On the Trail With Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Dr. Marin Nikolov, an immigrant who came to America in 1990 after the collapse of communism in Bulgaria, works at the verification division headquarters for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. He currently conducts research and writes policy for the national E-Verify and Form I-9 programs, which serve employers and users seeking to verify the employment authorization of U.S. and foreign citizens seeking employment opportunities in the U.S. Dr. Nikolov was a former drill sergeant and drill sergeant leader in the U.S. Army. He conducted and published a study for his Ph.D. requirement that focused on the bystander theory and how his participants—Army, veteran, non-retired drill sergeants—either addressed or failed to respond to the sexual harassment and sexual assault of gay, lesbian, and bisexual recruits during the infamous policy that sought to remove all openly serving gays in the military, known as the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass policy. Drawing upon his experience in the military as a senior leader and his study of drill sergeants, Dr. Nikolov made recommendations on how to address and prevent future harassment and discrimination of gays in the Army.