We all know how hard it is for a gay person to be married or a clergyman, but imagine being a gay cadet at West Point, the army's bastion of heterosexual masculinity. Well, now about 15% of the cadets are female, and it is from this group that news leaked that there are gay cadets of both sexes in the institution that has trained US Generals and Presidents.(At Right: West Point Cadet taking the oath to be truthful in all things except sex.)

Imagine being gay at West Point where code words, secret societies, covert meetings, and fake identifies are the weapons and protective shields of gay cadets.

That there were gay people at "The Point" came to life this month when a female cadet outted herself as a lesbian. Needless to say, she is no longer at West Point.

Said one male fourth year cadet: "The most important thing I've learned is how to be a good actor."

But the system both prevents and punishes honesty. For example, a cadet is always under oath never to lie so if if asked to date by a straight person, the gay ones cannot say that they have a boy or girl friend back at home. That would be a lie and punishable. They are, however, protected by "don't ask; don't tell," as no one can ask if they are gay. But the hiding begins on Day 1: new cadets must sign a document acknowledging that revealing one's homosexuality can lead to discharge, as can demonstrating "a propensity to engage in homosexual acts."

Nevertheless, a vibrant underground of gay life exists at West Point. This was confirmed in New York Times interviews with both current cadet and alumni.

For gay cadets, repressing their sexuality is just one part of adapting to West Point, where life is regimented and lived mostly in uniform. Romance of any kind can be difficult: the 4,400 cadets, who live in one complex of large barracks and eat together at huge weekday breakfasts and lunches in Washington Hal. "It's like living in a snow globe," said one third year cadet.

That gay people attend West Point comes as a surprise only to people ignorant of the fact that gays have served in the military with distinction since Alexander the Great up to American History where gay officers served in the Revolutionary War as aides to General Washington, and gays still served in the military today.

Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that the man, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who wrote the military manual for George Washington, a manual that is still used at West Point today, was a Prussian officer who fled his country because of his homosexual attraction to young men. Steuben's training is accredited with turning Washington's army around at Valley Forge. Without contradiction it can be said that this gay man enabled Washington to win the Revolutionary War. Every teacher at West Point knows that Steuben was gay. You have to wonder what they are thinking as they teach supposedly straight cadets how to be good soldiers according to a gay man.