One of the NCOs at my unit enlisted in the late 90’s and he was saying how this was a “good thing” and people weren’t “really kicked out.” It allowed the Army to focus on the mission and not the “other bs.”

I already know he’s a friggin idiot but for those of y’all who were around during that time, what was it like? And once it was repealed, was anyone allowed to reenlist?

Edit:

First off, thank you all for the stories and the context. As a gay dude myself, it’s scary asf to thing you only 3 years before I enlisted, I couldn’t be “me.” Secondly, I am the EO Rep for my unit. So when my fellow NCO said this, we immediately had a conversation and without going into detail, it was handled. I’m just a firm believer of understanding the context in which the person was coming from AND the type of background they’re from. Personally, I believe the comments were fucked, but I also have junior enlisted SMs consistently watching me. Gotta still set the example and demonstrate what right is.

I’ll take a Peete’s coffee as I’m genuinely curious and want to learn more about this.