Moonlight meets American Sniper in this groundbreaking memoir. Rob is a young black man coming to terms with his sexuality amid the backdrop of the hyper-masculine, homophobic U.S. Army. After surviving the notoriously brutal Infantry basic training and then finding himself as a young gay man while remaining closeted to all but a few of his colleagues at his first duty station, he finds himself in dangerous territory after the United States declares war on Iraq and his unit is one of the first called in after the initial invasion. Deftly navigating the intersection of race, sexuality, and public policy, Confessions of a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Soldier is alternately thought-provoking, humorous, and harrowing. Rob's experience offers a ground-level view of life on the front lines of race and sexuality in the United States military in an unforgettable gay coming-of-age story - with a military twist.

Author Biography

Rob Smith served for 5 years in the United States Army as an Infantryman and deployed to both Kuwait and Iraq, earning the Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantry Badge in the process. In 2010 he was arrested at the White House with 12 other LGBT activists in protest of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law which barred lesbian, gay, and bisexual soldiers from serving openly, and he was later a guest of President Barack Obama at the ceremony that repealed the law. He has spoken about veterans' issues and LGBT rights and empowerment at dozens of college campuses, pride events, and corporate functions across the United States, including Vanderbilt University, Virginia Tech, the Reaching Out LGBT MBA Conference, and the 2014 Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender and Allies College Conference among many more. In 2014, he served as the Grand Marshal of the Key West Pride Parade, and was a featured speaker at the NYC Pride Rally. He's been featured on HLN's The Daily Share, Huffpost Live, Dr. Drew On Call, and CNN. He is a recipient of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) award for Excellence In Blogging and the 2016 Gay City News LGBT Impact Award for multimedia coverage of issues impacting the LGBT community. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University. Find out more at www.robsmithonline.com.