Video: A homecoming kiss to remember

It was a military kiss like no other – i think it;s very sweet.

When Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas Sawicki and his shipmates returned to San Diego this week, Sawicki’s boyfriend was there to greet him for the ceremonial kiss.

Sawicki locked lips with Shawn Brier at Naval Base Point Loma and it marked the first time in US Navy history that a male same-sex couple had been chosen for the traditional coming home honor which is decided by lottery.

‘Everyone was cheering for me when it got announced (I won the lottery) over email,’ Sawicki said. ‘Everyone was very supportive, excited, really happy.’

For his part, Brier was ‘very nervous.’

‘I didn’t want to screw it up and fall in the water,’ he said.

The USS San Francisco (SSN 711) submarine warship had been at sea for seven long months.

‘It was a long seven months so it was tough,’ Brier said. ‘But we were able to keep in touch so that helped.’

Sawicki described the smooch as being ‘like any other kiss, that’s all that matters. We love each other, that’s all that matters.’

Such a same-sex public display of affection was not possible in the military until September 2011 with the end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell which prohibited gay and lesbian military personnel from serving openly.