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Kiss Marks First Time On Record That A Same-Sex Couple Was Chosen For Homecoming Tradition |
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Thursday, 22 December 2011 |
A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S.
military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when two women
sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the dock
after one of them returned from 80 days at sea.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, Calif.,
descended from the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship and shared a
quick kiss with her partner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of
Los Angeles. The crowd screamed and waved flags around them.
Both women, ages 22 and 23 respectively, are fire controlmen in the
Navy. They met at training school and have been dating for two years.
Navy officials said it was the first time on record that a same-sex
couple was chosen to kiss first upon a ship's return. Sailors and their
loved ones bought $1 raffle tickets for the opportunity. Gaeta said she
bought $50 of tickets. The Navy said the money would be used to host a
Christmas party for the children of sailors.
The ship returned to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story
following an 80-day deployment to Central America. The crew of more
than 300 participated in exercises involving the militaries of Honduras,
Guatemala Colombia and Panama as part of Amphibious-Southern
Partnership Station 2012.
Snell is based on the USS Bainbridge, the guided missile destroyer
that helped rescue cargo captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in
2009.
Source: msn.com
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