By Kerry Gallagher
Every March, during Women’s History Month, it is tradition to celebrate remarkable women in the SUNY Broome community. When describing Sandy Gibble, the word ‘remarkable’ simply falls short.
On campus, Gibble is best known as the Assistant Registrar and Vice President of the Guild administrative union. But before she was SUNY Broome’s Sandy Gibble, she was Sergeant Gibble of the United States Army – a role that would eventually change the trajectory of her life.
Raised in an extremely religious family in Ono, Pennsylvania, a rural farming town, Gibble strived to be the perfect student and daughter. Year after year, she earned excellent grades, and went on to serve as senior class president and editor of the school newspaper. While it’s not uncommon for children to want to please their parents, there was a deeper, personal reason for the tremendous pressure she placed on herself.
“I always knew I was gay. There was never a moment that I didn’t know,” Gibble said. “So I tried to rack up as many good points as I could, because I knew eventually, there was going to be a day I would have to break their hearts.”
At age 17, Gibble enlisted in the Army after graduation, a life-altering decision that was influenced by a number of factors. Among them: a dwindling number of local jobs, financial help with college (she would be the first in her family to attend), her personal patriotism, and of course, the persistent desire to make her parents proud.
Gibble worked in Military Intelligence, and was trained as a Czechoslovakian language interpreter. Because she excelled in tactical training, she was eventually assigned to a new tactical unit in Fort Bliss, Texas, where the Army was trying to incorporate women, and where she would lead a squad of nine soldiers.
During one exercise at a military base, Gibble was the only woman out of 22,000 troops. The organizers were perplexed by her presence, and wouldn’t allow her to sleep in the barracks with her squad. After spending a night alone in a separate barracks across the base, Gibble was covered by support from her fellow soldiers, who swore to keep her safe and make certain she’d never be left alone again. The young, female soldier who grew up with one sister, suddenly had her own personal army of protective brothers.
“They rotated being my bodyguard for the next three weeks, and I went nowhere alone during that desert exercise,” Gibble recalled. “We loved and cared for one another, and as a unit, we had each other’s backs at all costs.”
While she was never without friendship and protection, Gibble still wasn’t free to be herself. She had no choice but to carry the secret of her sexuality throughout her time in the Army. This was before the Clinton administration’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (or DADT) policy, which allowed gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals to serve in the military, as long as they did not disclose their sexual orientation.
“Before “don’t ask, don’t tell”, being openly gay was illegal. Telling meant jail or discharge,” Gibble said. “There were a handful of gays and lesbians in Military Intelligence, we just knew among ourselves. In my opinion, they were the best soldiers because they had the most to lose.”
Gibble, who proudly declares she was “a good soldier”, loved the Army, and would have happily made a career out of it. But while she was willing to sacrifice almost anything for her country, the freedom to find love was too high a price to pay.
“I knew if I stayed in, I would have to continue living in secrecy,” Gibble reflected. “I didn’t want to live my life without ever having the chance to find love, or to have a relationship. I wanted to follow my heart.”
Following her heart led to great things. No longer financially dependent on her parents, Gibble came out to her family – an extremely difficult, but critical step to live authentically. She earned multiple college degrees. Most importantly, she found love, happiness, and herself.
“It was freeing. I had spent my life trying to be the best daughter I could be, the best soldier I could be,” Gibble described. I made a conscious decision to stop taking life so seriously. I think my true personality has come out.”
While DADT was, in Gibble’s words, a “huge victory” at the time, the policy would be repealed by the Obama administration in 2011. Today, openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals are free to serve. When asked how her younger self would respond if she’d been told how far we would come, Gibble beamed with happiness.
“I would have cried and said, “Thank God, we’re going to get there,” Gibble said with a smile. “I may not be able to experience it and have the benefit right now, but we’re getting there. I have goosebumps just thinking about answering that question.”
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Submitted by: MarCom
Tags: Diversity, Profile, Women's History Month
