The “first kiss” after deployment at sea is a Navy tradition, and while it is special, it is not exactly something that has not happened before, and we have quite a number of iconic images of this special moment as proof.

For the longest time, however, we have exclusively seen male Sailors kissing their girlfriends or wives; so the image of the kiss shared by Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, California and her partner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles, was, indeed, a milestone.

A feature on The Washington Post shared an image of the kiss.

Gaeta, 23, had won a raffle that selected who will have the coveted “first kiss” when the USS Oak Hill, the amphibious landing ship where she was serving, returns from an 80-day deployment to Central America. With the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a kiss between same-sex partners was made possible.

Gaeta and Snell met as roommates at training school. They were both Navy fire controlmen, and maintain and operate weapons systems on ships.  They have been dating for two years, but prior to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” it had been rather challenging.

Snell shared: “We did have to hide it a lot in the beginning… a lot of people were not always supportive of it in the beginning, but we can finally be honest about who we are in our relationship, so I’m happy.”

Sailors and their loved ones purchased $1 raffle tickets for the opportunity to share that first kiss. Gaeta shared that she and Snell bought $50 worth of tickets, although she did mention that other Sailors and their loved ones had bought even more tickets. The money pooled from the sales of the tickets was used to host a party for the children of Sailors.

Gaeta shared further that her winning the raffle was supported by everyone in her chain of command, as well as on her ship. This is the first time on record that a same-sex couple was chosen to share the “first kiss,” according to Navy officials.