Description
A million-dollar grand prize winner of Amazing Race describes his experiences as a gay cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy, a service marked by the discovery of his orientation, his efforts to comply with the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and the unique "Code of Conduct" enforced by gay leaders.
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Reichen Lehmkuhl was playing the role of his life while in the Air Force. Not wanting to face a court martial for being gay, he had to live in a world where he had to watch everything he did and said for fear of being outed; and in another world where he was free to be himself. “One of the hardest things for me to reconcile was the fact that I was completely open with my family and friends but faced the very real possibility of being court martialed and going to jail if I was open with my 'work' colleagues.” As Reichen explains, “The don’t ask don’t tell policy is so contradictory to what the Air Force and all the armed forces stand for ... but they force you to lie in order to serve your country.” It was the contradictions which led Reichen to leave the Air Force once he completed his commitment.Happenstance brought Reichen to meet a friend at a Los Angeles restaurant where he was approached by the casting director for “The Amazing Race.” Reichen believes his military training was extremely helpful in his winning the show’s million dollar prize.
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