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Lt. Dan Choi: Discharge Recommended by Military Board

by cyn.khoo | June 30, 2009 at 03:50 pm

515 views | 16 Recommendations | 6 comments

On Tuesday, June 30, a US military board recommended that Lieutenant Dan Choi have federal recognition of his officer status revoked, which would result in his discharge from service.

Choi was called to appear in front of the military board for violating the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in the United States regarding homosexual officers in the US military, by having stated in public that he his gay, while serving in the New York National Guard to which he belongs.

Syracuse, NY -- A military board tonight recommended that federal recognition of Lt. Dan Choi as an officer be withdrawn, a move that would result in Choi's discharge from the service.

The recommendation does not constitute a final decision, as a second recommendation is expected by the Commander of the First Army, and the final decision rests with the chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Craig R. McKinley.

"I'm disappointed," said Choi at a news conference tonight."Today was a setback for me."
But Choi said he plans to appeal to higher ranking officers. "I refuse to lie about my love relationship," he said.

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Rhonda J Mangus

at 01:57 on July 1st, 2009

Thanks very much for this, cyn.khoo. Unfortunate, but no surprise, to say the very least.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 15:02 on July 1st, 2009

All that money wasted for training him. He is even a vet of Iraq.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 15:04 on July 1st, 2009

What a waste of training dollars.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 15:11 on July 1st, 2009

albertacowpoke, I'm curious -- why would you think training dollars were wasted for training Lt. Dan Choi?

Mauree Wall (not verified)

at 11:33 on July 2nd, 2009

Why would the Military want to lose a person like Lt Dan Choi who speaks arabic and did two tours of duty in Iraq? I understand the "don't ask, don't tell" but I also know that the military wants honesty. Will he lose his medical benefits? I wonder if President Obama gets this ruling changed, will he be re-instated with his past benefits? It is an interesting case to follow.