In August 1967, he was living in Germany where his stepfather was serving in the U.S. military, when he was drafted and at his initial examination told an Army psychiatrist he was gay.

During his induction examination in Tacoma, Washington in May 1968, he stated that he was homosexual when asked, but the doctor still categorized him as "qualified for military service".

After being discharged at the end of his tour of duty on May 8, 1970, he found himself unable to find a good job and a year later reenlisted in order to further his education.

Another investigation of his sexual orientation ended in October 1975 with a decision that his excellent service record warranted his retention despite his homosexuality.

When the Army did not acknowledge Watkins' letter of appeal, his attorney filed suit in federal district court in Seattle.

The Army, despite recently losing in court and settling its dispute with another gay servicemember, Leonard Matlovich, expected to win its case against Watkins.

[10] As the case proceeded, the Army allowed Watkins to reenlist for another 6 years with the understanding that he would be separated from the military if the District Court's decision was not upheld.

Watkins continued to challenge his discharge on the grounds that the military's policy of excluding gays and lesbians from service was unconstitutional.

Using that analysis, the panel held that the exclusion of homosexuals from military service violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

[16] The eleven judge panel found that the Army was estopped from using Watkins' statements and behavior against him but did not address the constitutional issues.

[21]According to Watkins, advocates for allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military never sought his advice, used his story or asked him to participate in their campaigns, leaving him with a feeling of betrayal.

[23] Watkins' experience as a drag artist and frank admissions of sexual encounters with other male servicemembers created a "public relations problem" in the words of Tom Stoddard, head of Lambda Legal.

Referring to Margarethe Cammermeyer, who was embraced by movement leaders, Watkins wrote: "we'll go with a [white] woman who led a lie for 56 years before we go with a black man who had to live the struggle nearly every day of his life.