http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=1068&sd=10/20/01-10/22/01

An antigay slur scrawled on one of the bombs to be used in the U.S. air strikes over Afghanistan was inappropriate, a top Navy official admits, and commanders have been directed to prevent similar incidents in the future. Pilots or crews of U.S. warplanes often write messages on bombs, either taunting the enemy or praising America. Messages written on bombs during the current antiterrorism air strikes have included several references to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. A news photograph of a plane on the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier last week showed one bomb with the message "High Jack This Fags.'' The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay advocacy group, immediately issued a complaint about the bomb's message.

Rear Adm. Stephen Pietropaoli, in a letter to the HRC earlier this week, said the Navy does not tolerate discrimination and that the antigay graffiti was an "isolated incident.'' Several newspapers across the country also asked the Navy about the bomb's message, said Pietropaoli, the Navy's chief of information. "We immediately notified Navy commanders involved with Operation Enduring Freedom to ensure steps were taken to prevent a recurrence of this unfortunate incident. They have done so,'' Pietropaoli said in the letter. Elizabeth Birch, HRC executive director, said in a statement that the letter is "a welcome clarification, and we are pleased the Navy has stated that this type of antigay behavior has no place in our armed forces.''