Army Recruiter Investigated For Bigoted E-Mails

An Army recruiter is in hot water after taking part in a war of racial and anti-gay words with a Jersey City resident who had simply posted his resume on a Web site in search of a job. Corey Andrew, an openly gay black man said the heated exchange began in late February after the recruiter responded to his resume displayed on CareerBuilder.com.
U.S. Army recruiter Sgt. Marcia Ramode wrote to Andrew from her official military e-mail address, but after Andrew said he wasn't interested in joining the Army, he did probe the recruiter on the Army's policy on gay and lesbian soldiers. The fireworks set off when he revealed he's openly gay.
Ramode told Andrew that being gay made him unqualified, and that it was "disgusting and immoral."
"In any other corporate structure in America, an e-mail like this going around in an office building would result in termination immediately," Andrew said.
But the message that struck the strongest chord with Andrew was when Ramode wrote: "GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF NAKED THERE. ... THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG"
To say Andrew, a musician who is a copywriter by trade, was shocked would be an understatement. "I thought she was absolutely out of her mind," Andrew said.
Andrew admits he lost his cool at times during the exchange and shot back at Ramode, taking shots at her for spelling and grammatical errors, but also told her after he'd found she was Native American to "take that to your next rain dance."
The spokesman for an advocacy group for gay members of the military told CBS 2 that action should be taken against Ramode. "She should be relieved from her duty. She was not just homophobic, she was also racist. And if that's the public voice the Army wants to put out there, then shame on them," said Steve Ralls, a director of communications for the Service Members Legal Defense Network.
Sgt. Douglas Smith, a public affairs officer for the Army said Ramode's comments are being investigated. "The command expects its recruiters to conduct themselves in a professional manner in all dealings with potential applicants and members of the public. We are ambassadors for America's Army," Smith added.
Officials say for now Ramode is still working in the military, but not in recruiting. Andrew is hoping she'll be removed from the post for good, especially for violating the Department of Defense's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in which recruiters are barred from asking applicants about their sexual orientation.
"She's telling me that 'don't ask, don't tell' meant racism. It meant social injustice. It meant sexual discrimination and bigotry," Andrew said.
from WCBS