In honor of tonight's Grey's Anatomy dealing with gay servicemembers, here's a sampling of gay military men on television. In researching this list, I was expecting to find stories to be either be recent (as the issue of gays in the military is a current topic) or to boom around 1993, when "Don't Ask Don't Tell" began, but the topic has popped up off and on throughout the years.

Take a look at some of the gay men we've seen serve their country on the small screen ...

Paul Dill
From: The Real World: New Orleans

By its ninth season, The Real World had its share of trainwreck personalities but still hadn't devolved into the parade of sexual promiscuity and inane arguments the show is today. At that point, it was still a show able to provoke discussion of social issues, as it did when gay housemate Danny Roberts introduced his boyfriend Paul to the nation. Paul was an US Army Ranger Captain at the time and, to protect him from a dishonorable discharge, the show blurred his face when he came to see Danny. After leaving the military, Paul appeared with Danny in an MTV special without hiding his identity. Danny and Paul have gone on to speak out about gay issues, especially the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

Jeffrey Lindley
From: Melrose Place

In 1994, things were looking up for Melrose Place's gay resident Matt Fielding (Doug Savant) as he met Jeff, a guy who managed to stick around beyond the first date (Jeff Beghe). As with many Melrose Place guests, Jeff behaved oddly and eventually revealed that he was hiding a secret: he was a closeted Navy officer. Jeffrey was quickly transferred to the East Coast, breaking up him and Matt. He returned the next season, holding another topical secret ... that he was HIV positive.

Enos Fry
From: Futurama

In one of the irreverent animated comedy's most memorable stories, putting aluminum foil into a microwave sends the Planet Express crew back to Roswell, New Mexico in the 1950s. Fry is sternly warned not to do anything to do anything to change the future. Fry being Fry, that warning doesn't stop him from seeking out his grandfather, Enos Fry, whose life on base turns out to be fraught with dangers. In order to protect his eventual birth, Fry tries to protect him from harm. However, to Fry's horror, Enos confesses that he might be gay and is hesitant to follow through on his engagement to the woman who will be Fry's grandmother. Worried about taking himself out of history, he pushes Enos back in the closet, only to see him die in a freak accident. In true Futurama style, Fry makes up for it by becoming his own grandfather.

Reichen Lehmkuhl
From: The Amazing Race

In The Amazing Race's fourth season saw the show's second same-sex couple, Chip and Reichen, charge through the globe-spanning reality competition, eventually winning the big prize. Reichen was a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and served for five years, eventually reaching the rank of captain and being honorably discharged. While Riechen is best known nowadays for who he is dating or his TV roles (like a recent gig on Dante's Cove), he's also a spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and raises money for the advocacy group.

Lots more after the jump!

Jena Malone, Jonathan Tucker, and Carter Smith

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Gay director Carter Smith attended the premiere of his first studio film, the horror movie The Ruins, and paused on the red carpet with the film's young stars, including Jena Malone (Saved!) and Jonathan Tucker (The Deep End).

• On last night's Real World reunion special, Seattle housemate Stephen revealed that he is gay and marrying his boyfriend, Sheldon. Oh, and then his former housemates threatened to assault him, but that's just how things work on this show.

• Celebrated choreographer Matthew Bourne (he of the all-male Swan Lake) is set to debut his latest ballet, Dorian Gray, later this year. Not that there's anything gay about that.

• I'm still loving the new B-52's album. Check out the video for the first single, "Funplex", above.

• Batguano insane and gay-crazy soap Passions may be ending its nine-year run this summer (on DirectTV - what a sendoff!), but fans of the show can buy props from the show at the most Passion-ate yard sale ever this weekend in Studio City.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

It's a busy night of television with two debuts and two finales. One could almost forget that Ugly Betty is on hiatus. Almost.

Hidden Palms (The CW) 8:00 PM EST
Kevin Williamson's newest television series debuts tonight -- check out our preview from last week for an idea of what to expect. This one looks like it has the potential to be a reliable source for light summer entertainment, so I'm glad my local CW affiliate just became available in HD. We'll be recapping this one on the blog, so check back tomorrow and each week after to discuss the new episodes!

The Next Best Thing (ABC) 8:00 PM EST
If you're not in the mood for a scripted drama, ABC's newest reality series is looking for celebrity impersonators. The previews show judge (and alleged comedian) Jeffrey Ross harassing a drag performer performing as Cher, but hopefully there will be other female impersonators who aren't treated as a punchline.

The Real World Denver: S*#! They Should've Known (MTV) 9:00 PM EST
The past season is reviewed, with previously unseen footage and a look back at the past season. Get a season's worth of binge drinking and drama in an hour (of course featuring gay housemate Davis, who had his fair share of both).

Shear Genius (Bravo) 10:00 PM EST
The season finale is here with gay stylist Anthony and lesbian competitor Daisy still in the running. If you're recording to this one, make sure to set this to go a couple minutes over since the repeat is scheduled to start at 11:01. And check back later here on the blog for a Two-Bite Interview with Anthony!

On the latest episode of The Real World we saw Davis receive a birthday visit from his sister and mother. The moments before their arrival were tense, as we learn that Davis' relationship with his mother has been strained ever since he came out, "It was sort of like a death in the family," he says, "she always wanted a wife and kids for me."

Davis' mother, we learn, has only contacted him through the occasional e-mail and we see Davis reading one such e-mail to Alex. "Did you think that following (Jesus) who died sacrificially would require anything less than a sacrifice from you?" Davis reads. (The message he's reading densely fills the screen with text... it looks like Davis received a rather lengthy lecture from mom.)

At this point, it's looking like this meeting will be full of reality TV drama.

Yesterday, I mentioned that The Real World's gay boy, Davis, got punched in the face on Inferno 3. Well, apparently over on The Real World he's coming on to his roommate again. No, not the boys. The girls. Oy. What. A. Dolt.

Kenneth in the 212 has a thing for JFK Jr. (I can't relate at all and that's why I'm including this picture.)

Our very own Brent Hartinger appeared this week on the wildly popular Feast of Fools.

Not a whole lot at the box office this weekend, but the bisexual Mike White (Chuck and Buck) wrote and directed Year of the Dog starring Molly Shannon. Also opening is Aqua Teen Hunger Force Something Something. I wouldn't be surprised if something gay pops up there.

This is what NBC gets for degaying Zach on Heroes. Bwahaha!