly for an end to DADT and told ''Newsweek'' he thought returning to service would go smoothly: "People like me can be integrated back as well as any other person. I’ll be the first to the recruiting office when DADT is repealed."][ As the DADT policy was nearing its end in September 2011, he told the ''New York Times'' he wanted to resume his Navy career, learn ]Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, and become an officer. He joined a lawsuit that attempted to require reinstatement of those discharged under DADT at their former rank, though it was thought to have little success given the reshaping of the U.S. military in these years. He said that since leaving the Navy "I've had no direction in my life." He expressed confidence that his sexual orientation would not be an issue.[ Daniels was reinstated in the United States Navy on December 12, 2011. After taking his oath he told reporters:
Daniels transferred back to the ]Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...
in Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
, for a Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
course in early January 2012.
Daniels was active as a Command Public Affairs Specialist while stationed at Navy Information Operations Command Georgia (NIOC GA), located in Augusta, GA. He participated in and reported on the inaugural LGBT pride month
LGBT Pride Month is a month, typically in June, dedicated to celebration and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride. Pride Month began after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests in 1969, and ha ...
event that was held on Fort Gordon. He also highlighted Navy Information Operation Command Georgia's robust physical fitness program and the teams aspirations to live up to the Department of Defense Operation Healthy Base Initiative, as well as the support from the command's Family Readiness Group who support families of deployed sailors.
See also
*Sexual orientation and the United States military
The United States military formerly excluded gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians from service. In 1993, the United States Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton signed a law instituting the policy commonly referred to as "Don't ask, don't te ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Jase
Living people
1982 births
People from Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania
People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania
American LGBT rights activists
American LGBT military personnel
American military personnel discharged for homosexuality
Don't ask, don't tell
American Hebraists
American LGBT scientists
Linguists from the United States
Gay men
Gay scientists
LGBT people from Pennsylvania