May 15, 2009 6:01 am US/Eastern
Soldier Waging War Against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
NYC's Dan Choi, An Iraq War Vet, Is Facing A Discharge Over Admission He's Gay, Plans To Write Obama
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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New York Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi expects to be kicked out of the military soon because he's admitted he's gay.
CBS
A New York City soldier is waging a battle of a very different kind -- to save his military career.
He's soon to be kicked out of the Army after admitting to being gay.
CBS 2 HD learned a lot more on the fight this soldier is taking on for himself, and for those who follow.
"Living in the closet is the most toxic poison," said Lt. Dan Choi of the New York Army National Guard.
Choi, an Iraq war veteran, is now out of the closet and soon he'll be out of the military for publicly saying he is gay.
That statement earned the West Point grad and Arabic translator a discharge letter from the Army saying in part, "you admitted publicly that you are a homosexual which constitutes homosexual conduct."
"It's a slap in the face to me," Lt. Choi said.
The five-year Army veteran is among more than 12,000 servicemen and women forced out by the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy where gay soldiers can serve as long as they don't tell anyone the truth about their sexual orientation.
"The Army from day one says personal courage, honor, integrity, all the army values … none of it is in line with don't ask, don't tell and what they're forcing soldiers to do," Choi said.
Supporters of don't ask, don't tell say if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"Right now the military is functioning extremely well in very difficult conditions," Sen. John McCain said recently.
Choi is now forced to make a difficult decision about his own future.
"I could just shut up and go away. I could basically get an honorable discharge if I just left," Choi said. "I'm a soldier. I don't know what else to do but to fight."
And fight he is doing, sending a letter to the commander in chief, with this plea:
"Please let me serve. I beg you, do not fire me," Choi said.
Assuming Choi is fired, he promises to be back if the president follows through on his promise to overturn don't ask, don't tell.
"I will be the first person raising my right hand one more time in that recruiting station," Choi said.
Raising his hand, Choi hopes, without ever again having to hide who he is.
Choi will have an Army hearing next month where he's expecting to be formally discharged.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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