Gay soldier may be discharged

Syracuse – A military administrative board recommended on Tuesday that a National Guard officer who publicly announced he was gay should be discharged for violating the military’s policy against homosexual conduct.

Lieutenant Dan Choi would be the first New York National Guard member discharged for violating the so-called “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fanning, a spokesperson for the New York Army National Guard, said.

Choi, 28, appeared here before a Federal Recognition Board, a panel of four military officers, which deliberated for four hours before deciding to recommend the army no longer recognise him as an officer.

Choi, a combat veteran who on Sunday was a celebrity grand marshal in San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade, said it amounted to firing him “for nothing more than telling the truth about who I am”. See Gay soldier may be discharged

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Board: Discharge gay NY National Guard officer

(Syracuse) A military administrative board recommended Tuesday that a National Guard officer who publicly announced he’s gay should be discharged for violating the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Lt. Dan Choi would be the first New York National Guard member discharged for violating the policy against homosexual conduct, said Lt. …

National Guard: Gay Iraq veteran must leave service

A panel of New York National Guard officers has recommended that an Iraq war veteran who acknowledged his homosexuality must leave the service, his supporters said Tuesday.

First Lt. Dan Choi disclosed in March that he is gay, challenging the 1994 “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that requires the military to discharge troops who disclose their sexual orientation. Tuesday’s ruling, made after a daylong hearing, is a step toward stripping Choi of his officer’s commission and ending his career.

“It’s disappointing, but not unexpected,” said Sue Fulton, a spokeswoman for Knights Out, a group of gay and lesbian West Point alumni Choi helped found.

See National Guard: Gay Iraq veteran must leave service CNN International