07 Aug DUTCH MILITARY JOINS GAY PRIDE
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Embracing a policy of “Do Tell,” the Dutch military joined Amsterdam’s annual Gay Pride parade for the first time this year, with uniformed men and women saluting the crowds from a boat chugging through a historic city canal.
A balloon-festooned barge bearing the standards of the service branches and sponsored by the Defense Ministry sailed among about 80 other floats, with music blaring from most of them and dancers dressed in flamboyant costumes — or very little at all.
The parade, watched by hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the Prinsengracht canal, capped a weeklong festival of around 300 parties and events. It included the popular “Drag Queen Olympics” with contests like the stiletto race and the long-distance handbag toss.
U.S. and British activists sailed with Dutch generals and other senior officers — some gay and others showing solidarity — among some 80 military and ministry civilian personnel.
Unlike the U.S. military, gays have openly served in Dutch units since 1974, and for 25 years have had a department within the ministry that minds their interests, the Foundation for Homosexuals in the Armed Forces