Skyler and her friend Jeremy Daniel (also a soldier) had just driven for over 40 hours without a break, from the Fort Campbell military base in Louisville, Kentucky, to Cornwall, Ontario, where they finally ran out of gas and money.
Skyler, like the 36 war resisters known to be now residing in Canada, chose to desert the US Army after hearing horror stories from fellow soldiers who had recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"People would sit around and tell stories about what they did, and someone else would say, 'Oh, that's not as bad as what I did.' They were talking about how they would injure or kill people in Iraq," she said.
You would think that by disclosing her identity, Skyler would have received a "get out of the army free" card. By outing herself, she was clearing contravening regulations in a way that should have earned her a discharge. But according to Skyler, it isn't that easy. The US military is so desperate to enlist more troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, that they are willing to turn a blind eye to even the most blatant homosexual conduct — leaving people like Skyler to endure the double injustice of fighting in wars they don't agree with, while also being subjected to harassment and intimidation from their fellow soldiers.
Weeks after we first spoke, Skyler has perked up considerably. In a video she posted on YouTube she sends a message to other queer soldiers who might be considering a similar journey.
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