WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. military discharged 653 men and women in 2004 under the ban on gays in the military, according to a gay-rights group that tracks the numbers.
Among the discharges, according to Pentagon numbers obtained by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network were 41 healthcare professionals, 30 sonar and radar specialists, 20 combat engineers, 17 law enforcement agents, 12 security guards and seven biological and chemical warfare specialists. At least nine foreign language specialists were also fired because of their sexual orientation
SLDN also said Monday less than one-quarter of the discharges last year under the gay ban occurred in units that were deployed in support of the war.
The discharge of gays from the military has dropped 47 percent since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. It is unclear whether that is because the military wants to keep as many experienced people in uniform as possible to meet its war fighting needs in Iraq and Afghanistan, or gay service members are keeping their orientation secret in order to remain in the services during a national crisis.