1) Lieutenant Gary Ross had an exemplary 15-year naval career but was passed over for promotion to O-4 despite glowing performance reviews. 2) Ross suspects the promotion board was biased against him due to his high-profile marriage in 2011, becoming one of the first same-sex couples to marry after the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and for joining a lawsuit seeking equal benefits for same-sex military spouses. 3) However, personnel experts suggest Ross' 2008 expulsion from the nuclear program left a blemish and made him less competitive for promotion compared to his peers.

1. 18 Navy Times September 23, 2013 www.navytimes.com
YourNavy
He’s his ship’s go-to lieutenant.
When it entered the locks of the
Panama Canal on its maiden
voyage last November, he was the
officer of the deck. At the ship’s
commissioning ceremony in May,
he was the ceremonial officer
watchstander,thefaceoftheship’s
wardroom before thousands of on-
lookers. His latest fitness report
ranks him as the top department
head.
And yet, the 15-year career of Lt.
Gary Ross went adrift in mid-July
when he learned he was passed
overforO-4.Ithadbeenhisthird—
and final — chance.
For a Naval Academy grad with
three years of enlisted service —
one who holds the right qualifica-
tions, a master’s degree and glow-
ing fitness reports — the news
came as a shock. The O-4 board is
regarded as a cakewalk and Ross
knew of only two marks against
him: A back injury that sidelined
him for a year and being booted
from the nuclear Navy five years
ago. He felt he’d sufficiently recov-
ered from both.
“Those shouldn’t be held against
me,” Ross told Navy Times. “So
what was?”
Ross,35,suspectsthatbiasstem-
ming from his off-duty life may
have tainted the selection board.
He and his longtime partner,
Dan, married at a stroke past mid-
night Sept. 20, 2011 — the day the
Pentagon’s ban on gays serving
openly was lifted. The ceremony
made headlines across the coun-
try.
Ross has since become a promi-
nent military voice for same-sex
treatment, joining a lawsuit
againsttheObamaadministration
seeking equal benefits for same-
sex spouses.
“If they’re familiar with the liti-
gationthat’sgoingonwiththe[De-
fense Department], as I’d assume
most senior captains are, they
might have a negative impression
of me. ‘Hey, here’s a lieutenant
who’s suing the SECDEF. Why
wouldwepromotehim?’ ”Rosssaid
in late August, after a day attend-
ing transition courses.
Ross said he has no evidence of
bias by members of the 17-person
board, whose proceedings are se-
cret, but is seeking a special selec-
tionboardfromtheNavysecretary
because he believes these officers
may have been influenced by their
personal views of his public
stances, or gave undue weight to
one bad fitrep that’s 5 years old.
Some personnel experts had an-
other explanation, saying Ross’
2008expulsionfromnuclearpower
left a blemish that made him less
competitive against his peers, and
that the selection-board process
wouldn’t allow its members to
share their opinions of his off-duty
advocacy.
Yetthesameboardselectedother
blemished officers. For example,
onthepromotionlististhechiefen-
gineer on the frigate Vandegrift,
who got drunk and quarrelsome
with his sailors during a port visit
to Vladivostok, Russia, a year ago
—misbehaviorthatcontributedto
the firing of his commanding offi-
cer and executive officer.
A spokesman for the chief of na-
val personnel said the selection
board was conducted properly and
reviewedafterward,buthewasun-
able to go into details for privacy
reasons.
“As with all of our boards, a re-
view was conducted, and verified
the fairness of this specific board,”
Lt. Cmdr. Chris Servello said in an
email.“Weremainconfidentinthe
thoroughness and fairness of our
selection board process.”
‘PROMOTE HIM NOW!’
Ross enlisted in1995, advancing
to fire control technician third
class before entering the academy.
There,Rossearnedareputationas
ago-getterandsurfacewarfareen-
thusiast, a branch that typically
generateslessexcitementthanNa-
vy pilots or SEALs.
Hissenioryear,RossledtheYard
Patrol Craft Squadron of training
vessels and won the award as his
class’ top ship-driver.
A systems engineering major,
Ross was chosen for the academi-
cally challenging nuclear-power
training program and entered it
upon graduating in 2002. He com-
pleted it successfully and then re-
ported to the cruiser Valley Forge,
where he was the undersea war-
fare officer.
His next tour was more difficult.
Ross joined the reactor depart-
ment on the aircraft carrier John
C. Stennis, his first operational
nuke tour. He led the reactor lab-
oratories division, charged with
testing and monitoring the two re-
actors, and qualified as a watch-
stander. The fitness report for his
first year aboard was positive, if
lukewarm and vague. It was a
“mustpromote”writeup—onecat-
egorybelowthehighest,“earlypro-
mote” — that called him an
“outstanding naval officer,” but
scored him below average. Ross
provided Navy Times with six
years’ worth of fitness reports and
his correspondence to the board.
Then, Ross had problems. He
failed to prepare for his engineer’s
exam, a make-or-break test that
had to be rescheduled twice. And
during a stressful training scenar-
io, where both the reactors were
scrammed, two of his sailors had a
fistfight in the control room on
Ross’ watch. The fight was broken
upandRossreportedit.Butthere-
actor officer pulled his qualifica-
tions and found him culpable.
The fallout was severe. On his
nextfitrep,Rossscoreda2.0onthe
professionalexpertise,onascaleof
1to5.“GaryRossisaconscientious
officer who has displayed a desire
to excel but has struggled with the
technicalrigorsrequiredoftheNa-
val Nuclear Propulsion Program,”
states the fitrep Ross signed in
February 2008.
Ross arrived at shore duty that
March, the same month that Navy
Personnel Command stripped his
qualificationsandbootedhimfrom
nuclear power. (Ross says this was
by mutual agreement.) Ross did
well at Recruit Training Com-
mand Great Lakes, Ill. He eventu-
ally oversaw five divisions and still
found time to mentor sailors, vol-
unteerandgetamaster’sdegreein
engineering management.
“Performing at an O-4 level,” his
departing fitrep said. “PROMOTE
HIM NOW!”
Ross next attended department
head school in Newport, R.I., and
was sent to a second shore duty as-
signment while he recovered from
a back injury. He garnered high
praisefromhisbossesatFortHua-
chuca, Ariz., where he was a man-
ager and troubleshooter for Joint
Interoperability Test Command.
Cleared for duty, Ross returned
tothefleetinApril2012.Hereport-
ed to the amphibious transport
dock Anchorage as its first combat
systems officer and oversaw sys-
temstests,thecrew’smoveaboard,
acceptance trials and commission-
Passed over
for
speaking out?
MARK THIESSEN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dan, left, and Lt.
Gary Ross pose
aboard the
amphibious
transport dock
Anchorage. The
couple was one
of the first to
marry in 2011
after the military
repealed its
“don’t ask, don’t
tell” policy.
Prior-enlisted gay-rights
advocate denied by O-4 board
despite ‘outstanding’ reviews
By Sam Fellman
sfellman@militarytimes.com
0923_NAV_DOM_00_018_00.pdf;Sep 13, 2013 10:45:49