As a woman coming into the military in 1986, just eight years after the separate Women’s Army Corps was disbanded, the future Brigadier General Tammy Smith never let anything stand in her way. In 2012, when Smith was promoted to Brigadier General, only 7 percent of general officers in the military were female.
“As many women in the workplace, you often experience barriers and I was able to work through those,” Smith says. “One of the things I think is really important in any workplace, whoever you are, is your willingness to be extremely competent in what your job is. I just absolutely threw myself into my work and became as technically and tactically confident as I could in the skills required for that job.”
Smith had to overcome the adversity of not just being a woman in the military, but also being a lesbian under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” where she spent much of her time hiding her personal life for fear of sabotaging the career she had worked so hard for, a task that became increasingly difficult after meeting her partner, Tracey Hepner.
“Prior to meeting her, I could kind of justify being in the closet. I had convinced myself that it was really a small price to pay because I wanted to be a military officer and all the things that went with that,” Smith says. “But it actually got harder after I met Tracey because I couldn’t share her with my co-workers, with the world. I literally had to keep her a secret. That was the hardest period for me of living under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’…I had to keep the best part of my life from everyone.”
General Smith (middle) with Andrew Sullivan and her partner, Tracey Hepner, at the 2013 Knights Out Dinner, West Point Military Academy.
Even after the repeal, Smith was hesitant to come out in the workplace. However, the couple decided that Hepner would participate in Smith’s promotion ceremony to Brigadier General, where it is traditional for the spouse to pin the first star. She became the first openly gay flag officer to ever serve in the United States Military.
“I was scared to death, frankly,” Smith says. “Now that I’m on the other side of it, I am so glad that we decided to take this particular path and just be authentic in who we are, and it’s just been an extremely positive experience.”
Since the Defense of Marriage Act was found unconstitutional, Smith has also been able to extend her military benefits to her wife. They moved onto base, where the reception from the military community has been incredibly positive. Within a day of moving into their new neighborhood, their neighbors visited them with coffee cakes and poinsettias to welcome them.
Being out has also helped the couple make a difference in their community. In 2011, Hepner co-founded the Military Partners and Families Coalition, a support group for LGBTQ military partners and families. Her work also earned her a spot next to Michelle Obama during the Sate of the Union address last year.
“I think when we talk about the topic of being ‘out at work’, especially for us ‘old folks,’ we have spent so many years being told that there’s something wrong with us. We internalize this homophobia and we do so in a way where we think all of these bad things are going to happen,” Smith says. “I would encourage those people who still struggle with it, to just know that truly, their relationship and their marriage is no different than any other marriage.”
In her current position as Director of the Army Reserve of Human Capital, General Smith works with the Pentagon to implement policies to gain and retain quality Army Reserve members.
As far as general advice for how to push forward and set yourself up for success Smith explains, “I think that a lot of people’s paths in life are as much accidental as it is purposeful. Wherever you find yourself, inform yourself; so that you will have the best tools to operate in whatever environment you find yourself in.”
